Long Live the People’s War!
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Documents of the Communist Party of Peru
The People’s War, initiated on 17th May 1980 by the Communist Party of Peru, was one of the most significant revolutionary events of the late 20th century. Although there had been many revolutionary movements in Central and Latin America since the end of World War Two the revolution in Peru was the first led by a Party that followed a clear Marxist-Leninist ideology. Through the lessons learnt and from the experiences gained in the first seven to eight years of the struggle the Party also put forward the argument that Marxism-Leninism had developed (also through the experiences in China up to 1976) to a new and higher form, that of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism.
Following the Maoist principals of acting like fish in water the Party (also known by outsiders under the name Sendero Luminoso – Shining Path) embedded itself amongst the exploited and oppressed in the Andean countryside and established such a power base that there was a real chance of the collapse of the capitalist state in Peru.
That was not to be due to the capture of Abimael Guzmán-Presidente Gonzalo, the chairman of the Party on September 12th 1992.
However, the Party did produce a considerable amount of material, most of it written by Presidente Gonzalo, which analysed the struggle of Marxist-Leninist-Maoist revolutionaries in a period following the success of the revisionists and ‘capitalist-roaders’ in the People’s Republic of China.
Although severely damaged by the capture of Abimael Guzmán the Party (and the People’s War) continued in Peru, with the Party continuing to produce statements and other material for a number of years. However, the dependence of the Party (from its earliest days) on a single leader meant that the struggle was never able to regain the momentum of the 1980s. The reasons for this collapse of the People’s War is something that needs investigation at some time in the future.
Collected writings of the Communist Party of Peru
The Collected Writings of the Communist Party of Peru, Volumes 1-4, 1968-1999, n.p., n.d., (2016?), 1,116 pages.
Collected Works of the Communist Party of Peru, Volume 1, 1968-1987, published by Christophe Kistler & Josef Hallqvist, Utrecht, 2016, 464 pages.
‘This publication of the Collected Works of the PCP shows the necessity for all the communists and revolutionaries in the world to put Marxism-Leninism-Maoism into practice, and to study Gonzalo Thought, that is the creative application of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism in Peru, and is, so far, the greatest attempt to develop the fourth stage of Marxism.’
The Collected Works of The Communist Party of Peru, Volume 2, 1988-1990, n.p., n.d., (2016?), 329 pages.
The Fundamental Documents, The General Political Line, Interview With Chairman Gonzalo, and Elections, no! People’s war, yes!
Collected Works of The Communist Party of Peru, Volume 3, 1991-1992, n.p., n.d., 561 pages.
Contains; Concerning The Two Hills, Preparatory Session of The II Plenum, II Plenum – Fundamentals Of Political Ideology, II Plenum Of The Central Committee Building The Conquest Of Power In The Midst Of The People’s War, May Directives For Metropolitan Lima, On The Rectification Campaign Based On The Document Elections, No! People’s War, Yes!, May The Strategic Stalemate Shake The Country More! Fundamental Political Questions: Bases Of Discussion Of The III Plenum, III Plenum, III Plenum: Meeting Of The Central Leadership With The Northern Regional Committee, and Speech By Chairman Gonzalo.
The Collected Works of the Communist Party of Peru, Volume 4, 1993-1999, n.p., n.d., 91 pages.
Table of Contents: 1992 – Resolution of the Central Committee 1993 – Declaración 1994 – Reaffirm Our Basis of Party Unity 1994 – Long Live Chairman Gonzalo and his 19 All-Powerful Thought! 1995 – Prepare the Strategic Offensive Through the Construction of the Conquest of Power 1995 – Against the Country Selling and Genocidal Dictatorship, Persist in the People’s War! 1995 – Overcome the Bend in the Road, Developing the People’s War! 1996 – Notes to Typify the Regime as Fascist 1996 – Political Report 1997 – Note on the Political Situation 1998 – Unite the People Against the Fascist, Genocidal and Country-selling Dictatorship, Developing the People’s War Further! 1998 – Peruvian People! People of Alto Huallaga! The Communist Party of Peru Once Again Denounces the Genocidal Politics and the Sinister Persecution of the Prisoners of War and Their Families as Part of the Genocidal Politics of the Peruvian State 1998 – Actions of the People’s Liberation Army in the Departments of San Martin, Huanuco and Ucayali 1999 – Struggle Implacably Against Capitulation! Unmask and Liquidate the Traitors! Unmask and Crush the Psychological Warfare Campaign of the Reactionary Fascists! 1999 – the Speech by Our Great Leadership Is a Combat Weapon That Shines Victoriously and Powerfully Before the World
Individual works listed by year
Those links below which are not followed by further information are to documents that were obtained by way of optical recognition software from original material. Although these documents have been checked there’s a chance that typographical mistakes might well still exist. Apologies for that.
This is not the complete collection of material. There are still a number of documents from 1990 onwards to be added. They will be in due course.
As will also be noticed the vast majority of the material is only in Spanish.
1968
Para Entender a Mariátegui
1970
América Latina – Guerra Popular
1974
La Problemática Naciónal
1975
Retomemos a Mariátegui y reconstituyamos su partido
1976
El Problema Campesino y La Revolución
Sobre la Construcción del Partido
1978
Against constitutional illusions for the state of new democracy, Central Committee of the Communist Party of Peru, n.p., n.d., (1978), 29 pages.
Contra las Ilusiones Constitucionales por el Estado de Nueva Democracia
1979
Desarrollemos la Creciente Protesta Popular
Por la Nueva Bandera
Sobre Tres Capitulos de Nuestra Historia
1980
We begin to topple the walls and unfold a new dawn, n.p., n.d., (1980), 17 pages.
We are the initiators, From the First Military School, April 19, 1980, 9 pages.
Comenzamos a Derrumbar los Muros y a Desplegar la Aurora
Hacia la Guerra de Guerrillas
1981
Viva la Lucha Armada de Nuestro Pueblo
1982
Desarrollemos la Guerra de Guerrillas
1985
Two important documents of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Peru: Develop Guerilla Warfare and Don’t Vote! Instead, expand the Guerilla War to Seize Power for the People!, The Committee to Support the Revolution in Peru, Berkeley, 1985, 36 pages.
1986
Nada ni Nadie Podra Derrotarnos
1987
1 de mayo: Por la Revolución Proletaria Mundial, Viva el Marxismo-Leninismo-Maoísm! Partido Comunista De España, May 1987, 2 pages. Endorsed by the Partido Comunista del Perú
Dar la Vida por el Partido y la Revolutión
1988
First Party Congress of the Communist Party of Peru
On Gonzalo Thought
On Marxism-Leninism-Maoism
Both documents released in early 1988.
Communist Party of Peru – Programme – assumed to have been adopted at the 1st Congress.
The General Political Line, n.p., n.d., (1988), 127 pages.
Bases de Discusión de la Línea Polítical General
Documentos Fundamentales
El PCP y el Maoísmo
1989
Guerra Popular en el Perú, El Pensamiento Gonzalo, Volume 1, edited by Luis Arce Borja, Lima, 1989. 418 pages. (Some highlighting and underlining.)
Entrevista con el Presidente Gonzalo
Interview with Chairman Gonzalo. Interview with the Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Peru conducted by the editors of El Diario newspaper. The interview took place in July 1988. Committee to Support the Revolution in Peru, Berkley, 1991. 105 pages.
El Partido, la Guerra Popular y el Boicot, Comite Central, Partido Communist del Peru, Ediciones Bandera Roja, reproducido por el Movimiento Popular Peru en Francia, 1989, 191 pages. Collection of articles published between 1977 and 1988 (in Spanish).
1990
Honor y Gloria al Proletariado y al Pueblo del Perú! Comité Central del Partido Comunista del Perú, Ediciones Bandera Roja, 1990, May 1990, 2 pages.
En conmemoración del 40 anniversario de la Revolutión China, Comité Central del Partido Comunista del Perú, Ediciones Bandera Roja, 1990, 12 pages.
Elecciones, No! Guerra Popular, Si!, Ediciones Bandera Roja, reproducido por el Movimiento Popular Perú en Francia, 192 pages.
Elecciones, No! Guerra Popular, Si!
1992
In Defense of the Leadership, against the Genocidal Dictatorship! President Gonzalo’s speech, September 24th, 1992, on the historic occasion of his arrest. PCP Base, Lima, October 1992, 4 pages.
Quien es el Presidente Gonzalo?, Colombia, 1992, 12 pages. Reproduction of three articles from the newspaper El Diario. Published very soon after Presidente Gonzalo’s capture in September 1992. (Apologies for poor reproduction.)
Resolution and Statement of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Peru, December 1992, 4 pages.
Crush down the genocidal plan against the Prisoners of War! Prisoners of War, Canto Grande, Shining Trench of Combat, December 1992, 2 pages.
Aplastar el Plan de Genocido contra Los Prisoneros de Guerra! Prisoneros de Guerra, Luminosa Trinchera de Combate de Canto Grande, December 1992, 4 pages.
Resolution, Comité Central, Partido Comunista del Perú, (Pensamiento Gonzalo), December 1992, Reproduced by MPP, France, 4 pages.
1993
Para Armado 28 – 29 enero, Partido Comunista del Perú, Base Puno, 1993, leaflet, 1 page.
Letter of the Association des Amis de la République Populaire du Pérou en formation (AARPP), February 1993. In French.
Victory to the Armed Strike may 17, 18 and 19, Classist Movement of the Shanytowns, Lima Base, Lima, May 1993, 2 pages.
Gloria al Dia de la Resistencia Heroica! Primero Aniversario, Comité de Socorro Popular del Perú, May 1993, 161 pages. Unfortunately this was taken from a poor copy of the original and some pages are difficult to understand. However, the book is quite unique in the pictures that accompany the timeline – it’s almost a graphic novel. Some of the indistinct pages are of documents that can be found in other locations in this post so it’s hoped that not all information and understanding will be lost.
Gloria al Dia de la Heroicidad! Dia de la Heroicidad! Tercer Aniversario, Comité Central del Partido Comunista del Perú, junio 1987, reproducido por el Moviemiento Popular Perú en Francis, junio 1993, 227 pages.
Acuerdo de paz – letter (supposedly) from Abimael Guzmán and Elena Iparraguirre to Fujimori dated 6th October 1993.
Three summaries of World Broadcasts by the British Broadcasting Corporation in response to the above letter. Strangely the first is dated 4th October 1993, two days before the letter was purportedly sent.
Declaration of the Comité Central del Partido Comunista del Perú, 7th October, 1993, 4 pages. The initial response by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Peru to the publication of ‘letters’ from the imprisoned Abimael Guzmán (Presidente Gonzalo).
Draft translation of the CC of the CPC – Workers of the World Unite!, 7th October 1993, 2 pages.
Declaration of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Peru, ‘Workers of the World Unite!’, 7th October, 1993. Published online by the Committee to Support the Revolution in Peru. And English translation of the initial response of the CC of the CPP to the ‘letter’ from President Gonzalo.
Guerra Popular en el Perú, El Pensamiento Gonzalo, Tomo 2, edited by Luis Arce Borja, Germany, October, 1993. 303 pages. (Some highlighting and underlining.)
Luchar por un Acuerdo de Paz y Sentar Bases para el II Congreso! (Acuerdo de Paz, Lucha de Clases y Lucha de Dos Lineas), Prisoneros de las Luminosas Trincheras de Combate, Peru, November 1993, 24 pages. A potentially suspect document due to the speed at which it appeared so soon after Abimael Guzmán’s ‘letter” from prison.
1994
Reaffirm Our Party Basis of Unity and Build the Seizure of Power, Report by the Central Committee, February 1994
Programme of the Communist Party of Peru, in both English and Spanish. No publisher and ND – but assumed to be 1994. 6 pages.
Draft translation of ‘Prounciamiento’ from El Diario, 631, ‘Unite the people to defend the headquarters, against the sell out murderous dictatorship’. Committee of Relatives of Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War and Disappeared in Peru. December 3rd 1993. Lima, January 1994, 3 pages.
Asumir y Combatir por la Nueva Decisión y Nueva Definición!, edited by the German Popular Movement of Peru, Hamburg Anti-imperialist Group, May 1994, 45 pages.
Take up and Fight for a New Decision and a New Definition, ND – but assumed to be 1994, 10 pages. Argument in favour of capitulation.
1995
Overcome the Bend in the Road, Developing the People’s War! Central Committee, Communist Party of Peru (September 1995).
1997
Revolutionaries or Vulgar Shysters? – MRTA: The Guerilla of Peace Talks, Luis Arce Borja, Brussels, Belgium, January 27th 1997. Translated, printed and published by Committee Sol Peru, London, Press Commission, 1997, 4 pages.
2002
Marxism, Mariátegui and the Feminist Movement, Delhi, 2002, 26 pages.
2016
Por el 88 Aniversario del Partido Comunista del Perú, Comité Central, Partido Comunista del Perú, octobre del 2016, 4 pages.
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