Terrorism and Unionism in Ayacucho

"Terrorismo y Sindicalismo en Ayacucho" is a historical essay on a monographic subject. With respect to our earlier studies on the Peruvian labor movement, in this one we set aside both the initial epic — laborist — description and the subsequent objectivist interpretation. Without denying the impact of economic and social factors on the current labor movement, we adopt the analytical perspective of power relations. From this standpoint we maintain that the said movement constitutes: first, an important element in the decision-making mechanisms of the prevailing political system; and second, it partly defines the national economic situation. This analytical perspective is particularly valid for the mining labor movement, linked to the Federación Nacional de Trabajadores Mineros y Metalúrgicos del Perú. With respect to the first point, attending to the current legal order within the formal framework of a liberal democratic republic, the following reflection is fully applicable: the organized working class is today, alongside states, the only legal subject with the right to violence. This is demonstrated above all in the class struggle, in the form of the right to strike.