An Historical Critique of the Emergence and Evolution of Ernesto Che Guevara\u27s Foco Theory

This article provides an analysis of Ernesto Che Guevara\u27s theory of guerrilla warfare, the foco. The numerous changes to the originalfoco thesis, as presented in Guerrilla Warfare (1960), are examined in detail covering two dozen articles, speeches, essays, interviews and books authored by Guevara, Castro and Debray while stressing their relation to national and international politics. The author argues that there was an apparent discourse between Cuban politics and the numerous changes in Guevara\u27s writings. Juxtaposing changes to the foco theory from 1960 to 1967, to Cuban historical events, reflects the political expedience of the 196os and the primary interests of the fidelistas, specifically Guevara