Meaning

This statement reframes how we think about political and social struggle. Guevara is arguing that revolutionary action, at its most authentic, is not driven purely by ideology, strategy, or anger, but by a deep compassion for other human beings. The implication is that hatred and resentment alone make poor foundations for lasting change, while love for people, especially the oppressed, provides a more genuine and sustaining motivation.

Context

Guevara wrote these words in his 1967 message to the Tricontinental, a publication of the Organization of Solidarity with the Peoples of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The letter was written during a period when Guevara was deeply engaged in promoting armed struggle across the developing world, and it is one of his most direct statements of political philosophy. In it he addressed revolutionary movements globally, urging them toward unity and sustained commitment. The claim about love was his way of distinguishing principled struggle from mere violence or personal ambition.

About the author

Ernesto Guevara, widely known as Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary who became a central figure in the Cuban Revolution alongside Fidel Castro. After the revolution succeeded, he held government positions in Cuba before leaving to support guerrilla movements in other countries. He was captured and killed in Bolivia in 1967. His writings, speeches, and life have made him one of the most recognized and debated political figures of the twentieth century, celebrated by some as a symbol of resistance and criticized by others for his methods.