Sendero Lulminos Essay

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The Peruvian Communist Party (PCP-SL), better known as Sendero Luminoso (‘Shining Path’) was a maoist guerrilla organization in Peru. The parties roots can be drawn to the Andean department of Ayacucho, one of Peru’s pooerest and uneducated areas, where ill even the 1950s landowners continued their serflike manner of treatment toward the natives existence. The escape their dismal lives, Ayacuchans turned toward education, migrating by the thousands in their attempt to escape that existed for them back home.

The Senderos claim that May 17 of 1980 was the beginning of the “People’s

War.” The actions that sparked their new revolution occurred on the eve of Peru’s first

presidential election in seventeen years, where a group of youths broke …show more content…

In their attempts to wreastle control they threatened lies in

order to force them (the community leaders) to resign, some peasant leaders were killed

when they were unwilling to quit. During the time of escalated violence, communities

and peasant leaders received to central governemnt protection, politocal or military.7 In

time Sendero violence was turned toward police and communities were then terrorized

by two seperate entities: Senderos and the center. The center, whom had come to the

conclusion that communities had sided with the Senderos, as a ew community leaders

had identified with Sendero. Through this line of thought, police began arresting people

who they believed had connections with Sendero, upon being released from police

custody very often they were the tortured and killed by Senderos who acussed them of

supporting the government. This was the horror that many communities found

themseles bound in, terrorrized by a groupwho once claimed to have their best interests

at heart and the police who committed the same violent actions towards the indian

population under the accusation that they were Sendero supporters.

While its clear that Senderos began the viscious circle of violence, it is

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