Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 01:53:19 -0500 (EST)
Subject: M-G: PERU: The People's Committees. (fwd)



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Date: Mon, 27 Jan 1997 23:38:55 -0500
From: Luis Quispe <lquispe-AT-blythe.org>
To: peru-AT-cs.sfsu.edu
Cc: marxism-general-AT-jefferson.village.virginia.edu, marxjour-AT-ccc.uba.ar,
    nyt-AT-nyxfer.blythe.org, tumi-AT-kern.com, peru-AT-rcp.net.pe, mumia-AT-aol.com,
    rubyg580-AT-aol.com, 73447.1527-AT-compuserve.com
Subject: PERU: The People's Committees.

PERU: THE NEW POWER
THE PEOPLE'S COMMITTEES AND THE PEOPLE'S ARMY OF LIBERATION (EPL).

The EPL is an army of new type that carries out political tasks
established by the PCP. It applies the Maoist principle that "the Party
commands the gun and we will never allow the gun to command the Party."
The EPL performs 3 tasks: to combat, which is the principal; to
mobilize, mainly to politicize, organize and arm the masses; and to
produce, implementing self-reliance and self-sufficiency. The People's
Army is an example to the people of the world and serves the world
proletarian revolution.

EPL is mostly made up of peasants led by the Communist Party, it upholds
as its ideology Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, Gonzalo Thought.  They are
forged in a life full of hardship, sacrifice and the risk of giving up
their lives, which leads them to revolutionary heroism.
President Gonzalo has organized the EPL, incorporating the masses into
people's militias, forming 3 military forces: the principal forces, the
local forces and base forces which act mainly in the countryside, with
actions in the city as a complement. This is a step forward towards the
armed masses of people. The Party is organized at all levels of the
People's Army; there are two commands, one military and the other
political, and it develops by means of a two-line struggle between the
proletarian military line and the bourgeois military line.

The revolutionary People's Army also has 3 departments: political,
military and logistical. It organizes itself into guerrilla squads,
contingents and battalions in the countryside; and in the cities it has
special detachments general guerrilla detachments and the people's
militias.

All the principles of the military operations are based on a simple
principle: "strive hard to conserve our own forces and smash those of
the enemy." In a revolutionary war, these principles are directly linked
to the main political principle of the war. The implementation of these
principles on the battlefield means utilizing the revolutionary army to
defend our country and to expel the invaders. To this end, the soldiers
of the revolution carry out their operations.  

Every war imposes a price, sometimes this price is very high.  This does
not negate the principle of conserving our own forces and smashing those
of the enemy.  In other words, the two aspects are opposites
intrinsically linked to each other, since sacrifice is needed not only
to destroy the enemy but to conserve our own forces. The partial and
temporary non-conservation of our forces is indispensable to conserve
the whole. This basic principle infers a myriad of other principles that
guide the military operations, including the strategy. 

                                  THE OPEN PEOPLE'S COMMITTEES

In spite of the extraordinary efforts of the reactionary regimes in Peru
to hide the truth,  the world has already seen one of the hundreds of
Open People's Committee in which the New Power is a reality. The
People's Committee of Sorata (Ayacucho) and the urban support  bases of
Lima were shown in the extraordinary video "The People of the Shining
Path", it won't be too long before genuine international supporters of
the revolution place the entire film on the Internet, showing the world
more images of the stunning advances of the People's War.
One of the first revolutionary journalists to reach the People's
Committee of  El Alto Huallaga was Luis Morales Ortega who on September
14, 1987 visited the area and wrote a revealing report with extensive
film and photos. For this outstanding journalistic activity, shortly
thereafter, Morales Ortega paid with his life.  The "democratic"
government of Garcia Perez ordered his assassination.  Four years later,
on July 11, 1991, another journalist visited El Huallaga to report on
the People's Committees. For that reason, the murderer Fujimori still
keeps him imprisoned at the Cantogrande prison. At the end of 1996, no
one can deny that the People's Committees abutting the Huallaga Valley
are a stronghold of the New Power.

The persecution and hostilities by the armed forces defending the old
society are confronted by the People's Army along the banks of the
Huallaga River. On one bank of the River, are the members of the
counter-subversive forces and informants who watch closely the visitors
who arrive in the zone.  Although the hordes of the regime can still
contaminate some of the populations along the main highway  (Carretera
Marginal) where the struggle of revolution and counterrevolution is
hotly contested, on the other side of the river are the People's
Committees, some of them clandestine and others open, all of them under
the leadership of the PCP, where the red flag of the proletariat waves
high and proud.

On many occasions, the genocidal army and its Yankee advisors have
strafed the population from helicopters; they also may arrest, torture
and kill any passerby they see in the area. In the community of Pueblo
Nuevo, 15 minutes from the U.S. military base of Santa Lucia, the armed
forces have ransacked the homes of unarmed peasants, kidnaped them and
dumped them in the river.  Recently the Peruvian marines and special
operation forces of the police are conducting patrols along Carretera
Marginal that are continuously ambushed by the People's Army. 

On the margins of the Huallaga are the territories of the New Power,
some more developed than others, but all of them have become more
sophisticated and sharper in confronting the genocidal armed forces
should they dare to penetrate the red bastions.  In 1994, the enemy
launched its "final offensive" in the Huallaga, and the little murderer
set the deadline of  July 28, 1995 to finish off  the "few hot spots of
subversion".  They tried to penetrate by air, land and river, but their
advance was crippled by the fierce resistance from the armed masses of 
people organized by the People's Army and the PCP. They had to hold back
to avoid more losses.  1996 is almost over, and the countersubversive
forces do not dare again to penetrate the liberated territories. The few
times they did they were soundly defeated by the People's Army, and with
the strategic retreat of the population so as to avoid the heavy
bombardment from their warplanes, the revolutionaries prevent
genocides.  Thus, the life of the people is modest, hard and full of
sacrifice.

The base force of the People's Army of each open People's Committee play
the role of a new type of police. It guards against enemy ambushes,
prevents enemy infiltrations and guarantees the security of the masses.
In case of enemy attack this force made up mainly of  local population
must provide cover while the people retreat, stopping the enemy attack. 
They also carry out rearguard tasks for the local force of the People's
Army in case of counterattack or retreat in order  to reestablish the
base area at a later date.

In addition to the two line struggle between the proletarian military
line versus the bourgeois military line, and the study of Party
documents, all combatants have productive tasks, with their weapons over
their shoulders.  Machete in hands, they are involved in productive
activities. The military training is intensive, the mock exercises of
attack and defense are frequent. The focus is on human power, not on
weapons. If a strategic retreat is ordered, all population with their
basic utensils, medicines, munitions, clothing and food are mobilized to
deny the murderous army a target in the people. In addition, People's
Justice is carried out during People's Assemblies which are mass
meetings where the accused are judged with objectivity but exemplary
justice.

The synchronization and the timing to coordinate activities among
People's Committees is precise because not only are the populations well
informed of the current events of the People's War, but many times they
perform joint military activities against the enemy.  The attack against
the military base protecting ENDEPALMA, a large manufacturer of olive
oil, was done jointly. In this action, 4 military commanders, 4 captains
and many military goons were annihilated.

Party festivities, May 1st, May 17th, October 7th, December 3rd,  June
19th, etc. are celebrated by the People's Committees.  Public programs
are prepared in advance, in which the masses from many People's
Committees further strengthen the ties among themselves.
In these meetings the Party reports are read, especially those of the
Central Committee. Also, revolutionary art, poetry, drama and songs are
presented by the masses and combatants.

                 THE NEW ECONOMY

The New Economy casts aside the old and rotten relations of production
and exchange controlled  by the big landowners, and the drug lords. 
Even thought the monopoly and commercialization of basic products such
as cacao still exists, the New Economy is based on self-sufficiency,
self-supply and collective work in accordance with the necessities of
the People's War. In the cocaine zones, where for years only coca has
grown because the land has not been fertile enough to growth other
products, the Communist Party of  Peru has promoted the cultivation of
food products like yucca, plantains, pituca (giant potato from the East)
and cacao, among others, with the aim that the People's Committees do
not have to depend on the marketing of coca. The PCP also puts important
emphasis on supporting the cultivation of  food products for the market,
which makes it possible for the open People's Committees to import
fertilizers at minimum surcharge.  For example, the Commissar of 
Economy and Production of a People's Committee is charged with ensuring
that the small merchants who come in to sell fertilizer are limited to a
30% profit rate. In the past, these products were marketed at a profit
rate of up to 300%, which made it impossible for the peasants to plant
anything other than coca.

The Economy of a New Type being developed has been an exemplary and
effective way to further address the basic needs of the people.

The peasants and their families are guaranteed housing and a parcel of
arable land. The land in the Open People's Committees is for those who
till it; subleasing or hereditary lands are not allowed.  Everyone who
is willing to work under the system of leadership and organization of
the Open People's Committees has the opportunity, which under the old
society was denied to them.  There is frequent exchange of products, but
it is controlled by the commissioner of the economy, who makes sure a
fair price is had by both parties. Often, there are exchanges or
bartering of fruits, garden vegetables or legumes for processed products
>from the cities like oil, pasta, spices, etc.  There are also frequent
exchanges of products from the zone for potatoes and onions from the
sierra region. 

As for commerce, prices are regulated once products enter the Open
People's Committee.  The maximum rate of profit allowed is 30 percent. 
Control of the sale of alcohol is even more rigorous.  To discourage the
sale of alcohol (and thus its consumption) the maximum rate of profit
allowed is 5 percent.  Its consumption in public areas is limited to
Saturdays and Sundays.

                    ALTERNATIVES TO COCA CULTIVATION

The Upper Huallaga region is known worldwide as a center of coca
production.  The poor peasantry of this extensive tropical valley
dedicate a part of their time to the harvesting of coca leaves.

A unresolved problem in the region, and one which causes a dilemma for
the peasants, is the low market value of their food products in
comparison with that of the coca leaf.  While plantains, cacao and yucca
are bought by businessmen and intermediary monopolies at low prices
(which don't even cover the expense of planting and harvesting), coca is
bought by intermediary businessmen (traqueteros) at prices that roughly
cover the cost the peasants have invested in their food crops.
 
There are areas controlled, organized and administered by the Communist
Party of Peru in which excellent quality rice is produced; they also
oversee chicken and other animal farms on a scale never before seen in
this region.  In sum, the economy of the New State is developing
steadily despite great difficulties and obstacles put in place by the
old society and its representatives. 
 
In the Open People's Committees one can sense the determination of the
people led by the Communist Party of Peru to develop a self-sufficient
economic system that no longer depends on dollars from the sale of coca
leaves. Therefore, in addition to promoting the cultivation of food
products, the raising of livestock such as hogs, chickens, ducks, sheep
and work animals is also promoted.  One of the main goals of the
commissioners of production in the Open People's Committees is to bring
about steady commerce and exchange of products with the villages and
Open People's Committees of the sierra region, in order to balance the
people's diet with geese, potatoes, garden vegetables and other products
that the Upper Huallaga region lacks.

Peru People's Movement (MPP), January 1997.
========================================Published by The New Flag, a magazine at the service of the oppressed
masses of Peru.
30-08 Broadway, Suite 159, Queens, NY 11106.
E-Mail:lquispe-AT-nyxfer.blythe.org
Read the PCP Web page: http://www.blythe.org/peru-pcp




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