1961
Minister of Industry
On 23rd February Ernesto Guevara was sworn in as Minister of Industry before the President of the Republic, Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado. He declared that his priority was to overcome the shackles of monoculture (the heritage of colonialism and cause of underdevelopment) by creating a national industry. To do so, however, it was necessary to have “Planning […] the cornerstone of the economic process of the Revolution […]”.
Playa Giron
Between March and April, the new president of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, gave the go-ahead to “operation Zapata”, a secret action against Cuba that had already been approved by his predecessor, Dwight Eisenhower.
At dawn on 15th April, airplanes disguised as FAR (Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces) attacked the Cuban airports. The day after Guevara attended the funerals of the victims of the bombing, the prelude to an imminent attack. Fidel Castro spoke to the crowd. “What they cannot forgive us for is having a socialist Revolution right under the nose of the US!”
17 April: mercenary troops landed in Playa Girón. They were made up of Cuban exiles trained by the CIA in Guatemala. During the invasion, Che (the military leader of the Western Region) was active in the Pinar del Rio region, where the High Command was. The invaders were defeated in 72 hours and the attempt was a failure. 1189 counter-revolutionaries were arrested, jailed and tried.
Punta del Este
On 2nd August, in Punta del Este (Uruguay), an economic summit of the Organization of American States (OEA) was held. The conference had been planned by the United States with the aim of creating a regional project called “Alliance for Progress”. Guevara believed it was simply a North American plan to stifle the Cuban revolution.
He spoke on 8th August in Punta del Este. “We […] also carried out a true revolution in education, culture and health care. […] This year illiteracy was eliminated in Cuba. […] we have transformed barracks into schools […].”
16 August: in Punta del Este, Cuba did not sign the final document, saying, “Dear delegates […] Cuba will adhere to the economic integration of Latin America [only] if its socio-economic characteristics are respected.”
During the conference, Ernesto had the opportunity to be reunited with his family for the last time – his parents, aunt Beatrix and siblings Roberto, Celia and Juan Martín came to visit.
Che speaking to students
On 27th November, the anniversary of the execution of eight medicine students in 1871, Che Guevara said, “Companions, today you have only one duty: to study. With this duty you are paying all the debts you may incur in this modern society and with all the heroes that sacrifice themselves to make it possible. […] This is your only duty.”
and then