Poverty stricken South America is a hotbed for revolutionaries. There have been numerous left wing groups active in the region. However, Peru’s Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) is a unique outfit for its characteristic ruthlessness and hard-line doctrine.
Beginning of the Terror Campaign
There was a certain professor of philosophy by the name of Abimael Guzman at the University of Huamanga at Ayacucho, South West of Cuzco in Peru. He had studied in China during the Cultural Revolution and was a great admirer of Chairman Mao. In 1980, a few months before launching a war against the Peruvian government, he went underground.
Born in 1934, Guzman was described as a ‘diabolic genius’ by the former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori, an assessment some scholars reject. However, there is no dissent among the Senderologists (scholars studying Sendero Luminoso) regarding his skills of argument. His philosophy students at the university dubbed him “shampoo” for his skills of washing one’s head. After he washed it, everything was bound to become crystal clear.
In the 1970s, as today, Peru was not immune to widespread poverty which is common to many, if not all, Latin American countries. This was the potential source of recruits for any rebel group. From 1980 when they launched the “Peoples’ War”, the Communist Party of Peru (Sendero Luminoso) appealed to this group with considerable success at times.
Personality Cult of El Presidente (Chairman) Gonzalo
In many aspects, Abimael Guzman was the Sendero Luminoso. He exercised total control over his followers. Party members were not only required to memorize the basic precepts of ‘Gonzalo thought’ but also practically all his political writing. His followers revered him as ‘El Presidente Gonzalo’ and regarded him as the ‘Fourth sword of Communism’ after Marx, Lenin and Mao.
Guzman rejected all contemporary doctrines including Communism as practiced in USSR, China (After Mao’s death) and other countries. His dream was to establish the pure form of Communism through a revolutionary struggle. Because of the rejection of all, the Sendero Luminoso was almost totally isolated.
This proved to be a blessing in disguise in the late 1980s and early 1990s as many other leftist groups in Latin America were either weakened or totally collapsed with the changes and final collapse of the USSR. Rather than getting affected, the Sendero Luminoso thrived and were closing in on the capital of Peru, Lima.
Capture of Guzman
Alberto Fujimori, the Peruvian president from 1990, understood that “to kill the snake you have to strike its head.” This is what he ordered the anti-terrorist National Directorate Against Terrorism (DINCONTE). The agents now gave full priority to hunt down Guzman and it paid off.
On Saturday, September 12, 1992, he was captured at an apartment in the Serquillo district in Lima. Along with him, the second in command of the group, Elena Iparraguire was also captured. El Presidente Gonzalo, who was hiding in the stronghold of his enemy itself, was reported to have had a book in his hand at the time of capture; not an unusual feature for the 57 year old.
As predicted, the Shining Path ‘fell into utter darkness’ after the capture of Guzman. The effect on the supporters and members of the party was shattering. They saw their messianic leader being reduced to just an old man made of flesh and blood, obeying every order of his guards. He later made peace with the Government of Peru.
These developments prompted some Shining path members to surrender but others continued the campaign, funded by the cocaine trade. But, with their invincibility shattered with the capture of Guzman, their path was now effectively barricaded. They could not possibly hope for the victory of their ‘Peoples’ War’, despite continuing violence and sporadic comebacks.
Sources
Larmer, Brook. We got Him! Newsweek, September 28, 1992
Seibert, Sam with Larmer, Brook Communism’s ‘Fourth Sword’ Newsweek, September 28, 1992
On line sources (from NY Times and CNN) are embedded in the text. Accessed on September 24, 2010.
Chamara Sumanapala - Greetings from Sri Lanka!!! I am a science graduate and a chemistry teacher at Royal College, Colombo. I am mainly interested in history, ...
