The
>political context of that period is one of a civil war launched by the
>Maoists to overthrow the nationalist-reformist government of Alan Garcia,
>while the leftists you and NACLA identified with supported this government.
I don't know where you get this assumption from...I have never supported
Garcia, APRA, nor any other of the Peruvian liberal political projects, nor
do I intend to heap praise on them or their followers now. But neither will
I overlook power-hunger and brutality on the left...Sorry, Louis, but I
don't assume the ends justify the means; on the contrary, the means of
struggle can be a pretty good indicator what the "revolutionary" end might
look like.
>In Nicaragua under Somoza, and El Salvador under Duarte, the left was
>united. No significant section of the left was opposed to the armed
>struggle. In Peru this was not true. This accounts for the internecine
>bloodshed, not Maoist fanaticism. There are parallels for this. In
>Colombia, the guerrilla groups have often clashed over whether or not to
>enter into negotiations with the government. This has led to bloodshed.
>During the 1970s, there were numerous armed groups trying to overthrow the
>government in Argentina. The Montoneros were Peronista, while other groups
>were Maoist or Castroite. They had violent clashes from time to time.
>Whatever abuses they were guilty of, their general goal in Argentina and
>Colombian was progressive: to overthrow neocolonial regimes that were
>plundering the nation.
Well, on most of this it appears we can agree. But I would reiterate my
point re: ends and means above.
>There is no question that the Shining Path has a worse record than these
>other groups, but we have to be clear that most of these offenses took
>place while Garcia was in power. Since Fujimoro's coup (in the guise of an
>election), the left now faces a common enemy.
Yes, the left does face a common enemy in Fujimori -- as they did in
previous decades. If you have any information regarding an attempt by
Sendero to reach out to other left movements in hopes of building a united
and democratic alternative -- whether armed or otherwise -- I'd be thrilled
to hear about it. To date, though, I haven't heard of any such
coalition-building.
Brian
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Brian Green |
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