Peru 1989. In the Spiral of Violence

The report is organized into ten chapters. In the first, a general approach to the national political process is sought in order to then situate the balance regarding the course of violence in 1989. In chapters II through IV, the work approaches what occurred in Puno, Alto Huallaga, and Junín, considering that these are "new" areas in relation to the violence and that they respond to different regional logics that need to be understood. Chapter V is devoted to analyzing the main topics debated during the year regarding the State's performance in the face of violence, focusing fundamentally on the effectiveness of the counter-subversive strategy, on the so-called "Civil Defense rondas," and on state policy regarding human rights. In chapter VI, reference is made to the topics that in 1989 were relevant in relation to legislation and the administration of justice in the sphere of political violence. Chapter VII describes and analyzes the problem of paramilitary groups, as well as the results of the parliamentary commission that undertook their investigation. Chapter VIII evaluates the impact of violence on the social movement, seeking to identify the consequences of the Senderista strategy vis-à-vis these sectors, as well as the problems they had to confront due to the actions of the State and paramilitary gangs. The following chapter refers to Sendero Luminoso's attempted boycott of the municipal elections. Chapter X describes and analyzes the different reactions of civil society to the problem of political violence.