The Communist Party Of Peru: The Shining Path

Peru is located in western South America and it shares borders with Chile, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador and the South Pacific Ocean. Peru is about 1.28 million square kilometers. There are three major regions in Peru: a narrow coastal belt, the wide Andean mountains and the Amazon Basin. The coast is mostly a desert, but contains Peru's major cities. The Andes has two main ranges - Cordillera Occidental and Oriental. Oriental includes Peru's highest mountain called Huascaran, it a peaks out at 22,200ft. On the east side is the Amazon Basin, a region of tropical lowland, the water there is carried out by the Maranon and Ucayali rivers.

Steven J. Stern’s text, Peru’s Indian Peoples and the Challenge of Spanish Conquest, highlights from beginning to end Spain’s conquest of the Andean people while articulating the transformation of the relationship between these two peoples. He illustrates how Spain’s efforts toward colonialism of the Andes, transformed the natives from a self-sufficient group of people into an oppressed caste system known as “Indians.” Additionally, he introduces the idea that the Spanish needed to break the indigenous and gain their favor in order successfully establish dominance over them and their land. While arguing this, he offers several facts, which contradict the black legend associated with the Spanish and their means of conquest.

There are twenty Spanish speaking counties worldwide. Out of those twenty countries there are about 475 million Spanish speaking people. People often believe most Hispanics are very similar in these countries, but in fact they are very diverse. Some the differences are the foods, music, and history of the people. The two countries that show this are Peru and Mexico. These countries are from two distinct cultures and two different continents.

In the history, people travel from a place to another place to explore, do business, immigrant and travel etc. From those movements, people bring their culture to place that they have travelled and influenced each other and also developed the tourism industry (Chappel, 2015). According to the website call Peru Travel Guide, Peru was explored and occupied by Spanish and brought their language and the Catholic religion to Peru (nd, 2014). After the Spanish, people from different place start immigrant to Peru, all of those movements have made Peru’s society became more and more diversification. In the late 19th century, people are travel to Peru for exploration and archaeology the region like Machu Picchu (nd, 2014).

After the horrible experience and dangerous incidents my daughter, Isabella Ostos, lived in the Archeological Project in Cosma-Peru under your supervision. It is with profound indignation that we are writing you this letter.

The terrorist group, Sendero Luminoso, also known as the Shining Path, originates out of the country of Peru. Abimael Guzman, a former university professor, formed the group in the late 1960s. Guzman follows the philosophy of blood is necessary to irrigate the revolution (Collyns). During this time the Sendero Luminoso became one of the most merciless terrorist groups in the Western Hemisphere (Pike). The Sendero Luminoso is considered to be a highly organized political party. The party’s powerful voice of protest allows its support to continue to grow. The exact number of members in the group is unknown, but is estimated to be up to 300 (Pike). The Sendero Luminoso was not the largest group in numbers until it reached its peak in power, which numbered in the thousand. The Shining Path uses the lack of governmental influence to its advantage to gain support of those who do not support the Peruvian government. With no allies, the party gained its members and support by influencing rural areas of Peru that had been neglected by the Peruvian government (Gregory).

National identity is maintained by means of language, religion, and music. Festivals like the Fiesta de la Cruz and Inti Raymi exemplify the integral practices and aspects that unites Peru with its fellow Latin American countries while still maintaining independent themes. The Fiesta de la Cruz is celebrated on the 3rd of May every year and is a celebration of the cross in which Jesus died. Inti Raymi is an Incan religious ceremony that honors the god of the sun, Inti. Peru has blended a series of Spanish, Andean, and African elements into their music style. Music of the Andes is mainly preserved historical music that has been passed down from generation to generation. Few original compositions have been written down and have often been blended with other melodies or altered in some way. Much of the music in Peru is associated with various festivals and dances that have cultural or historical significance. The Chujchu is a satirical dance that depicts several slaves overworking themselves and subsequently dying from malaria and labor; towards the end of the dance, death himself comes to retrieve the poor soul. Another prominent dance in Peruvian culture is the Qhapaq Ch'unchu. This dance focuses on the Virgin Mary as she is paraded around town and is protected by the most chivalrous warriors who have dedicated their lives to serving this iconic religious figure. Peru is not limited to just

The socialist way the Incas lived with the Inca people having no say to their life, and only living so they can have an “Average” life, and not face starvation. Many socialist countries are also only giving the same pay to everyone, meaning that only the top thrive. The others are only depending on the government. This could have also been used to make socialism or communism minus the atheistic belief .The Sapa Inca was said to have descended from the sun god. The Spanish thought that the sun god was disguised devil worship and tried to force them out which also made not many kings associate themselves with the gods, which meant the kings had to be real with the people, and be treated like only a ruling celebrity. The Incas wanted the people

Shining Path was a frightening guerrilla force, profoundly isolationist and sect-like. Established in the impoverished regions of Peru, formed by a group of radical university students, it produced to an army of about one hundred thirty thousand militants. Led by a former university professor, Abimael Guzman or alias “Presidente Gonzalo,” he was a fervent supporter of Communism. By methodically using primitive techniques to overthrow the old government, this was seen as the true approach into rebuilding a new improved one. Politically leaning on the left wing spectrum, the Shining Path modeled through guided principles of Maoism, Marxism-Leninism, and an ideology known as “Gonzalo Thought.” This eventually became the theoretical foundations of Communism. “A web of exhortations and formulas so dense that its adherents are reduced to desperate initializing whenever they attempt the simplest report.” (GP, Lima 1990, 74). As a terrorist group,

After a war of independence that arose between Peruvians and the Spanish, the Peruvians defeated the Spanish, who were ruling them. As a result, Peru gained independence from the Spanish empire during the nineteenth century. After its independence, Peru constructed a new nation-state with a newly formed government. However, not everybody participated in the construction of Peru’s newly formed nation-state. In addition, some groups were excluded from participation in Peruvian society. These groups did not have much power in post-independence Peru because they were ostracized based on their gender and their race. There were also groups that made were also based on race and gender that had the majority power, which allowed them to have

Culture is the aquired knowledge that people use to interpret, experience, and generate social behavior.

Peruvians enjoy a free government and one of the richest histories in the world. Peru’s history has legendary beginnings and leads to a revolution. Furthermore, the Peruvian government allows civil liberties and freedoms. Come and go back in time to the Incas and lead through until Peru’s founding government.

Peru is a country long plagued by political violence. The Shining Path is by far the largest and most successful of Peru's terrorist organizations. Shining Path initiated its first operations against the Lima regime in 1980. In the intervening years, it quickly became the most serious security problem that the Peruvian government faced. Few political movements, inside or outside of Peru, could match its fanaticism and extreme ideology. The Shining Path must be singled out for its simple ruthlessness. Murder, dynamite bombings, and arson are its instruments of political violence. Few terrorist groups in modern times have employed violence with the same determination, lack of discrimination, and widespread effect as the Shining Path.

The purpose of this paper is to examine Peru's insurgent movement, specifically the Shining Path, during its twenty-year internal conflict. As well as its transitional justice and its impact on the culture and people of Peru in the post-conflict society. Following this intention, this paper will be divided into multiple sections. The methodology used in this review is based on a thorough literature review as well as observations taken from site visits while in Peru. The study of the counterinsurgency efforts of the Peruvian government will also be presented as it is critical to the understanding of this Maoist terrorist group. Additionally, the study of the Shining Path's origins, modus operandi, ideological doctrine and its consequences

Illegal mining in the Peruvian Amazon has led to crime, deforestation and mercury poisoning in local villages and has further weakened the economy. Peru is the largest producer of gold in South America, the sixth largest in the world and in recent years Peru’s remote Amazon rainforest has become a hotspot for illegal mining. An estimated ten to thirty-thousand illegal miners work day in and day out to remove flecks of gold from Amazonian soil using cyanide, mercury, lead and arsenic which has in turn contaminated water sources and poisoned many in rural villages. Mining camps run rampant with crime, including sex trafficking and slave labor, poaching is common and litter is scattered everywhere. These miners have come from cities across Peru