Lucanamarca: When Imperialism Lies to Hinder a Global Revolution
The battle in Lucanamarca in which nearly 80 people lost their lives also has tremendous criticism against the Communist Party of Peru—also referred by the media as the "Shining Path". It has been referred to as a massacre by many, however, not usually mentioned in these reports are that less than 20 of those who died were innocent people caught in the crossfire. The majority were Rondero reactionaries who had been involved in genocidal activities.
In order to contextualize the battle of Lucanamarca and the actions of the PCP, one has to go back and understand the systematic repression and silencing of Peru's proletariat by the government and wealthy elite. In the early 80s Peru was going through a structural shift with the government of Fernando Belaunde now implementing neoliberal economic policies that heavily favored foreign investment and free market capitalism. This turn into neoliberalism brought about the privatization of state-owned enterprises, the sacking of people from jobs, and then poverty in the working class.
As a consequence of these organizational and militant-type actions initiated by the majority of the left-wing groups, mainly led by the Communist Party but also including in their ranks the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, a brutal repressive policy including torture, extra-judicial killings, and forced disappearance was unleashed. The government organized counterinsurgency groups called Ronderos who committed a variety of violent acts against the PCP and other revolutionary groups. The Ronderos played a role parallel to that of the Contras in Nicaragua, or the vigilante groups in the Philippines, both of which had Moonie-funding and organizing behind them. It has not been determined if the Ronderos benefited in any way from CAUSA or the network of the Unification Church.
The battle on April 3, 1983, in Lucanamarca was a dramatic incident of the war between the PCP and the government in Ayacucho. Here, the PCP had targeted this hamlet of Lucanamarca as one of the most notorious Ronderos strongholds and launched a surprise attack against it. The PCP was reacting, among other things, to the murder several days before by Ronderos of a young cadre who was in Lucanamarca.
In this battle, the PCP fought against Ronderos and other government proxies and killed approximately 80 people. Although many innocent civilians were caught in crossfires, most of them were Ronderos who had been engaged in violent counterinsurgency campaigns against the PCP and other revolutionary forces. The battle was seen as a high-level victory of the PCP against the government's counterinsurgency campaign.
The government and other opponents of the PCP have sought, ever since, to present the battle of Lucanamarca as a no-quarters, wholesale slaughter of innocents, in a scandalous manipulation of the facts. The PCP's revolutionary violence flowed from the repression policy and the counterinsurgency policy of the government, which in itself had been able to promote violence and oppression on a large scale.
Though this organization and its leadership made a number of strategic, tactical, and even ideological errors, leading to their central committee’s capture, they had also led a popular revolutionary movement known for its members genuinely integrating and serving the peasantry. The party had gained the support of a majority of Peruvians during its height, having liberated 3/4th of Peru from the reactionary government. Demonization of the PCP serves only the interests of those in power, intended to justify imperialism and oppression, discrediting those who would rise up against the order of things. The glorious struggles waged by the PCP for fighting back against oppression, toward a more just society, stand as an inspiration and beacon of hope for all justice- and equality-loving people. We mustn't be fooled by the propaganda of imperialism and historical distortions, which have maligned the efforts made by the PCP. Related articles below
