Books on the PCP..?

[mosfeld]

Are there any books on the PCP (Sendero Luminoso) which aren't ridden with propaganda? I've tried reading shit like "Maoism in the Andes", which argues basically that they were stupid Indians (written in '83), and shit like that but this genre of so-called "Senderology" is just one big fat intellectually dishonest anti-communist joke. So, can anyone recommend books/articles/essays on the PCP which isn't personally directed by the CIA or something..?

Here's what I got:

Andrea Portugal - Voices from the War Exploring the Motivation of Sendero Luminoso Militants.pdf
Cynthia McClintock - Sendero Luminoso in Comparative Perspective.pdf
Cynthia McClintock - Why Peasants Rebel The Case of Peru's Sendero Luminoso.pdf
David M. Burns - The Evolution of Peru's Sendero Luminoso.pdf
Lewis Taylor - Maoism in the Andes.pdf
Luis J. Escobar - A Critique of the Feminism of Sendero Luminoso
Mario Antonio Fumerton - From Victims to Heroes Peasant Counter-Rebellion and Civil War in Ayacucho, Peru, 1980-2000
Marisa Mealy and Carol Shaw Austad - Sendero Luminoso and Ethnocultural Conflict in the Andes.pdf
Paul Navarro - A Maoist Counterpoint Peruvian Maoism Beyond Sendero Luminoso.pdf
Robin Kirk - Untold Terror Violence Against Women in Peru's Armed Conflict.pdf
Vera Gianotten - The Impact of Sendero Luminoso on Regional Politics in Peru.pdf

Probably the only good non-Maoist source I've found is "More Than Half the Sky: The Power of Women in Peru (http://hiddentranscripts.wordpress.com/2008/08/15/women-and-the-shining-path/)"

EDIT/NOTE: Not looking for old CSRP/MPP/Maoist stuff on Peru. I've probably read all of it.

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

Since you seem to be looking for material that is in line with the PCP itself, why not just read over the propaganda that came directly from the party?

Otherwise, the publishing arm of the SWP in the U.S. put out a short pamphlet on the Shinning Path a while ago. It's usually around $5. Peru's Shining Path: Evolution of a Stalinist Sect (http://www.amazon.com/Perus-Shining-Path-Evolution-Stalinist/dp/0873487818/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1302785966&sr=8-1)

[mosfeld]

Since you seem to be looking for material that is in line with the PCP itself, why not just read over the propaganda that came directly from the party?

Otherwise, the publishing arm of the SWP in the U.S. put out a short pamphlet on the Shinning Path a while ago. It's usually around $5. Peru's Shining Path: Evolution of a Stalinist Sect (http://www.amazon.com/Perus-Shining-Path-Evolution-Stalinist/dp/0873487818/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1302785966&sr=8-1)

Yeah, but like I said "not looking for old CSRP/MPP/Maoist stuff on Peru. I've probably read all of it."

I don't think I'm going to buy a pamphlet which sounds completely in line with the senderologist bullshit I initially criticized. Fuck the SWP and all revisionists in service of imperialism.

http://globalhistorycullen.wikispaces.com/file/view/shining_path_cartoon.jpg/69718953/shining_path_cartoon.jpg

[Chimurenga.]

Not a book and I'm not sure if you've seen this but I came across this a few months ago,
http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=Movimiento%20Popular%20Peru%20AND %20mediatype%3Atexts

It's a collection of magazines called The New Flag which were sympathetic to Sendero Luminoso and published in New York.

[mosfeld]

Yeah, TNF was published by MPP-USA (Peru People's Movement). You can read separate articles without downloading PDFs here (http://www.blythe.org/peru-pcp/) (bottom).

[Os Cangaceiros]

The Shining Path: A History of the Millenarian War in Peru is OK, although boring. It does give a good illustration of just how ridiculous Guzman was, though, including him making his cadre read Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" in order to illustrate how "conspiracies take shape". It's almost as if one of my self-indulgent college professors somehow headed an insurgency...oh wait.

What I think is interesting about the SP is how their tactics stack up against movements of the Peruvian workers that preceeded them, including general strikes that ultimately help push the military dictatorship into a "bourgeois democracy".

[mosfeld]

The situation in Peru is too obscure to judge what's really going on. Maoist activity is rarely reported, and when it is, it's usually done to discredit and slander them. The massive international support network that the PCP had (CSRP, MPP, RIM etc) all seem to be very inactive and the RCP,USA, which once dedicated very much energy on supporting the struggle in Peru, now never mentions the PCP -- they're too focused on making Avakian a "household name". Also, the "focus" has kind of shifted over to Nepal, India and, to a lesser extent, the Philippines. What is certain, however, is that the PPW is not over. A PPW never goes in a straight line and will always suffer setbacks, this is to be expected.

[Reznov]

The situation in Peru is too obscure to judge what's really going on. Maoist activity is rarely reported, and when it is, it's usually done to discredit and slander them. The massive international support network that the PCP had (CSRP, MPP, RIM etc) all seem to be very inactive and the RCP,USA, which once dedicated very much energy on supporting the struggle in Peru, now never mentions the PCP -- they're too focused on making Avakian a "household name". Also, the "focus" has kind of shifted over to Nepal, India and, to a lesser extent, the Philippines. What is certain, however, is that the PPW is not over. A PPW never goes in a straight line and will always suffer setbacks, this is to be expected.

You should become the guy that starts bringing more light to this issue and keeps revleft members alert then, comrade.

[mosfeld]

You should become the guy that starts bringing more light to this issue and keeps revleft members alert then, comrade.

That would be cool, but whenever someone posts a PCP thread the tendency is for it to get derailed (this was a learning thread about books, remember?) by drug induced reactionaries like maldoror or something, so that wouldn't be lots of fun.

[Roach]

It does give a good illustration of just how ridiculous Guzman was, though, including him making his cadre read Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" in order to illustrate how "conspiracies take shape". It's almost as if one of my self-indulgent college professors somehow headed an insurgency...

To be honest I dont think there is any problem in providing quality education to peasants and then drawing some political lessons of rather odd places, remember that in the areas that the PCP operated you would be lucky to have even the most basic of educations.

[red cat]

:laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:

That made my day.

But again, whats up with the Shining Path currently? I heard some "Commander" tried to make a deal or something stating the release of leaders or something.

Someone up to date with them?

As comrade Mosfeld said, nowadays it's very hard to get correct information about them. But yes, there are revisionist factions that call themselves the PCP and use the excuse of freeing Gonzalo to call for termination of the people's war.

[Reznov]

That would be cool, but whenever someone posts a PCP thread the tendency is for it to get derailed (this was a learning thread about books, remember?) by drug induced reactionaries like maldoror or something, so that wouldn't be lots of fun.

Pfff, who cares about our RevLeft tendency trolls.

I'd appreciate it!

[Ele'ill]

Knock off the unpleasantness.

[Ms. Max]

Some years back I think I read of all places in The Nation a good article giving some factual information about what that Maoists were doing to improve the standard of living in Peru of the people in their base areas. Not sure if you could retrieve that.

I think overall Guzman was an heroic leader, who knew that he had to go to the masses to learn how to serve the people.

[Red Heretic]

mosfield, have you ever seen the RAND study on Sendero? It is reactionary study comparing Sendero and Tupac Amaru.. trying to determine who is the real threat to imperialism.. and ends up concluding that it is Sendero. A fascinating study. I can dig it up if you would like.

[sunfarstar]

Are there any books on the PCP (Sendero Luminoso) which aren't ridden with propaganda? I've tried reading shit like "Maoism in the Andes", which argues basically that they were stupid Indians (written in '83), and shit like that but this genre of so-called "Senderology" is just one big fat intellectually dishonest anti-communist joke. So, can anyone recommend books/articles/essays on the PCP which isn't personally directed by the CIA or something..?

Here's what I got:

Andrea Portugal - Voices from the War Exploring the Motivation of Sendero Luminoso Militants.pdf
Cynthia McClintock - Sendero Luminoso in Comparative Perspective.pdf
Cynthia McClintock - Why Peasants Rebel The Case of Peru's Sendero Luminoso.pdf
David M. Burns - The Evolution of Peru's Sendero Luminoso.pdf
Lewis Taylor - Maoism in the Andes.pdf
Luis J. Escobar - A Critique of the Feminism of Sendero Luminoso
Mario Antonio Fumerton - From Victims to Heroes Peasant Counter-Rebellion and Civil War in Ayacucho, Peru, 1980-2000
Marisa Mealy and Carol Shaw Austad - Sendero Luminoso and Ethnocultural Conflict in the Andes.pdf
Paul Navarro - A Maoist Counterpoint Peruvian Maoism Beyond Sendero Luminoso.pdf
Robin Kirk - Untold Terror Violence Against Women in Peru's Armed Conflict.pdf
Vera Gianotten - The Impact of Sendero Luminoso on Regional Politics in Peru.pdf

Probably the only good non-Maoist source I've found is "More Than Half the Sky: The Power of Women in Peru (http://hiddentranscripts.wordpress.com/2008/08/15/women-and-the-shining-path/)"

EDIT/NOTE: Not looking for old CSRP/MPP/Maoist stuff on Peru. I've probably read all of it.

事实上，思想的武器永远不可能被扼杀！我们来自于切格瓦拉！知道永远有多远吗？就在前方，未来 来了！
www.che-lives.com
www.revleft.com
www.marxists.org

[mosfeld]

mosfield, have you ever seen the RAND study on Sendero? It is reactionary study comparing Sendero and Tupac Amaru.. trying to determine who is the real threat to imperialism.. and ends up concluding that it is Sendero. A fascinating study. I can dig it up if you would like.

Yes please! :)


Some years back I think I read of all places in The Nation a good article giving some factual information about what that Maoists were doing to improve the standard of living in Peru of the people in their base areas. Not sure if you could retrieve that.

I think overall Guzman was an heroic leader, who knew that he had to go to the masses to learn how to serve the people.
It's possible to go to the Nation archives here (http://www.thenation.com/search/apachesolr_search/%22shining%20path%22), but you have to pay. Do you think you could dig up that article somewhere?

[mosfeld]

@ Left communist idiot:

I've read "Untold Terror..." by Robin Kirk -- she goes mainly into details about how the armed forces are rapists.

“(…) reported cases [of rape by “security personnel”] often involve the insertion of foreign objects into the vagina and anus, combined with other forms of torture including electric shock to the genitals and breasts; rape of pregnant women and of minors; and gang rape (…)”

“(…) usually they are told they or their family members will be killed if they report rape”

Your allegations against the PCP of being rapists is just the most obvious propaganda of it all. Within the liberated areas of the PCP, rapists were actually executed. If a PCP member would rape anyone, he would be severely punished because this goes against the aims of the PPW. But the most likely thing is that the PCP did not rape anyone, and that this is a product of the low intensity/psychological warfare and propaganda campaign.

"Within the framework of Shining Path ideology, sex discrimination is prohibited. Men and women are equal, the only distinction being class (...) an informal Shining Path "code of conduct" explicitly forbids "men to sexually molest women and women should also avoid sexually molesting men"

[Rjevan]

All posts on different topics than the OP's question have been moved to this thread (http://www.revleft.com/vb/maoism-vs-left-t153229/index.html?t=153229).This is not the place to discuss Sendero Luminoso and even less the Naxalites or Maoism per se. If you have nothing to contribute to the requested reading list don't post at all.

Any more troll or off-topic posts won't be tolerated, please keep to the topic!

[The Garbage Disposal Unit]

I wrote a paper on Sendero Luminoso back . . . shit, seven years ago . . . when I was in university, which unfortunately, I don't have anymore. However, I remember that I found declassified CIA documents to be incredibly useful (if not particularly current). I recommend doing some digging: I was surprised to learn how much of the violence, drug-smuggling, and whatnot attributed to Sendero was straight-up right-wing paramilitaries doing shit, then pegging it on the SP with CIA/Peruvian army complicity. On the other hand, I'm sure if you've been doing tonnes of research, that's not news to you, but, at the time, I was pretty shocked.

Coincidentally, I accidentally smoked PCP one time. It wasn't bad. I went back and tried it another time, a few years later (orally), and concluded that it's pretty much the same deal as chugging cough syrup, less the gastro-intestinal distress. On the other hand, I don't think I'd ever do either of those things again.

[mosfeld]

I wrote a paper on Sendero Luminoso back . . . shit, seven years ago . . . when I was in university, which unfortunately, I don't have anymore. However, I remember that I found declassified CIA documents to be incredibly useful (if not particularly current). I recommend doing some digging: I was surprised to learn how much of the violence, drug-smuggling, and whatnot attributed to Sendero was straight-up right-wing paramilitaries doing shit, then pegging it on the SP with CIA/Peruvian army complicity. On the other hand, I'm sure if you've been doing tonnes of research, that's not news to you, but, at the time, I was pretty shocked.

Thanks for that. I'm actually fairly surprised that "PCP deals drugs" thing passes on as anything but a hoax, especially since the PCP under Guzman and later Ramirez got rid of drugs out of the liberated areas and encouraged coca farmers to farm fruits and shit instead.

I have heard that Artemio's faction does protect coca farmers and traffickers. Artemio has been denounced by the MPP as a capitulator, since he openly advocates an end to the People's War. It basically seems like the classical focoist line of the MRTA -- nothing for liberation, everything for negotiations.

I'll see if I can check out those declassified files, sounds very interesting!


Coincidentally, I accidentally smoked PCP one time. :lol: