Armas y urnas. Historia de un genocidio político

by Steven Dudley

In Walking Ghosts, Steven Dudley, a journalist who lived in Columbia for five years, expertly chronicles the life and death of the Patriotic Union (UP), the party established by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Colombia's largest guerrilla group. Through stories of the politicians, drug kingpins, revolutionaries, and mercenaries who play key roles in Colombia's civil strife, Dudley maps out the complicated and murderous absurdity that is present-day Colombia, where daily life has devastating consequences: 30,000 murders per year, 75 political assassinations per week, 10 kidnappings a day. As the conflict gets bloodier, international pressure and influence mounts: Worried about the FARC's strength and its role in the drug trade, the United States has sent close to three billion dollars in aid to help the Colombian government fight the FARC.

Steven Dudley seeks to make sense of this complicated conflict by focusing on the stories of key actors in the struggle, from the earliest days to the present. He has seen the civil war up close: dead bodies; paramilitaries; guerrillas; victims; and survivors. He has witnessed political parties grappling for power by any means necessary, and he's spoken to all sides and asked the difficult questions. Fast-paced and informative, with a new afterword by the author, Walking Ghosts presents a window into a conflict likely to shape the politics of this hemisphere for years to come.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, War, Drugs

353 pages

First published December 29, 2003

About the author

Steven Dudley was born in 1969 in St. Louis, Missouri, and grew up in Oak Park, Illinois, a place another Oak Park-native, Ernest Hemingway, once remarked had "broad lawns and narrow minds." By the time Dudley was growing up, the Republicans had been replaced by Chicago-based mobsters. One of them, Sam "Mooney" Giancana, had a house on the south side, the same place where he was assassinated in 1975. The area's "Big Tuna," Anthony Accardo, had a house in the town next door. Dudley's brothers played football with Accardo's grandchildren; Accardo attended the games wearing a fur coat with bodyguards in tow. Dudley attended Cornell University, far from the Chicago Mafia, where he studied Latin American history. His fascination with evil governments and mobsters eventually led him to Guatemala and later Colombia where he worked in Human Rights. After doing a Master's in Latin American Studies at the University of Texas, Austin, he returned to Colombia where he reported for the Washington Post, the Economist, National Public Radio, the BBC and others, and wrote a book, Walking Ghosts: Murder and Guerrilla Politics in Colombia (Routledge: 2004) on Colombia's war. He later served as the Miami Herald's Bureau Chief in the Andes, and in 2010, he co-founded InSight Crime, a think tank that investigates organized crime in the Americas. He currently lives in Washington DC where he is co-director of InSight Crime and a fellow at American University's Center for Latin American and Latino Studies. He was a Knight Fellow at Stanford University (2007-2008) and a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC (2012-2013). He is also a member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, and in 2019 he won the Lucas Prize for work-in-progress for his forthcoming book, MS-13: The Making of the World's Most Notorious Gang (HarperCollins: 2020).

Reviews

[Eridani Jara R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Posiblemente nunca habría leído un libro como este de no ser porque un profesor de la universidad nos lo pidió, pues la política nunca ha sido un tema del que me guste leer, sin embargo, este es un libro que trata muchos temas, trata sobre la realidad de un determinado momento histórico en la historia colombiana, trata de los infames actos cometidos por numerosos líderes, trata sobre el corazón roto de todo un país y trata sobre la poca libertad existente para expresar una ideología propia.

Me costó mucho darme cuenta de que todas las acciones relatadas en el libro realmente ocurrieron, parecía un libro de ciencia ficción, surrealista incluso, pero no, cada masacre descrita, cada muerte, cada acción de tortura pasó realmente y aquello es muy fuerte de leer, impacta al lector de una forma dolorosa y terrible.
Steven Dudley hizo una investigación increíblemente completa para dar a conocer lo que sucedió con las FARC, con el acuerdo de paz que se había propuesta con el expresidente Betancur, con su partido político y cómo esto, más el narcotráfico, desencadenó tragedias y horrores de magnitudes supremas.

Es un libro que vale totalmente la pena si uno quiere incursionar un poco más en lo que es la historia colombiana, un libro que deja con una sensación impactante y agobiadora, porque es cruento, cada actante mencionado y cada suceso escapa a la imaginación. Es un libro importante, que de alguna forma cambia totalmente la visión y perspectiva que tiene el lector del mundo en general. Sin duda, es una joya muy valiosa.

[Rhuff · Rating 2 out of 5]

The gist of this book comes across as some think-tank, Langley-inspired swipe at the political left. Overall, author Dudley has done right in laying open the running sores of the Colombian civil war to public view, a generally engrossing - and gross - account of chicanery, cynicism, and atrocity.

That said, I could not give it more than three stars because of its flawed insistence - in my opinion - of blaming the left for its own destruction in Colombia. At one point he writes of the "startling number of dead" the UP "put in the morgue." Yet the Union Patriotica did not torture, kill, or "disappear" these people, nor force the death squads to do so, and therein lays the book's flawed blame-the-victim premise.

By his own admission, Colombia has engaged in political violence against dissidents for decades, and its 1980s death squads were willing to kill virtually anyone they disliked. The UP, then, did not have to be cynically betrayed or manipulated by the FARC guerrilla army to earn this lethal attention - it would have come anyway, regardless of any guerrilla politics behind the scenes. The paramilitaries were out to destroy the left, and even the center, in toto and "on principle." The guerrilla politics upon which Dudley lavishes so much scrutiny were a secondary factor at best, and in no way justify the Colombian military's "analysis" or strategy - which Dudley, in a roundabout way, is seeking to do.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an intellectually dense book and not beach reading. Political history is not my usual preferred genre but this is a great work. It is extensively researched and it does bring in a personal element. There’s a lot of detail and information, but Dudley does a great job tying it together and keeping the reader straight. I had to chuckle at how many times El Mejicano was referred to by his full name and how often La Combinacion... was written out and summarized.

[Mateo Vargas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libro que relata y revela varios hechos que parecen ficción, no me cabe en la cabeza que exista gente egoísta en idólatra, recomendado para entender un poco mejor el complicado conflicto interno de Colombia.

[Nico · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recommend this book for FARC & UP history, wonderfully told using several journalistic tools and deep research. Things that jump out: 1) The Colombian govt's complicity in killing the leaders and followers of the UP. 2) The FARC's unwillingness (& strategy) to never put down their arms throughout the UP process, while the UP was growing and gaining momentum. 3) The later rupture in the FARC/Communist party about whether or not to use violence and then later on about the actual philosophy of communism/socialism/marxism. In today's peace-process climate, this book will make you question everything that is happening.

[Alex Bibb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dudley does a great job recounting the history of the Patriotic Union (UP), the former political party of the FARC. Dudley used firsthand accounts from major players in the FARC, ELN, AUC, UP, and the Colombian Government as well as from his own stint as a human rights observer in the center of the battles to describe the creation and destruction of the UP. And thus by retelling this story, he also gives a pretty good account of modern day Colombia and the what created it.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in Colombia.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very readable and compelling look at the Unión Patriótica (UP) and Colombian politics. Dudley provides a thorough examination of the UP and its relation to the FARC, the Colombian government, and the paramilitaries, and narrates over 20 years of bloodshed between these actors. Highly recommended for anyone interested in or studying Colombia or looking for more information given the current peace talks between the FARC and the Colombian government.

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat annoying narrative voice, but provides amazing exclusive interviews with Colombians on all sides of the conflict, and gives an excellent feel for what it was like during the genocide of the UP party. A must-read for people interested in understanding the Colombian conflict.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably the most intriguing book on Colombia that I've read so far. Relates the sad reality of the FARC and how the government will stop at no means to silence political voices of dissent. There are no heroes in this story.........recommended

[David A-S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dudley traces the story of the UP political party in Colombia. In the meantime, he puts a face on the history and politics in the present. It is a lot to hold in one little brain, including a lot of horror. But ya learn something.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good account of Columbia's complex political landscape.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best book I have found on the reasons behind the violence in the 90s in Colombia -FARC vs. Communist Party vs. Paramilitaries.

[Devon Cimini · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was a well written and evocative retelling of Colombia's dark experience with the left's various attempts to integrate- or not- with the government. A tragic story that was compellingly told.

[David Gifford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fills in many gaps as I learn more about the 50 year civil conflict.

[Bobby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-done, easy to read, and a great overview of the UP. A little too sympathetic of the Colombian Left in spots, but certainly more even-handed than 99% of things I read on Colombia.