Viva La Revolucion Says Che's Daughter!

[Red Flag]

HAVANA, (AFP) - The daughter of Cuba's revolutionary hero Che Guevara told AFP that socialism is still possible in Latin America, and that leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez inspires hope.

Aleida Guevara March, daughter of Argentine-born Ernesto "Che" Guevara, said in an interview that 38 years after the death of her father, it is still possible to remove the right-wing from the region, specifically in Bolivia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru.

"All that is needed is a good scalpel," said Guevara March, 44. Like her father, she studied medicine.

Her father joined the Cuban revolution, led by Cuba's current president, Fidel Castro, helping to topple the Havana government in 1959. Guevara died trying to export socialist revolution to Bolivia.

His daughter said the United States "has unleashed so much propaganda against Cuba and against socialism that many people are afraid of it."

Chavez, then, means "hope, because Latin America is very afraid of socialism," she said.

"Hugo Chavez today could be an alternative, a possibility, but if one looks at the evolution of his Bolivarian Revolution, one sees that circumstances have forced him to be more and more radical because of US pressure," she said.

Chavez' political program is based on the writings of South America's "Liberator" from Spain, Simon Bolivar, who urged Latin American unity.

[bolshevik butcher]

While this is all very nice, what does it matter. I dont see how she has anymore authority on soiclaist issues than i do. What has she personally done for the revolution?

[Colombia]

Based on the writings of Bolivar? I didn't even know such a thing existed! Are they written in books?

[Red Flag]

Probably more than most people here.

THESSALONIKI - Her resemblance to her father is amazing. Aleida Guevara has her father's features and has inherited the revolutionary fire and international solidarity of the legendary commandante of the 1960s. The only thing missing is the black beret with red star and a beard.
Aleida Guevara, one of Che's five children, is in Thessaloniki to attend a conference of the Europe-Cuba friendship associations. She objected strongly when Kathimerini asked her to comment on comparisons that have been drawn between her father and Osama bin Laden.

"There is no comparison. My father was a revolutionary while (bin Laden) is a creation of the CIA," she said. Guevara calls herself an "international worker" committed to the socialist revolution, volunteering her services as a doctor "wherever necessary," such as in Nicaragua and Angola.

The Egyptian writer Kemal Geitani recently warned that bin Laden could become the Che Guevara of the Arab world, and in fact found similarities between them in that both abandoned a comfortable life to take up arms. What do you say to that?

Every person is an individual and each person lives at a particular time. My father was a revolutionary; his ambition was to change the world in order to bring about a more just and democratic society. In the case of this person, we do know what exactly he is in favor of. Apart from that, it would be very sad for the Arab world to be led by, or to set up as an example, someone who was created by the CIA. There is, therefore, no comparison between the two.

What do you think your father would have said if he had seen the aircraft crashing into the Manhattan skyscrapers, the ultimate symbols of capitalism?

I respect my father and so I never speak in his name since he is no longer alive. But I believe that he would reject, he would condemn any form of terrorism, even though some people used to call him a terrorist himself. My father was a very honorable and sincere person. The world doesn't change if you punish someone who has committed a crime by committing the same crime yourself, but only by changing conditions so that the crime is not repeated.

What do people in Cuba say about what is happening, given that they are still suffering from the continuing trade embargo by the USA?

As a country that has known terrorism on the part of the USA, since the embargo is a form of terrorism, Cuba does not want another nation to suffer from it. We have always said and we repeat that we will never become enemies of the people of the United States. We do not want anyone to be harmed. Nevertheless, we realize that the US itself is responsible for what is happening, because it has managed to spread hate among people as well as the desire for revenge because of the things (it) has done.

Where is Cuba going today? Is it completing its course toward socialism or is it sliding back into capitalism, as many people claim?

In my country, the themes are "socialism or death," "my country or death." For us, the only course possible is to develop socialism and that has become embedded in our consciousness.

Do you feel that your name is a heavy burden to bear?

My father was my father, and I am very proud of him, but I am who I am. I am just another Cuban woman who was born and brought up during the socialist revolution and I am a militant of the Cuban Communist Party. I am an international worker, in Nicaragua and Angola, and I believe I am doing whatever my people expect me to.

What is your relationship with Fidel Castro?

He is an uncle to me, at least that is what I have called him since I was a child. You know he is the father figure that has always been with me since I was very young. I couldn't even get married before my uncle came to the house to give his consent, as is our custom.