Art of Political Murder

The Art of Political Murder: Who Killed the Bishop? by Francisco Goldman, 357 pages

In April of 1998, the Recovery of Historical Memory Project, a group within the Archdiocese of Guatemala City's Office of Human Rights, published a massive work entitled Guatemala: Never Again, documenting decades of human rights abuses during the country's civil war.  Two days later, Bishop Juan Gerardi, the chief architect of the report, was found bludgeoned to death in his garage.  The police centered their investigation on a priest who shared the rectory with the bishop, speculating that the bishop had caught the priest in the midst of some sexual misdeeds.  Others theorized that Gerardi had run afoul of local gangs or uncovered evidence of embezzlement by prominent ecclesiastics.  The victim's own human rights investigators, meanwhile, conducted their own independent investigation, following leads that implicated powerful figures in the Guatemalan military.

Part history of Latin American oppression and corruption, and part true crime thriller, The Art of Political Murder is both informative and interesting.  Goldman spent much of his childhood in Guatemala, and his easy familiarity with the country, its language and customs grants the book an added layer of authenticity.  His judgement is, perhaps, a bit less sure - a serious problem when reporting on a case with minimal physical evidence, unreliable witnesses, and surrounded by rumor and gossip.  While Goldman seems certain of his conclusions, readers may find themselves more doubtful.