The revisionist line of the CPSU (Communist Party of the Soviet Union), which was formalized as of its 20th Congress, was the process in which the socialist structure implemented in the Soviet Union was defeated and the capitalist restoration began. One after another, the communists of many countries could not grasp the nature of this revisionist line for a long time and, being influenced by this line, they started to take the path of revisionism. In the same period, despite the defeat process in the Soviet Union, the struggle against revisionism and all bourgeois remnant ideologies continued in China under the leadership of Mao, and this was formulated as a qualitative contribution to ML, as the class struggle should continue under the dictatorship of the proletariat. As a result of this, GPLC (Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution) was carried out under the leadership of Mao, and a serious theoretical and practical progress was made on the route to communism. With the death of Mao in 1976, the power was seized completely by the revisionists who were entrenched in the leadership of the CCP, and the communist line in China was defeated as of this date.
In this process, where the proletarian revolutions that have shaken the world to its foundations in the last hundred and fifty years have been defeated one by one and capitalist returns have been implemented rapidly, a large number of communist parties around the world have melted into an atmosphere of defeat. In these times, when the revisionist and reformist currents gained a strong ground, many CP were incomplete in reading the process, somehow they showed weakness in the struggle with these currents and were under its influence. The official dissolution of the Soviet Union was only a “declaration of the known” for those who persevered in the MLM line, but the bourgeoisie caught a ground where it intensified its ideological attacks around the world and victoriously attempted to celebrate the “defeat of socialism”.
In this period of great defeats for the world proletariat, on the other hand, it was seen that the People’s War broke out in many semi-feudal and semi-colonial countries and there were serious gains. In countries such as Peru, Nepal, India and the Philippines, in the process of increasing the propaganda of the “defeat of socialism” all over the world; It has passed through a period in which the People’s War achieved serious gains and the MLM parties increased the struggle. Although the revisionist-reformist tendencies, fed from the ground of defeat and on the rise, affected the practice of the People’s War in these countries and the MLM parties, it was not as destructive as in the non-Maoist revolutionary organizations, except for the practice experienced specifically in Nepal. Here, of course, the understanding of Maoism has been one of the determining factors in this case. One of these movements, which represented the victories in defeats, was the Communist Party of Peru, which led the revolutionary struggle in Peru.
In 1980, the Communist Party of Peru, led by Gonzalo, announced the start of the Protracted People’s War. From this date until 1992, when Gonzalo, the leader of the PCP, was imprisoned, a very instructive and advanced struggle practice was displayed for the world proletariat. Although the practice of the People’s War, which rose from Peru and progressed to the capital city Lima in the atmosphere of defeat in the 80s, declined, the legacy it left to the world proletariat is extremely important. It had a significant impact on the masses in the 70s, and with the Protracted People’s War it started in the 80s, it had a de facto presence in many parts of the country, especially in the Ayacucho region.
In this process, the PCP also took part in the discussions on understanding Mao’s contributions to ML and evaluating it as a qualitative stage. Together with many Maoist movements, they argued on an international scale that Mao’s contributions were a leap forward and a qualitative stage, so that the characterization of “Maoism” was appropriate. The most important area in which this defense was displayed was the Revolutionary International Movement, where it led the formation of international communist parties in 1984. International Maoist organizations; the Communist Party of Peru has made great contributions to the emergence and maintenance of RIM, which has a function as a platform for ideological struggle, as well as to take a common stance and take action against developments on a global scale.
The Communist Party of Peru, which took a serious part of the country under control about ten years after it started the Protracted People’s War, has experienced a decline since 1992. The main reason for this is that many executive cadres, especially Gonzalo, were imprisoned by the fascist Peruvian state in 1992. In this process, the Peruvian state led by the fascist Fujimori intensified its attacks against the PCP with the support of US imperialism and many imperialist countries, and implemented many inhuman practices against the imprisoned cadres. The most important of these practices was the exhibition of Gonzalo, who has become the symbol of the process, by being locked in an iron cage. With this practice, the fascist Peruvian state tried to humiliate Gonzalo, to spread despair to the masses who gave their hearts to the People’s War, and to give the impression that the people’s hope of salvation was caged with this cage. However, the fact that Gonzalo was shouting victory slogans, even in a cage, nullified the calculations of the fascist Peruvian state. The persistent attitude of Gonzalo, who shouted that even a steel cage could not prevent the people’s liberation struggle and People’s War, could not break the belief in victory, was also the declaration that the People’s War would continue under the leadership of the Communist Party of Peru.
The People’s War led by the PCP in Peru made serious contributions to the struggle of the international proletariat, and played an important role in the international understanding and promotion of Maoism. Understanding these contributions; beyond keeping a projection for a period, it also enables the development of the ongoing revolutionary struggle. At a time when the struggle of the international proletariat suffered heavy defeats, the People’s War that emerged from Peru shone like a new spark of hope, and it was also a beacon on how to reach victory from defeat. The fact that this progress was achieved in many countries, especially in Peru, was achieved by understanding and implementing the basic pillars of Maoism. The Communist Party of Peru continues to carry the banner of the revolutionary struggle against the fascist Peruvian state. The attacks by the Peruvian State against the PCP and the people continue as fiercely as possible. The Peruvian state, which does not compromise its fascist character, continues the severe isolation conditions on Gonzalo despite his advanced age and health problems, openly trying to kill him, despite the fact that nearly 30 years have passed since his captivity. International campaigns are being held on Gonzalo, who was referred to the hospital as a result of his health problems reaching serious levels in the past months. Defending Gonzalo’s life, as these campaigns point out; What the fascist Peruvian state wants to destroy in the specifics of Gonzalo is to defend the revolutionary struggle and People’s War in Peru, which has historically cost the international proletariat with serious contributions.
*This article has been taken from the 94th issue of the Newspaper Yeni Democracy, dated September 8, 2021.
