ABOUT THIS BOOK

This is the first major, book-length memoir of a political prisoner from Mexico's "dirty war" of the 1970s. Written with the urgency of a first-person narrative, it is a unique work, providing an inside story of guerrilla activities and a gripping tale of imprisonment and torture at the hands of the Mexican government. Alberto Ulloa Bornemann was a young idealist when he dedicated himself to clandestine resistance and to assisting Lucio Cabañas, the guerrilla leader of the "Party of the Poor." Here the author exposes readers to the day-to-day activities of revolutionary activists seeking to avoid discovery by government forces. After his capture, Ulloa Bornemann endured disappearance into a secret military jail and later abusive conditions in three civilian prisons. Although testimonios of former political prisoners from other Latin American nations have recently come into print, there are very few books about Mexico's political wars—and none as vivid and disturbing as this.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Alberto Ulloa Bornemann lives with his wife in Mexico City where he works as a private media analyst. For over twenty-five years, he was responsible for news analysis and public communications in various branches of the federal government in Mexico. He is currently writing a novel about three young people from Mexico City whose lives intertwine over the events of the years between 1950 and 2000.Arthur Schmidt is a Professor of History at Temple University.Aurora Camacho de Schmidt is an Associate Professor of Latin American literature and Spanish at Swarthmore College where she has also directed Latin American Studies.

REVIEWS

"Not merely a recounting of an interesting, tragic and hidden episode in Mexico's political development, Surviving Mexico's Dirty War is a thoughtful book."—Roderic Ai Camp, Claremont McKenna College

"The book's particular strengths lie in the author's ability to recreate, often in great detail, the environment and lived experiences of a young, idealistic member of the left-wing guerrilla movement that exploded on the Mexican political scene in the early-to-mid 1970s. Ulloa Bornemann provides a unique 'insider' account of this movement...."—Eric Zolov, Franklin & Marshall College

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. A Sad and Cruel Underground
My Capture                            1
The Campo Militar Número Uno                8
Interrogation                        15
The Real Story                    23
Disappeared                        27
With the Clandestine Resistance            37
An Eternal Three Days in the Cells            49
Training as a Militant                    53
Life with Lucio                    59
A Fleeting Hope                    64
Lucio's Misadventures                69

II. The Long March
Further Episodes with Lucio                75
Supporting the Organization                88
Into the Sierra and Back                102
Further Efforts for the Organization            114
Discovering Guerrilla Warfare            122
In Cuba                        128
Expulsion and Humiliation                141

III. In the Kingdom of Necessity
Torture and Self Preservation                151
Into the Criminal Justice System            157
The Black Palace                    169
Life in Lecumberri                    178
Saved by the Bell                    191

IV. The Roads of Freedom
Sergio García Ramírez                203
A Renewal of Life                    210
Downhill Slide                    220
Tere's Kidnapping                    228
Santa Martha                        235
Conditional Freedom                    248
A New Life                        256
Brief Biographical Note: Albert Ulloa Bornemann
Glossary of Names and Terms

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