Ernesto Che Guevara: Cuban citizen by birth
2014.02.07. 21:24
On 7th February 1959 the Council of the Ministers approves the Basic Law of the Republic, based on the Constitution of 1940, although with some modifications according to the development of the revolutionary process. One of the most discussed items of the mentioned Law was the Nr. 12 - in connection with the citizenship - because when it was proposed that Commander Ernesto Guevara de la Serna should be recognised as a Cuban citizen by birth, President Urrutia claimed that that status should be applied to all the foreigners who had belonged to the Rebel Army. The ministers did not agree with him. In the end, Che became the exception and the other foreigners were received Cuban citizenship by naturalization.
The article Nr 12 says that the foreigners, who fought against the tyranny, overthrown on 31st December 1959, serving in the Rebel Army for two years or more, and held the rank of commander at least for a year, could receive Cuban citizenship by birth.
Luís Buch, the Secretary of the Council at the time, recalls:
"In my office I informed him about the reason why he had to come here: the Council of the Ministers had agreed to grant him Cuban citizenship by birth, for the exceptional merits that he showed during the Revolutionary War. Che, without being surprised, thought that he didn't deserve it. According to him, he had only fought in Cuba as he would have done it anywhere else in the world, for the freedom of a people. I guessed that he wouldn't accept this merit because of his modesty and I told him: Such an enormous honour cannot be refused, it would hurt the people of Cuba and the revolutionary government. Then he hugged me, being moved. "
This recognition had happened only one, previous occasion, with the Generalissimo Máximo Gómez Báez, who was born in the Dominican Republic, and who was the Commander in chief of the Liberation Army.
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