Death Squads in Colombia, El Salvador and Mexico compared. A Review of Julie Mazzei's <em>Death Squads or Self-defense Forces? How Paramilitary Groups Emerge and Challenge Democracy in Latin America</em> (Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina P, 2009)

Authors

  • Ralph Rozema Utrecht University

Keywords:

death squads, self-defense

Abstract

In her book Death Squads or Self-defense Forces? How Paramilitary Groups Emerge and Challenge Democracy, Julie Mazzei recounts the story of a Colombian woman who moved to a town in a paramilitary zone and was welcomed by the paramilitary group. A committee of paramilitaries gave her the cellular telephone number of the local commander to use in case of an emergency and told her they would react within fifteen minutes. By offering their services the illegal paramilitaries created an informal network through which people like this woman would report anything suspicious. The story illustrates how in large parts of Colombia paramilitaries replaced the state and dominated public life.

Author Biography

Ralph Rozema, Utrecht University

Ralph Rozema es investigador en el Centro de Estudios de América Latina y el Caribe, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de Utrecht, Holanda. Es también redactor en Radio Nederland, la emisora internacional de Holanda. Ha hecho investigaciones en Perú sobre la reconstrucción después de Sendero Luminoso, y en Colombia, principalmente Medellín, sobre el proceso de desmovilización de los paramilitares.

Published

2010-04-01

How to Cite

Rozema, R. (2010). Death Squads in Colombia, El Salvador and Mexico compared. A Review of Julie Mazzei’s <em>Death Squads or Self-defense Forces? How Paramilitary Groups Emerge and Challenge Democracy in Latin America</em> (Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina P, 2009). A Contracorriente: Una Revista De Estudios Latinoamericanos, 7(3), 506–512. Retrieved from https://acontracorriente.chass.ncsu.edu/index.php/acontracorriente/article/view/558

Issue

Section

Reviews: Militarism and Repression