Portrait of Che Guevara

Che Guevara

Revolutionary icon

Modern influential 140 sayings

Sayings by Che Guevara

The most important thing is to instill in our youth the spirit of sacrifice and patriotism.

1964 — Speech to young communists
General Unverifiable

The revolution is a struggle for the future.

Undated — Speech
General Unverifiable

I am a revolutionary, and I will be a revolutionary until the last day of my life.

Undated, likely 1960s — Interview
General Unverifiable

The revolution is a school of solidarity.

Undated — Speech
General Unverifiable

The negro has maintained his racial purity by his well known habit of avoiding baths.

Early 1950s — From his diary, 'The Motorcycle Diaries'
General Unverifiable

Mexicans are a band of illiterate Indians.

Early 1950s — From his diary
General Unverifiable

If the rockets had remained, we would have used them all and directed them against the very heart of the United States, including New York.

1962 — Statement about the Cuban Missile Crisis
General Unverifiable

Hatred as an element of struggle; unbending hatred for the enemy, which pushes a human being beyond his natural limitations, making him into an effective, violent, selective, and cold-blooded killing machine.

1965 — From 'Socialism and Man in Cuba'
War & Violence Unverifiable

A revolutionary must become a cold killing machine motivated by pure hate.

1960s — From his writings on guerrilla warfare
War & Violence Unverifiable

The U.S. is the great enemy of mankind! Against those hyenas there is no option but extermination!

1960 — Speech in Havana
General Unverifiable

The only way to defeat imperialism is by armed struggle.

1965 — From a speech in Algeria
General Unverifiable

We execute nobody without a trial. We are not murderers.

1959 — Defending executions during the Cuban Revolution
General Unverifiable

To send men to the firing squad, judicial proof is unnecessary.

1959 — From a speech justifying executions
General Unverifiable

Let the world change you and you can change the world.

Undated — Attributed to him, often cited in inspirational contexts
General Unverifiable

Every day, I am more convinced that the only way to save humanity is to eliminate capitalism.

Undated — Letter or diary entry
Self-Deprecating Unverifiable

Hardship, suffering, and exile are the lot of revolutionaries.

Undated — Letter
General Unverifiable

The greatest joy is to fight for a cause that is greater than yourself.

Undated — Speech
Food & Drink Unverifiable

I am a doctor, not an economist.

Undated — When asked about economic policy, often said with a wry smile
Self-Deprecating Unverifiable

There are no frontiers in this struggle to the death.

1967 — Speech, 'Message to the Tricontinental'
Food & Drink Unverifiable

The only way to be really free is to be free from fear.

Undated — Speech
General Unverifiable
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