Communist Party of Peru: Difference between revisions

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(Created page with "The '''Shining Path''', officially the '''Communist Party of Peru''', is a communist political party in Peru whose ideological basis is in Marxism–Leninism–Maoism and Gonzalo Thought; the latter referring to the writings of its founder Abimael Guzmán which built upon the foundations of the former. Despite its basis however, the organization failed to enact many of its supposed principles, such as mass line, and almost completely depended on the personality o...")
 
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The '''Shining Path''', officially the '''Communist Party of Peru''', is a communist political party in Peru whose ideological basis is in [[Marxism–Leninism–Maoism]] and Gonzalo Thought; the latter referring to the writings of its founder Abimael Guzmán which built upon the foundations of the former. Despite its basis however, the organization failed to enact many of its supposed principles, such as [[mass line]], and almost completely depended on the personality of "Presidente Gonzalo" without which the Shining Path ended up breaking down.
{{about|the communist party typically known as Shining Path}}
{{distinguish|Peruvian Communist Party}}
{{cleanup rewrite}}{{POV}}{{infobox political party
| name            = Communist Party of Peru
| native_name      = Partido Comunista del Perú
| logo            = Emblem_of_the_PCP-Shining_Path.svg.png
| chairperson      = [[Abimael Guzmán]] (untill 1993)
| foundation      = 1969
| ideology        = [[Marxism–Leninism–Maoism]]<br>[[Gonzalo Thought]]<br>[[Anti-revisionism]]<br>[[Left-wing populism]]
| international    = [[Revolutionary Internationalist Movement]] (formerly)<br>[[International Communist League (Maoist)|International Communist League]]
| website          = [https://web.archive.org/web/20061003131815/http://www.blythe.org/peru-pcp/ http://www.blythe.org/peru-pcp/] (archived)
| split            = [[Peruvian Communist Party – Red Flag|PCP – RF]]
}}
The '''Communist Party of Peru''' (''Partido Comunista del Perú''), better known as <!--"the"?-->'''Shining Path''' (Spanish: ''Sendero Luminoso''), is a [[Peru]]vian [[communist party]] ideologically based in [[Marxism–Leninism–Maoism]] and its elaboration by Chairman Abimael Guzmán (better known as [[Chairman Gonzalo]]), known collectively as [[Gonzalo Thought]]. Despite its basis however,{{clarify}} the organization failed to enact many of its supposed principles, such as [[mass line]], and almost completely depended on the personality of Gonzalo himself, whose eventual absence led to the ultimate breakdown of the party.


Founded in a 1970 split of the country's oldest Communist Party of Peru, the following decade was spent recruiting armed supporters among the indigenous peoples in the countryside and the poorer urban districts.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/topic/Shining-Path Shining Path]. Britannica.</ref> Believing that the existing socialist states were revisionist and that the Shining Path was the vanguard of the world communist movement, in 1980 the party launched a [[people's war]] whose aim was to overthrow the government through guerilla warfare that would spark world revolution. Initially the Shining Path had plenty of support among the indigenous populations, however that steadily eroded as a result of the Shining Path doing things like cutting off people's fingers for voting in Peruvian elections, looting the villages they were supposed to protect, among other acts of brutality which include several massacres.<ref>{{Cite web|date=27 March 2017|title=Shining Path|url=https://www.insightcrime.org/peru-organized-crime-news/shining-path-profile/|access-date=4 December 2020|website=InSight Crime|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>Comisión de la Verdad y Reconciliación. [http://www.cverdad.org.pe/ifinal/pdf/TOMO%20VII/Casos%20Ilustrativos-UIE/2.18.%20MARCAS.pdf Book VII "Ataque del PCP-SL a la Localidad de Marcas (1985)"].</ref><ref>Comisión de la Verdad y Reconciliación. [http://www.cverdad.org.pe/ingles/informacion/nprensa/notas.php?idnota=117 "Press Release 170."].</ref> The Shining Path has carried out murders of other leftists, and regarding the USSR, the Shining Path stated that it was an enemy of its cause,<ref>{{Cite news |title=Terrorista muerto en un ataque a la Embajada soviética en Lima |url=https://elpais.com/diario/1986/07/09/internacional/521244019_850215.html |date=1986-07-08 |work=El País}}</ref> attacking its embassy in Peru multiple times.<ref>{{Cite news |title=One Peru Gunman Slain In Soviet Embassy Raid |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/07/09/world/around-the-world-one-peru-gunman-slain-in-soviet-embassy-raid.html |date=1986-07-09 |work=New York Times}}</ref>
Founded in a 1970 split of the country's original communist party, the Shining Path spent the following decade recruiting armed supporters among the indigenous peoples in the Peruvian countryside and the poorer urban districts.<ref>{{cite web | title=Shining Path | website=Encyclopedia Britannica | date=1998-07-20 | url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Shining-Path | ref={{sfnref | Encyclopedia Britannica | 1998}} | access-date=2023-06-08|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Believing that the existing socialist states were [[revisionism|revisionist]] and that the Shining Path was the [[vanguard]] of the world communist movement, in 1980 the party launched a [[people's war]] whose aim was to overthrow the government through guerilla warfare that would spark world revolution. Initially the Shining Path had significant support among the indigenous populations, but this eroded as a result of the Shining Path's actions, such as cutting off people's fingers for voting in Peruvian elections, looting the villages they were supposed to protect, and carrying out several massacres.<ref>{{Cite web|date=27 March 2017|title=Shining Path|url=https://www.insightcrime.org/peru-organized-crime-news/shining-path-profile/|access-date=4 December 2020|website=InSight Crime|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>Comisión de la Verdad y Reconciliación. [http://www.cverdad.org.pe/ifinal/pdf/TOMO%20VII/Casos%20Ilustrativos-UIE/2.18.%20MARCAS.pdf Book VII "Ataque del PCP-SL a la Localidad de Marcas (1985)"].</ref><ref>Comisión de la Verdad y Reconciliación. [http://www.cverdad.org.pe/ingles/informacion/nprensa/notas.php?idnota=117 "Press Release 170."].</ref> The Shining Path has murdered other leftists and considers the [[Soviet Union]] an enemy of its cause,<ref>{{Cite news |title=Terrorista muerto en un ataque a la Embajada soviética en Lima |url=https://elpais.com/diario/1986/07/09/internacional/521244019_850215.html |date=1986-07-08 |work=El País}}</ref> attacking the Soviet embassy in Peru multiple times.<ref>{{Cite news |title=One Peru Gunman Slain In Soviet Embassy Raid |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/07/09/world/around-the-world-one-peru-gunman-slain-in-soviet-embassy-raid.html |date=1986-07-09 |work=New York Times}}</ref>


Abimael Guzmán had an intense cult of personality around himself which he openly encouraged,<ref>[https://gplpcp.wordpress.com/line-of-construction-of-the-three-instruments-of-the-revolution/ Line of Construction of the Three Instruments of the Revolution] (Especially in the section '''Leadership'''). General Political Line of the Communist Party of Peru.</ref> denouncing almost every other left-wing group in the country including the Peruvian junta that took power in 1968, which abolished serfdom and replaced it with agricultural cooperatives<ref name="ECaPV">{{Cite book|last1=Gutiérrez Sanín|first1=Francisco|title=Economic Liberalization and Political Violence: Utopia Or Dystopia?|last2=Schönwälder|first2=Gerd|publisher=International Development Research Centre|year=2010|isbn=978-0745330631|pages=256–284}}</ref> as well as nationalizing key sectors.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Commanding Heights: Peru|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/commandingheights/lo/countries/pe/pe_full.html|website=PBS NewsHour}}</ref><ref name="ECaPV"/> After Guzmán was captured in 1992 the Shining Path deteriorated rapidly and splintered, losing any potential it had to overthrow the state. Indeed in the year prior to the arrest, most analysts of the group believed that a victory for it was possible, some forecasting within five years.<ref>''The Shining Path of Peru'', Cynthia McClintock. pp. 243.</ref> Presently there is only one faction still active, the Militarized Communist Party of Peru, which in 2018 distanced itself from the legacy of the Shining Path in order to maintain the support of peasants previously persecuted by that group.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Robbins|first=Seth|date=4 September 2020|title=Peru in Familiar Stalemate With Shining Path Rebels|url=https://www.insightcrime.org/news/brief/peru-stalemate-shining-path/|website=InSight Crime|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Stone|first=Hannah|date=27 March 2017|title=US Indicts Shining Path Rebels as Drug War Focus Shifts to Peru|url=https://www.insightcrime.org/news/analysis/us-indicts-shining-path-drug-war-focus-peru/|website=InSight Crime|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Gorder|first=Gabrielle|date=23 September 2019|title=Peru's Shining Path Plots Unlikely Return to Power|url=https://www.insightcrime.org/news/analysis/shining-path-return-power-peru/|website=InSight Crime|language=en-US}}</ref>
Abimael Guzmán openly encouraged the intense cult of personality around him<ref>[https://gplpcp.wordpress.com/line-of-construction-of-the-three-instruments-of-the-revolution/ Line of Construction of the Three Instruments of the Revolution] (Especially in the section '''Leadership'''). General Political Line of the Communist Party of Peru.</ref> and denounced almost every other left-wing group in the country. Guzmán also attacked the Peruvian junta that took power in 1968, which abolished serfdom in Peru<ref name="ECaPV">{{Cite book|last1=Gutiérrez Sanín|first1=Francisco|title=Economic Liberalization and Political Violence: Utopia Or Dystopia?|last2=Schönwälder|first2=Gerd|publisher=International Development Research Centre|year=2010|isbn=978-0745330631|pages=256–284}}</ref> <!--Seems generous to even leave this aside at all; more detail on the junta can go in a headed section--> and nationalized key sectors.<ref name="ECaPV"/><ref>{{Cite web|title=Commanding Heights: Peru|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/commandingheights/lo/countries/pe/pe_full.html|website=PBS NewsHour}}</ref>
 
After Guzmán was captured by the government of [[anti-communist]] president Alberto Fujimori in 1992, the Shining Path deteriorated rapidly and splintered, losing any potential it had to overthrow the state. Indeed, in the year prior to his arrest, most analysts of the group believed that a victory was possible, some predicting one in less than five years.{{copy edit inline}}<ref>''The Shining Path of Peru'', Cynthia McClintock. pp. 243.</ref> Presently there is only one faction still active, the Militarized Communist Party of Peru, which in 2018 distanced itself from the legacy of the Shining Path in order to maintain the support of peasants previously persecuted by that group.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Robbins|first=Seth|date=4 September 2020|title=Peru in Familiar Stalemate With Shining Path Rebels|url=https://www.insightcrime.org/news/brief/peru-stalemate-shining-path/|website=InSight Crime|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Stone|first=Hannah|date=27 March 2017|title=US Indicts Shining Path Rebels as Drug War Focus Shifts to Peru|url=https://www.insightcrime.org/news/analysis/us-indicts-shining-path-drug-war-focus-peru/|website=InSight Crime|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Gorder|first=Gabrielle|date=23 September 2019|title=Peru's Shining Path Plots Unlikely Return to Power|url=https://www.insightcrime.org/news/analysis/shining-path-return-power-peru/|website=InSight Crime|language=en-US}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
[[Category: Communist parties]]
{{Reflist}}
[[Category: Maoism]]
 
[[Category: Peru]]
[[Category:Communist parties]]
[[Category:Maoism]]
[[Category:Peru]]{{Party-stub}}

Latest revision as of 02:37, 26 April 2024

Communist Party of Peru
Partido Comunista del Perú
Chairperson Abimael Guzmán (untill 1993)
Founded 1969
Split from PCP – RF
Ideology Marxism–Leninism–Maoism
Gonzalo Thought
Anti-revisionism
Left-wing populism
International affiliation Revolutionary Internationalist Movement (formerly)
International Communist League
Website
http://www.blythe.org/peru-pcp/ (archived)

The Communist Party of Peru (Partido Comunista del Perú), better known as Shining Path (Spanish: Sendero Luminoso), is a Peruvian communist party ideologically based in Marxism–Leninism–Maoism and its elaboration by Chairman Abimael Guzmán (better known as Chairman Gonzalo), known collectively as Gonzalo Thought. Despite its basis however,[clarification needed] the organization failed to enact many of its supposed principles, such as mass line, and almost completely depended on the personality of Gonzalo himself, whose eventual absence led to the ultimate breakdown of the party.

Founded in a 1970 split of the country's original communist party, the Shining Path spent the following decade recruiting armed supporters among the indigenous peoples in the Peruvian countryside and the poorer urban districts.[1] Believing that the existing socialist states were revisionist and that the Shining Path was the vanguard of the world communist movement, in 1980 the party launched a people's war whose aim was to overthrow the government through guerilla warfare that would spark world revolution. Initially the Shining Path had significant support among the indigenous populations, but this eroded as a result of the Shining Path's actions, such as cutting off people's fingers for voting in Peruvian elections, looting the villages they were supposed to protect, and carrying out several massacres.[2][3][4] The Shining Path has murdered other leftists and considers the Soviet Union an enemy of its cause,[5] attacking the Soviet embassy in Peru multiple times.[6]

Abimael Guzmán openly encouraged the intense cult of personality around him[7] and denounced almost every other left-wing group in the country. Guzmán also attacked the Peruvian junta that took power in 1968, which abolished serfdom in Peru[8] and nationalized key sectors.[8][9]

After Guzmán was captured by the government of anti-communist president Alberto Fujimori in 1992, the Shining Path deteriorated rapidly and splintered, losing any potential it had to overthrow the state. Indeed, in the year prior to his arrest, most analysts of the group believed that a victory was possible, some predicting one in less than five years.[needs copy edit][10] Presently there is only one faction still active, the Militarized Communist Party of Peru, which in 2018 distanced itself from the legacy of the Shining Path in order to maintain the support of peasants previously persecuted by that group.[11][12][13]

References

  1. "Shining Path". Encyclopedia Britannica. 20 July 1998. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  2. "Shining Path". InSight Crime. 27 March 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  3. Comisión de la Verdad y Reconciliación. Book VII "Ataque del PCP-SL a la Localidad de Marcas (1985)".
  4. Comisión de la Verdad y Reconciliación. "Press Release 170.".
  5. "Terrorista muerto en un ataque a la Embajada soviética en Lima". El País. 1986-07-08.
  6. "One Peru Gunman Slain In Soviet Embassy Raid". New York Times. 1986-07-09.
  7. Line of Construction of the Three Instruments of the Revolution (Especially in the section Leadership). General Political Line of the Communist Party of Peru.
  8. 8.0 8.1 Gutiérrez Sanín, Francisco; Schönwälder, Gerd (2010). Economic Liberalization and Political Violence: Utopia Or Dystopia?. International Development Research Centre. pp. 256–284. ISBN 978-0745330631.
  9. "Commanding Heights: Peru". PBS NewsHour.
  10. The Shining Path of Peru, Cynthia McClintock. pp. 243.
  11. Robbins, Seth (4 September 2020). "Peru in Familiar Stalemate With Shining Path Rebels". InSight Crime.
  12. Stone, Hannah (27 March 2017). "US Indicts Shining Path Rebels as Drug War Focus Shifts to Peru". InSight Crime.
  13. Gorder, Gabrielle (23 September 2019). "Peru's Shining Path Plots Unlikely Return to Power". InSight Crime.