Colombia: The Genocidal Democracy [Paperback]

Javier Giraldo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1996

essays, intro by Noam Chomsky

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Giraldo, a Colombian Jesuit priest who heads the Comison Intercongrecacional de Justicia y Paz, provides an overview of human rights abuses and the drug trade that is not readily available from other sources. Giraldo opens with numbers: his organization's estimate that, between 1988 and 1995, more than 60,000 Colombians were assassinated, disappeared, were "socially cleansed," died in combat, or ceased to exist--more total casualties than in the worst years of Argentina's or Bolivia's or Chile's long military dictatorships. Giraldo's narrative explains how and why his nation's leadership kills its own people, points out the influence of the U.S., and clarifies how paramilitary groups serve to insulate political and military leaders from apparent responsibility for terror and massacres across the country. Although the drug trade often seems to North Americans to justify tough measures, the drug traffickers are likely to be part of the paramilitary forces brutally suppressing the nation's peasants. Essential information on an important subject. Mary Carroll --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 125 pages
• Publisher: Common Courage Press (June 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1567510868
• ISBN-13: 978-1567510867
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,705,338 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent source of info about Colombia, but be careful, April 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Colombia: The Genocidal Democracy (Paperback)

In 1991 I was a student in Universidad Javeriana in Colombia, and father Giraldo was a teacher there. My personal experience with him lead me to think that he was a little too radical in reference to the armed conflict in Colombia. Years later, when I read this book, I had the opportunity to confirm my initial hintch, because he is basically saying that the National Army of Colombia is the main responsible for the violence in that country. Many human rights organizations in Colombia are part of the leftist party, so their reports of brutality from the army tend to be exagerated, whereas the brutality from the leftist guerrillas are covered up by these organizations. I am sure that Padre Giraldo had good intentions when he wrote this book, and I recommend it to people with certain background on the Colombian situation. Internationally, the guerrillas have used enormous PR campaigns to disguise the enormous drug-trafficking organization they have become, and, to some extent, Padre Giraldo appears to be playing their game. So , please if you decide to read this book, be careful about what you believe in, because the conflict may be extremely more complex and unfair to the Colombian Army than it could appear to be.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars both disturbing and compelling, June 1, 2000

By 

Jesse Alexander - See all my reviews

This review is from: Colombia: The Genocidal Democracy (Hardcover)

Father Giraldo's account of the state terrorism and human rights abuses being perpetrated by the Columbian Army and their paramilitary proxies is one of the more disturbing, illuminating, infuriating and compelling books on the market.

Why the elite of Columbia would go to such lengths to keep the poor under their "iron heel" is most adequately answered by Noam Chomsky in his introduction to "Colombia: The Genocidal Democracy:"

"It is necessary to impose silence and spread fear in countries like Colombia, where the top three percent of the landed elite own over 70% of arable land while 57% of the poorest farmers subsist on under 3% -- a country where 40% of the population live in "absolute poverty," unable to satisfy basic subsistence needs according to an official government report in 1986, and 18% live in "absolute misery," unable to meet nutritional needs. The Colombian Institute of Family Welfare estimates that four and a half million children under 14 are hungry, half the country's children."

Again, "Colombia: The Genocidal Democracy" is both a disturbing and compelling book and a must-read in light of current developments in Columbia.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The concise source, January 4, 2000

By 

Rolando - See all my reviews

This review is from: Colombia: The Genocidal Democracy (Paperback)

Father Giraldo's book is the most concise, informative book explaining the complex relationship between the Colombian army and their paramilitary proxies. If you are interested in human rights in the Americas, and are concerned about U.S. aid to the Colombian military, it is a must read. Also consider the reports of NGOs like Human Rights Watch, whose more in-depth treatments confirm Giraldo's points.