Date: 03 Mar 96 03:43:42 EST
From: "Chris, London" <100423.2040-AT-compuserve.com>
Subject: Peru: NACLA Evidence 1/3


I am disappointed that those  convinced that reputable 
organizations like NACLA gave reliable reports of widespread 
reports of killings by the PCP of leftist leaders, did not 
accept the obligation to step forward to clarify the 
evidence. I think their conduct was divisive for the good
running of the l'st in tackling an extremely hot issue.

Since I have learned from the l'st that NACLA stands for 
North American Congress on Latin America, and since the majority
of subscribers are in the USA I would have thought there would have
been little difficulty in checking and commenting on the sources. 

However last Saturday I obtained from the black and internationalist
bookshop in Finsbury Park, London, New Beacon Books, 

"A NACLA Reader": "Free Trade and Economic Restructuring in Latin
America" 1995 pb, ed Fred Rosen and Deidre McFadyen, forward
by Ruben Zamora, published by Monthly Review Press.

The theme of the book is close to my heart - the counterattack 
on global neo-classical economics. The book appears to attempt 
to be as broad ranging and authoritative a review
of the field as their collective endeavours allow, with 27
articles ranging from street kids and the "new women workers" 
to Clinton's Trade Policy, by Doug Henwood, which opens the
first section:

"The Underpinnings of Free Trade: The Implementation of the 
Neo-Liberal Model"

The articles in part II are grouped under the title
"The Reorganization of Work and Class Relations"

Part III "The Broader Social and Cultural Context".

It looks a worthy browse for anyone interested in this
field of which I have to say, my knowledge is 
extremely limited. I would have thought it was 
well worth considering for purchase.

I draw attention to all this to show that my chance find
has all the appearance of claiming to be the most
authoritative selection of contributions that NACLA 
can bring together on this subject. The one article
on Peru, may therefore be assumed to be a worthy 
contribution to this task in the eyes of NACLA. It is -

"The Struggles of a Self-Built Community in Peru",
by Jo-Marie Burt and Cesar Espejo."

This is indeed a very interesting article, concretely, 
historically, politically and for its economic 
implications. It is about a township that burst into 
existence south of Lima over the last 25 years 
and now numbers a quarter of a million people.

The article has 20 references and is itself 12 pages long.
The PCP is discussed for about only one of these twelve
pages. I quote the passage in full, together with 
the following remarks that indicate how the authors
contextualise the activities of the PCP.


I will comment on their criticisms of the PCP in part 2/3
and on the overall article in part 3/3 for its implications 
for the strategy of the PCP.

Chris
London.


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The political violence released by Shining Path's war against the 
Peruvian state has also taken its toll on community organizations.
Shining Path moved into Lima in 1988, altering its traditional 
Maoist approach of encircling the city from the countryside
in favour of more open political work in the cities. The weakening
of the left, coupled with the economic crisis, gave Shining Path 
a window of opportunity in the city to organize at the local level.
In 1990 Shining Path singled out Villa as an ideal place to 
challenge the legal left, and its "revisionist" posture. On 
three different occasions, Shining Path tried to assassinate
Mayor Michael Azcueta in a campaign to decapitate Villa of its
leadership and demoralize the rank and file. 

Maria Elena Moyano, co-founder of the FEPOMUVES [Popular
Federation of Women of Villa El Salvador] and vice-mayor of
Villa, was not so lucky. In 1992, she was brutally assassinated
by Shining Path. Her position as a recognised grassroots leader
who openly challenged Shining Path and as a member of the legal left
had made her a double target. Shining Path launched a smear 
campaign against her, accusing her of mishandling funds linked to 
the soup kitchens and the municipal milk program. Given the 
general disenchantment with politics, many of Villa's residents
were far too willing to believe such rumors. "In these times,"
one of Moyano's close friends told me, "people believe that 
everyone steals - everyone, even grassroots leaders like
Maria Elena".

Shining Path's threats coupled with government inaction caused 
many of Villa's grassroots activists to quit their leadership
positions, while others were forced into exile. Today, two 
year after Shining Path leader Abimael Guzman's capture, people
are less fearful, and a number of local groups, including the 
FEPOMUVES, have attempted to reorganize. But many believe 
that Shining Path has not completely disappeared, and 
the demobilizing effects of violence and fear remain.

In the final analysis, economic austerity and continued poverty may
have had an even more profound negative effect on community 
organizing. Local self-help initiatives such as the soup kitchens
and the milk committees are often coping mechanisms designed to deal
with economic downturns and emergency situations. While the initial
impact of harsh economic conditions prompted grassroots groups to 
respond with self-help efforts, the drawn-out recession may actually
have undercut grassroots organizing in Villa, pushing people into more
individualistic survival strategies. 

President Alberto Fujimori's structural-adjustment program
has undermined the resource base of many communal soup kitchens,
deepening their dempendency on external donations, and 
exhausted their members.  "   <etc>

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