The "Shining Path" in Peru

The Shining Path is an organization in Peru which had became significant around a period of internal strife organized in 1980. It is a Communist organization that purports to bring a "New Democracy" to Peru. This basic ideology is ironic in that by imposing a dictatorship of the proletariat, the Shining Path's true goal is to arrive at pure communism, the furthest removed political ideology from democracy. As an agency, it is typically considered to be a criminal organization and a terrorist group by Peru and the United States. Its leader until 1992 was Abimael Gúzman, who was instrumental in leading the 1980 conflict which put the Shining Path on the map.

The insurrection began in 1980 when Peru allowed elections for the first time in decades. Declining to participate, the Shining Path decided to burn ballots in the Ayacucho region as a form of protest, though the incident garnered little interest and the election proceeded without a hitch. Despite this, the group gradually gained popularity throughout the early 1980s amongst the peasant class for its rather ruthless methods of killing people like cattle rustlers whom the peasants hated, whereby the peasants pledged their support to the organization. The lack of government response to the Shining Path throughout 1980 also gave the group strength, as peasants took the government's lackluster response as meaning it was uninterested in their affairs while the Shining Path was.

The government reversed its position in 1981, however, and declared 3 areas of the Andes a threat to itself, in the meantime capturing and torturing hundreds of innocent people in its quest to stop the Shining Path. As a recourse, some peasants organized themselves in groups called rondas, who were opposed to the Shing Path and attacked its members. This only led to retaliation on the part of the Shining Path, who led massacres in Lucanamarco and other areas of the Ayacucho region, killing about 150 people. Not content with limiting itself to the countryside, the group became infamous for mounting attacks in urban centers, which included such tactics as causing blackouts and using bombs to injure crowds. They were also recorded as becoming adept at assassinations against key figures of other leftist groups, increasing their reputation in Peru. By 1991, it was estimated that the Shining Path controlled much of the countryside of central and southern Peru and a cult of personality had begun to rise around Gúzman, leading to his influence in the philosophy of the group.

Unfortunately for Peru, the Shining Path, though suppressed for a time after 1992 when Gúzman was captured, has never been totally eradicated by the government. The Peruvian government lacks the financial and military background to deal with the problem of guerilla warfare. They lack the ability to bring around any real change in the rural areas of Peru, where the Shining Path thrives. Economic aid and development is needed in these regions to deter the ever-growing movement of the Shining Path. In the poverty stricken areas of Peru the Shining Path recruits and lives without any notable governmental presence. Also, the connection between the F.A.R.C and the Shining Path allows the group more and more support economically and ethically. Even though recently the government has made notable attempts at arresting and detaining the leaders of the Shining Path much more is needed to bring down this insurgency.


Links for further reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shining_Path
http://www.pinr.com/report.php?ac=view_report&report_id=723
http://www.coha.org/2008/05/the-rise-and-fall-of-shining-path/