| From Unity 17 November 2007 |
In a revolution you win or you dieInterview with Ulises EstradaInterview by Günther Pohl; translation and introduction by Marion BaurUlises Estrada Lescaille (born 1934 in Santiago de Cuba) has Cuban and Haïtian roots. Like many people from the eastern provinces of Cuba, he was involved in the struggle against the dictatorship. After the victory of the revolution he became deputy leader of the secret service, which was then headed by Comandante Manuel Piñero, who was involved in the preparation of “Operation Fantasma” in Bolivia.Ulises Estrada went on to support several national liberation movements in Africa during later years. He was Cuba’s ambassador in Jamaica, Yemen, Algeria, and Mauritania. During the time of the Allende government he worked for the Cuban embassy in Chile and became its military leader during the fascist Pinochet coup in 1973. He worked for Granma Internacional and was editor of the newspaper Tricontinental. Since his retirement from journalism he has been writing books. His latest one, Tanja: Undercover with Che in Bolivia, was first published in Australia (2005) and recently in Germany. This amazing piece of literature sparked off my writing co-operation with Günther Pohl. The articles for the German Unsere Zeit and Unity here in Ireland (see Unity, 6 October 2007; the article is also on the CPI web site) have since been reprinted by a number of publications. Günther asked the following questions; I translated the interview into English. [MB] Ulises, there are several books about Tamara Bunke or “Tanja la guerrillera.” Why did you write another one? I wrote the book Tanja la Guerrillera y la Epopeya Suramericana del Che as a tribute in defence of her political thinking. This thinking led her to give her life during the struggle for a just America, free of merciless exploitation. But it is also a book in honour of Nadja’s [Tamara’s mother] struggle to defend a truthful memory of her daughter. It is being said over and again that Tamara and Che had a relationship; some even say there are children. Is there any truth in that? Lies of this kind have been published in several books about Che. My book was written to tear these lies to pieces. They are being told about the heroic life of Tamara by the mercenaries of imperialism, the enemies of the revolution, the lovers of the dollar at all costs. Those people are not able to understand what the life and the example of Comandante Che Guevara meant for Tamara Bunke. His example shaped her into Tanja first, then into the guerrillera. The same example inspires those who raise the flag with his picture today and at every corner of this planet where people scream against injustice. I have written the book aiming to honour the men and women who still fight in Latin America today and who defend the legitimate interests of their peoples, no matter what the revolutionary way they have chosen looks like. You toured Germany with the book recently. Was that important for you? Tamara was Argentine but also German; her father was a German communist. That’s the reason why I introduced the book in sixteen German cities, right across the country. The Germans need to get to know the story of the wonderful struggle of one of their fellow-citizens during the twentieth century. The presence of people from all parts of German society at the events and talks made the effort well worth while. What message has Tanja la Guerrillera for us today, forty years after she was murdered? Is there an up-to-date relevance at a time when the armed struggle has been given up in most places? The example Tanja set when fighting side by side with Che Guevara and his Bolivian, Cuban and Peruvian comrades in the ELN—the army of national liberation—has left an inextinguishable trace within the political-revolutionary life of Latin America. Those comrades have proved that whoever wants to end capitalist exploitation, the cause of alienating human beings and stripping them of their most basic rights, must be totally devoted to the cause. This struggle means unfavourable conditions, sacrifices, and the firm decision to go the path Che outlined to the very end. En una revolución se triumfa o se muere—in a revolution you win or you die. The armed struggle suffered many rebounds, not just that of the ELN in Bolivia and in Peru but also in Argentina and other places. Let’s not forget that the rebound during the attack on the Moncada Barracks sowed the seeds that led to the victory of the Cuban revolution during the following months. And let’s not forget that revolutionary men and women in Colombia are still singing the songs of freedom with guns in their hands today, fighting a corrupt government that—side by side with the drug bosses—betrays the interests of the people and is a willing servant of US imperialism. It was the guerrilla struggle in Venezuela that developed the very patriotism of the sections of the troops around Hugo Chávez that made them take up arms and rise. This attempt was defeated, but just a few years later they used different means to achieve the same ideological and political goals. That established the Bolivarian Revolution in that country. President Evo Morales is now reaping the fruits of the titanic struggle by Che, Tanja and the heroic fighters who gave their lives in Bolivia forty years ago. For the first time in history, an indigenous person is in power. His steps are firm; he has chosen revolution as his path. Let me tell you, in various ways and everywhere in Latin America, the flame of revolutionary liberation is burning! The political heritage of Che, Tanja, Turcios Limo, Fabricio Ojeda, Massetti and the many other Latin American martyrs is alive. It is so alive that their revolutionary ideas will lead the peoples of Latin America to victory, in a time not far away at all. |
| Home page > Publications > Unity > In a revolution you win or you die |
| Baile > Foilseacháin > Unity > In a revolution you win or you die |