A Bolivian lawmaker wants to remove the name and image of Ernesto "Che" Guevara from monuments, plazas, parks, schools, and other public facilities in the country, as well as to officially declare him "an enemy of the homeland and the Plurinational State".
The initiative was presented by the deputy Manolo Rojas, from the Christian Democratic Party (PDC), along with the activist Denis Vallejos, as confirmed on October 8 by the Chamber of Deputies of Bolivia.
The proposal is part of two bills aimed at changing the public recognition of Guevara and reclaiming the military and Bolivian combatants who confronted his guerrilla during the Ñancahuazú campaign in 1967.
The aim is to remove tributes to the Argentine-Cuban guerrilla fighter from state-managed spaces, including monuments, educational institutions, and other infrastructures where his name or image appears.
"One of the bills is really a declarative statement, aimed at erasing that stain, that perverse ideology that has been instilled in us over these 20 years," Rojas declared during the presentation of the initiatives.
One of the examples pointed out by the legislator is the monument dedicated to Che Guevara in the city of El Alto, whose presence was questioned because he believes that public institutions should not promote symbols associated with a particular political ideology.
According to the Bolivian newspaper Correo del Sur, Rojas argued that the guerrilla led by Guevara caused the deaths of Bolivians and aimed to establish a political system in the country similar to that of Cuba.
The deputy also questioned that during the governments of the Movement for Socialism (MAS), slogans related to the Cuban Revolution, such as "Homeland or Death", were used in the Bolivian Armed Forces.
For his part, Vallejos defended the need to replace tributes to Che with acknowledgments of figures from national history, particularly leaders associated with popular and mining struggles.
Among the names mentioned are Domitila Barrios de Chungara, Filemón Escobar, and Juan Lechín Oquendo, whom the proponents consider the most suitable references to identify public spaces in Bolivia.
The Fides News Agency (ANF) also reported Rojas' statements, who asserted that the proposal aims to prevent symbols of state institutions from being associated with a specific political orientation.
The second legislative proposal aims to recognize as "heroes of the homeland" the Bolivians who participated in the counterinsurgency campaign of Ñancahuazú, including both the survivors and those who lost their lives during the confrontations.
The initiative includes a lifelong pension for the surviving ex-combatants, as well as the construction of commemorative mausoleums in general cemeteries to preserve their memory.
According to the promoters, there are currently 18 former combatants from that campaign still alive. Vallejos noted that several are over 80 years old and are facing economic difficulties, which is why he advocated for them to receive material recognition comparable to that granted to other Bolivian war veterans.
The discussion is closely related to one of the most well-known episodes in the history of Che Guevara. In 1967, the guerrilla leader directed an armed insurgency in Bolivian territory with the aim of spreading the revolution across Latin America.
The campaign ended with his capture by Bolivian soldiers on October 8 of that year, near La Higuera, and his execution the following day. His death turned the guerrilla fighter into a symbol for revolutionary movements, although his legacy remains a subject of controversy due to his involvement in armed struggle and the repressive apparatus of the Cuban Revolution.
The dispute over tributes to Che has also manifested outside of Bolivia. In May 2026, Cuban residents in Spain requested the removal of a monument dedicated to the guerrilla in Badalona, as they believe his image represents political repression and the executions associated with the Cuban regime.
Previously, in July 2025, the statues of Fidel Castro and Ernesto Che Guevara were removed from a park in Mexico City after local authorities identified irregularities in their installation and received complaints from residents.
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