this post was submitted on 14 Apr 2024
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I am highly interested in the history of the Colombian struggle: the FARC, the ELN, the current dissident movement and questions around its legitimacy and the peace process. But also other movements across Latin America, such as the Sandanistas and their fight against the Contras. Peru - namely the ML groups who the Gonzaloids fought against (i.e. Tupac Amaru Shakur Movement). Also good Marxist/ML critiques of the Shining Path given that pretty much everything I've read about them comes from bourgeois sources or from terminally online Maoists who seem to merely "support" the Shining Path to seem edgy or whatever, whereas there is almost universal agreement amongst tendencies that the Shining Path were reactionary, bloodthirsty lunatics.

But yeah, any good books on Latin American struggles are of interest but at the moment, I am looking to learn about Colombia and the revolutionary struggle there and the brutal role of imperialism in arming the far right "paramilitaries"/death squads (which reminds me of the arming of "loyalists" in the Irish Republican struggle covertly but the latter being on a microcosmic scale), also whether there is any legitimacy to the dissident movement in Colombia. As for the role of imperialism - the School of the Americas trained death squads etc. - books or articles on this generally would be of interest.

EDIT: Can a mod move this to history perhaps? Seems more suited there. I'm still looking through communities and getting a feel for the site.

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[–] LVL@lemmygrad.ml 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Can't help with Colombia specifically but on the wider topic of Latin America I highly recommend "Open Veins of Latin America".

[–] PoY@lemmygrad.ml 4 points 5 months ago

this was the first thing that came to mind

excellent book

[–] redtea@lemmygrad.ml 3 points 5 months ago

Not sure that I have anything explicitly on Colombia.

You might enjoy Debray's Revolution in the Revolution, about Latam revolutionaries.

If you wanted some fiction, you might like Isabel Allende. Long Petal of the Sea is about Chile, I believe.

[–] rainpizza@lemmygrad.ml 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

ProleWiki posted the following about the Shining Path: https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/Library:The_CIA%27s_Shining_Path:_Political_Warfare

About the brutal role of imperialism in Latin America, you can find valuable information in the following books:

Dark Alliance: Movie Tie-In Edition: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion - Gary Webb

Killing Hope: Us Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II - William Blum

Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent - Eduardo Galeano

The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man - John Perkins

As for a book that talks specifically about Colombia, I have none that I can recall. However, I will check with some Colombian comrades to see if I can find any books that could help you with your investigation.

[–] rainpizza@lemmygrad.ml 3 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Ok, found some info!

El ruido de las cosas al caer – Juan Gabriel Vásquez

Los Ejércitos – Evelio Rosero

Río Muerto – Ricardo Silva Romero

Cóndores no entierran todos los días - Gustavo Álvarez

Some writing from Gabriel García Márquez are good

Also, as my comrade told me, this is about Marxism in Colombia -> https://repositorio.unal.edu.co/handle/unal/53470 It has a great historical analysis.