Date: Wed, 29 Jan 1997 22:38:35 +0000
Subject: M-G: Peru's 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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