Ezequiel Ataucusi Gamonal (10 April 1918 – 21 June 2000), also known as Brother Ezequiel,
was a
Peru
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, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
vian politician and
prophet
In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...
of the religious movement he founded, the
Evangelical Association of the Israelite Mission of the New Universal Covenant (AEMINPU) and their
theocratic
Theocracy is a form of government in which one or more deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries who manage the government's daily affairs.
Etymology
The word theocracy originates fr ...
party known as
Agricultural People's Front of Peru (FREPAP).
Early life
Ataucusi was born in 1918 in Huarhua, a village of
Cotahuasi
Cotahuasi is a town in Southern Peru
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, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, nat ...
near
Arequipa into a poor family.
He held many jobs as a shoemaker, railroad worker, soldier and carpenter.
Spiritual leader
In the 1950s while in his forties, Ataucusi experienced many issues with his life and converted from
Roman Catholicism to the
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
While experiencing a serious illness, he reported that he visited a "third heaven" and addressed himself as a prophet, writing the
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...
on a
blackboard saying he was tasked with delivering the commandments for a second time.
After the incident, he was removed from the Seventh-day Adventist Church,
subsequently beginning to evangelize rural Peruvians in 1956.
The
Evangelical Association of the Israelite Mission of the New Universal Covenant ( - AEMINPU) was created by Ataucusi in 1968
and the religion was officially recognized in Peru in 1969.
The religion is a mix of Seventh-day Adventism,
Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...
,
Inca
The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...
mysticism and
Maoism
Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...
.
The founding of the church happened when many rural Peruvians faced a decline in socioeconomic standards into the 1970s.
As the
internal conflict in Peru
The internal conflict in Peru is an ongoing armed conflict between the Government of Peru and the Maoist guerilla group Shining Path. The conflict began on 17 May 1980, and from 1982 to 1997 the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement waged its ow ...
intensified, followers flocked to AEMINPU.
Ataucusi preached that he was chosen by God to create a new Israel in the
Amazon Rainforest as a punishment of the
Israeli people
Israelis ( he, יִשְׂרָאֵלִים, translit=Yīśrāʾēlīm; ar, الإسرائيليين, translit=al-ʾIsrāʾīliyyin) are the citizens and nationals of the State of Israel. The country's populace is composed primarily of Je ...
for their losing faith.
Followers of the movement regarded Ataucusi as a prophet and "the reincarnation of the
Holy Spirit".
He gradually reduced the importance of
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...
in his movement.
''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' described him as "a self-styled spiritual leader who called himself the 'Christ of the west'".
Ataucusi would often state that the apocalypse was approaching and would preach that he delayed such events.
His followers were required to wear robes modeled from the
Old Testament, though Ataucusi never wore them saying that he would only do so when the apocalypse occurred.
Throughout this time, he had several wives and was known to be very sexually active, according to ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was f ...
''.
His party, the Agricultural People's Front of Peru (FREPAP), was officially founded by Ataucusi on 30 September 1989.
By the 1990s, his number of followers ranged from 60,000 to 200,000.
In 1995, investigations were opened against Ataucusi surrounding allegations of killing disagreeing followers and supposed links to
Shining Path
The Shining Path ( es, Sendero Luminoso), officially the Communist Party of Peru (, abbr. PCP), is a communist guerrilla group in Peru following Marxism–Leninism–Maoism and Gonzalo Thought. Academics often refer to the group as the Commun ...
, though none of the accusations were ever confirmed.
He was the party's candidate for president of Peru three times, for the
1990 election,
1995 election and
2000 election, though he was never elected for any political office.
Death and legacy
He died in
Miraflores,
Lima
Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...
of kidney failure and his followers held a three-day funeral, waiting for his resurrection beside his body decorated with gold jewelry.
As his followers waited for his resurrection and his body began to decompose, Ataucusi's body was placed in a glass coffin.
After not resurrecting, many followers became disillusioned with him.
Ataucusi's son Jonas was chosen as his successor
and his party eventually grew within the
Peruvian Congress
The Congress of the Republic of Peru ( es, Congreso de la República) is the unicameral body that assumes legislative power in Peru.
Congress' composition is established by Chapter I of Title IV of the Constitution of Peru. Congress is compose ...
following the
2020 Peruvian parliamentary election.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ataucusi Gamonal, Ezequiel
1918 births
2000 deaths
Peruvian politicians
People from Arequipa Region
Founders of new religious movements
Former Roman Catholics
Converts to Adventism
People disfellowshipped by the Seventh-day Adventist Church
Agricultural People's Front of Peru politicians