Che Guevara's brand is popular, but the man was very different

The Maryland Institute College of Art has called it "the most famous photograph in the world and a symbol of the 20th century." Today, we can see that famous picture of Che Guevara every day, on bumper stickers, shirts, and protest banners. It has become one of the most recognizable pictures in the world and a symbol of revolution to many.

But the people who wear the shirts and pin up the posters often do not know exactly who that revolutionary with the haunting eyes really was. Che's modern-day reputation as a fighter for freedom and equality could not, in fact, be farther from the truth.

He is idolized partly because of his dedication to revolution, even in countries that were not his native Argentina. He fought in Cuba and the Congo before finally being executed in Bolivia. In Cuba, especially, he and Fidel Castro fought a long guerilla campaign against dictator Fulgencio Batista before finally overthrowing him.

This dedication, though, had an ugly side. At the rebels' hideout in the Sierra Maestra mountains during the campaign, Guevara showed his ruthlessness. He was in charge of summarily executing people he or Castro considered traitors or deserters.

After victory, Guevara was again put in charge of the execution squads. This time, he dealt with people from the former regime. Thousands of people were jailed or executed after show trials in which no real evidence was presented and the ultimate verdict was often all too clear from the very beginning.

As Minister of Industries under Castro, Guevara put in place a system of expropriation under which most farms and homes were taken away from their rightful owners and given to the government. If he had gotten his way, none would have been left in private hands. More than anyone else, Guevara was responsible for early Cuban Communist policy. Much of the repression of those first years can be traced back directly to him.

Today, students in Cuba's Communist-controlled education system still are taught to revere Che Guevara. Every day in class, they must still all recite "We will be like Che." His legacy still lies heavily on a repressive system.

Guevara's ideology also contributed to misery in much of the world. His constant appeals for revolution in any circumstance made democracy harder to achieve. He convinced political opponents that compromise and dialogue could never solve their differences, that violence was the only recourse. If the rebel movements he helped to create failed to overthrow their targets, they nonetheless inflicted chaos on already fragile countries. If they succeeded, on the other hand, the new regime was often even worse than the one it replaced.

His legacy in Africa and Latin America continues to this day. Partly because of his stubborn desire for constant revolt, the political societies of both continents are prone to governments that cannot have a civilized dialogue. Often, one or many political factions will have their own private armies with which to do battle. Both continents are only just beginning to address that problem.

These days, Che Guevara is a symbol of romantic rebellion, a symbol that if change does not come quickly, people can act to change society themselves. Unfortunately, the bigger Che's brand gets, the more separated it becomes from the real man. Che Guevara the freedom-loving rebel never existed; Che Guevara the brutal Marxist guerilla was all too real. It's too bad that most people wearing the shirts will never know.