Bolivia angles for the Che franchise

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In Bolivia, where Ernesto ``Che’’ Guevara was executed in 1967, they’ve got big plans to commemorate the 40th anniversary of his death.

El Che has become a worldwide political and cultural icon since he was killed on Oct 9, 1967 in the semi- tropical Bolivian lowlands, where he had led an ill-fated guerrilla uprising.

Memorial events are expected in the country of his birth (Argentina), his death (Bolivia), and, of course, Cuba, site of his lifetime’s greatest success. More books, films, ballads and remembrances (``My Che,’’ etc.) seem inevitable.

Bolivia has been making a strong bid for the Che franchise under President Evo Morales, a fervent Che devotee. A new memorial is planned for Vallegrande, where the rebel’s remains were found a decade ago, and a mass Che ``encounter’’ is scheduled for October in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

``It’s time to rescue the thought of El Che to confront a world so characterized by individualism and a lack of solidarity and inclusion,’’ declared Erick Koffman, head of the Ernesto Che Guevara Foundation, in the Bolivian daily El Deber.

Posted by Patrick J. McDonnell and Andrés D’Alessandro in Buenos Aires