PCP-SL assumes defense of coca in Ucayali
In 1988, the PCP-SL consolidated its presence in Ucayali by assuming as its slogan the defense of coca leaf cultivation, attracting the support of coca growers in Padre Abad. This strategy allowed them to establish bases of support and territorial control in the area between 1988 and 1992.
During the second stage of the Shining Path's presence in Ucayali (1988-1992), the PCP-SL took up the defense of coca leaf cultivation as a slogan. The Shining Path militants, taking advantage of their status as professors, stirred up the spirits of the coca growers in the province of Padre Abad and encouraged them to initiate an unrestricted struggle in defense of coca leaf cultivation, which was already their main economic activity. This previous political work was consolidated when PCP-SL formally assumed the defense of coca as a slogan. Between 1988 and 1990, PCP-SL succeeded in attracting almost all the small farmers who believed they were facing a kind of force that would save their coca fields and defend them from the abuses committed by drug traffickers and the State.