Creation of the Table for Peace and Development

At the end of 1991, the mayor of Villa El Salvador, Johny Rodríguez, attempted to create a broad front against the PCP-SL in the district from within the municipality, promoting the formation of the Mesa por la Paz y el Desarrollo (Roundtable for Peace and Development). This initiative was intended to be a space for concerted action that united popular organizations, human rights groups, the Catholic Church, and the municipal government. The creation of this Roundtable took place in a context in which the district leaders realized that the PCP-SL had clear political intentions to dismantle the most important social organizations and destroy the VES project, as part of a strategy to create a power vacuum by intimidating and eliminating local authorities and leaders.