Communist Party Of Peru (Marxist–Leninist)
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Communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...
as a political philosophy in
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
dates back to the 1920s, a
period Period may refer to: Common uses * Period (punctuation) * Era, a length or span of time *Menstruation, commonly referred to as a "period" Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (o ...
where new ideological currents entered the country. Throughout the movement's history, a number of parties, movements and organisations in the country have referred to themselves by the name of " communist party". The oldest to do so is the Peruvian Communist Party (''Partido Comunista Peruano'', PCP), originally founded in 1928 as the ''Peruvian Socialist Party'' (PSP) by
Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
philosopher and journalist
José Carlos Mariátegui José Carlos Mariátegui La Chira (; June 14, 1894 – April 16, 1930) was a Peruvian writer, sociologist, historian, journalist, politician, and Marxist philosopher. A prolific author despite his early death, El Amauta (from Quechua: ham ...
. The 1960s brought about the emergence of splinter groups up until the 21st century. One of these groups, commonly known as the
Shining Path The Shining Path (, SL), self-named the Communist Party of Peru (, abbr. PCP), is a far-left political party and guerrilla group in Peru, following Marxism–Leninism–Maoism and Gonzalo Thought. Academics often refer to the group as the ...
(PCP-SL), waged an insurgency against the Peruvian State that resulted in a 20-year period of violence that took place from 1980 to 2000, while its splinter groups have continued to operate from 2001 onwards.


History

The first Peruvian political party to adopt
communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...
as an ideology was the Peruvian Communist Party (''Partido Comunista Peruano'', PCP). It was originally founded as the Peruvian Socialist Party (PSP) in 1928 by a group of nine socialist sympathisers (known as the "Group of Lima"), which included
Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
philosopher and journalist
José Carlos Mariátegui José Carlos Mariátegui La Chira (; June 14, 1894 – April 16, 1930) was a Peruvian writer, sociologist, historian, journalist, politician, and Marxist philosopher. A prolific author despite his early death, El Amauta (from Quechua: ham ...
, and formally changed its name in 1930, following Mariátegui's death and his succession by as party leader. Following a period of outright illegality, the group gradually incorporated itself into the legal political scene during the 1960s, which led to the disappointment with its so-called bureaucratic and collaborationist character, believing that
guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...
was the only path to the establishment of a
socialist state A socialist state, socialist republic, or socialist country is a sovereign state constitutionally dedicated to the establishment of socialism. This article is about states that refer to themselves as socialist states, and not specifically ...
. In 1962, a faction split and formed the National Liberation Army (ELN) a year later, which led such a military campaign until its defeat by 1965. Peruvian reception for Marxism was increased by the 1959 victory of the
Cuban revolution The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...
and the
Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...
's declaration following Cuba post-
Bay of Pigs invasion The Bay of Pigs Invasion (, sometimes called or after the Playa Girón) was a failed military landing operation on the southwestern coast of Cuba in April 1961 by the United States of America and the Cuban Democratic Revolutionary Front ...
declaration that he was a Marxist-Leninist and always would be.
Fernando Belaúnde Terry Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, and former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa and Asia (like the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka). It is e ...
's administration was tolerant of the political left, and a variety of Marxist parties expanded during his time in office. In 1963, the ongoing
Sino-Soviet split The Sino-Soviet split was the gradual worsening of relations between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) during the Cold War. This was primarily caused by divergences that arose from their ...
separated the PCP into two rival factions, one pro-Soviet and the other pro-Chinese. The latter subsequently split from the Peruvian Communist Party in January 1964 and adopted the name Peruvian Communist Party – Red Flag (PCP-BR). The party was originally led by
Saturnino Paredes Saturnino is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian form of the name Saturninus. As a first name, it can refer to: *Saturnino Arrúa, Paraguayan footballer *Saturnino Herrán, Mexican painter *Saturnino Rustrián, Guatemalan road bicycle racer *Satu ...
, José Sotomayor, and
Abimael Guzmán Manuel Rubén Abimael Guzmán Reinoso (; 3 December 1934 − 11 September 2021), also known by his ''nom de guerre'' Chairman Gonzalo (), was a Peruvian Maoist guerrilla leader. He founded the organization Communist Party of Peru – Shining ...
. Due to internal disagreements among the party's three leaders, the party expelled several of its members in its early history. Two parties subsequently emerged from a 1969 split in the party: the Communist Party of Peru – Red Fatherland (PCP-PR) and the
Communist Party of Peru – Shining Path Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, distrib ...
(PCP-SL) led by Guzmán. Afterwards, Paredes became the party's sole leader and renamed the party "Peruvian Communist Party (Marxist–Leninist)". In response to the
Sino-Albanian split The Sino-Albanian split was the gradual worsening of relations between the People's Socialist Republic of Albania and the People's Republic of China in the period 1972–1978. Both countries had supported each other in the Albanian–Soviet and ...
, the party dropped its commitment to
Maoism Maoism, officially Mao Zedong Thought, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed while trying to realize a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic o ...
and aligned itself with the
Party of Labour of Albania The Party of Labour of Albania (PLA), also referred to as the Albanian Workers' Party (AWP), was the ruling and sole legal party of Albania during the communist period (1945–1991). It was founded on 8 November 1941 as the Communist Party of ...
and
Hoxhaism Hoxhaism ( , ) is a variant of Marxism–Leninism developed in the late 1970s as a result of a schism in the anti-revisionist movement, namely between the Chinese Communist Party and the Party of Labour of Albania. The ideological dispute be ...
. In 1978, the "PCP-Mayoría" faction split from the PCP to form a more pro-Soviet branch, as it considered that the PCP had adopted
Eurocommunism Eurocommunism was a trend in the 1970s and 1980s within various Western European communist parties, which said they had developed a theory and practice of social transformation more relevant for Western Europe. During the Cold War, they sough ...
instead, operating until the 1980s. The elections of 1980 formally ended the so-called Revolutionary Government of
Francisco Morales Bermúdez Francisco Remigio Morales Bermúdez Cerruti (4 October 1921 – 14 July 2022) was a Peruvian politician and general who was the ''de facto'' President of Peru (2nd President of the Revolutionary Government of the Armed Forces) between 1975 an ...
, who had seized power from
Juan Velasco Alvarado Juan Francisco Velasco Alvarado (June 16, 1910 – December 24, 1977) was a Peruvian Army general, general who served as the President of Peru after a successful 1968 Peruvian coup d'état, coup d'état against Fernando Belaúnde's presidency ...
through a
military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
in 1975. The previously banned socialist and communist parties participated in the elections, leading to the PCP attaining five seats in the constituent assembly, while left-wing groups as a whole achieved an important presence and united to form the United Left alliance, which formed one of the country's main political forces during the 1980s. In contrast to the aforementioned legal route of the political left, Guzmán's PCP-SL began its war against the
Peruvian government The Republic of Peru is a unitary state with a multi-party semi-presidential system. The current government was established by the 1993 Constitution of Peru. The government is composed of three branches, being executive, judicial, and legisla ...
by burning ballots in Chuschi, a town in rural
Ayacucho Ayacucho (, , derived from the words ''aya'' ("death" or "soul") and ''k'uchu'' ("corner") in honour of the battle of Ayacucho), founded in 1540 as San Juan de la Frontera de Huamanga and known simply as Huamanga (Quechua: Wamanga) until 1825, i ...
. Guzmán's faction considered the political left as revisionists, openly and actively opposing them through its period of insurgency. The Shining Path's leadership was captured and arrested by the Special Intelligence Group in 1992, and entered amnesty talks the following year. Rump factions of the group that opposed the peace talks have since continued a low-intensity insurgency that continues to this day, allying themselves with narcoterrorist groups in rural parts of the country, notably the Valle de los Ríos Apurímac, Ene y Mantaro (VRAEM). Following the
dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...
in 1991, the PCP and other communist parties in Peru have since participated at a much smaller level in the country's politics, mainly through broad left-wing political alliances.


List of parties

A number of political parties claim the name and legacy of the original party founded in 1928, some using the original name. These parties include:


Other

A number of electoral fronts and alliances have brought together the aforementioned groups on different occasions: *The name " Socialist Vanguard Party" was used by the PCP in order to facilitate its legal registration in 1945. * United Left (IU): a loose alliance that gained a strong political presence in the 1980s. *
Revolutionary Left Union Revolutionary Left Union (in Spanish: ''Unión de Izquierda Revolucionaria''), was an electoral front in Peru founded in 1980 by Communist Party of Peru (Red Fatherland), Revolutionary Vanguard (Communist Proletarian) and National Liberation Fr ...
(UNIR): formed part of the IU from 1980 to 1993. Consisted of the PCP-PR, the VR-PC, and the FLN.


See also

*
Anarchism in Peru Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or hierarchy, primarily targeting the state and capitalism. Anarchism advocates for the replacement of the state w ...
*
Gonzalo Thought Gonzalo Thought (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Pensamiento Gonzalo''), also known as Marxism–Leninism–Maoism–Gonzalo Thought and Gonzaloism, is an ideological doctrine developed by Peru, Peruvian revolutionary Abimael Guzmán (also known as Ch ...
*
Shining Path The Shining Path (, SL), self-named the Communist Party of Peru (, abbr. PCP), is a far-left political party and guerrilla group in Peru, following Marxism–Leninism–Maoism and Gonzalo Thought. Academics often refer to the group as the ...
*
José Carlos Mariátegui José Carlos Mariátegui La Chira (; June 14, 1894 – April 16, 1930) was a Peruvian writer, sociologist, historian, journalist, politician, and Marxist philosopher. A prolific author despite his early death, El Amauta (from Quechua: ham ...


Notes


References


Sources

* * * * * {{Authority control Left-wing politics in Peru