Terror and the Privatized State: A Peruvian Parable

The authors argue that although violence is part of Peru's history, the level of violence against the civilian population unleashed by Sendero Luminoso is unprecedented in its cruelty and extent. Following a dramatic derivation of the tradition of class-based vindictive violence, the PCP-SL directed its violence against those who remained in the broad space between Shining Path fundamentalism and unconditional support for the state. Sendero Luminoso executed leaders of workers' unions, peasant federations, women's groups, neighborhood organizations, and student federations not linked to the PCP-SL. The arbitrary and widespread use of violence by the armed forces, however, far exceeded the conventional levels at which it was accepted in a counterinsurgency struggle.