PCP-SL recruits coca growers in Ucayali
In 1988, PCP-SL consolidated its presence in Ucayali by recruiting coca farmers through the defense of coca cultivation. The Shining Path militants, mainly teachers, exacerbated the spirits of the farmers of Padre Abad to initiate a struggle in defense of coca, managing to capture the majority of small farmers between 1988 and 1990.
During 1988, the Communist Party of Peru - Shining Path (PCP-SL) consolidated its presence in Ucayali by assuming as its slogan the defense of coca leaf cultivation. 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 allowed the consolidation of logistical support and rest bases for the Popular Guerrilla Army (EGP) of the Regional Committee of Alto Huallaga (CRAH). Between 1988 and 1990, the PCP-SL managed to capture 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.