Beginning of the People's War of the PCP-SL in Chuschi

On May 17, 1980, a group of PCP-SL militants burned the ballot boxes and electoral material in Chuschi, initiating their 'people's war'. This symbolic act marked the beginning of the internal armed conflict in Peru. On the same day, another group of Shining Pathists threw dynamite firecrackers at the Provincial Council and the EC in another locality. This coordinated action represented the first public and violent manifestation of the insurgent strategy of the Communist Party of Peru-Sendero Luminoso. The event deliberately coincided with the day of the general elections in the country.