Peru 1990 Crossroads: Between the Paths of Death and the Roads of Peace

During 1989, the dynamics of the war managed to cover the national scene and draw in vast social sectors. For this reason, the government, the Armed Forces, political parties, the Church, organizations of both workers and middle-class professional and business sectors — each from their particular positions and perspectives — consider that our most important problem is that of armed subversion. However, there still remains a majority of the independent population that perceives the economic crisis as the most critical problem requiring urgent attention. They place political violence in a secondary position because it seems more distant to them and has not yet vitally affected them. In order to contribute to a solution, it is first necessary to know and analyze the acts of violence attributed to armed subversive groups, as well as the responses of the State and society. 1989 was perhaps the most critical year in terms of the expansion of violence in the country, culminating a decade marked by war and crisis.