The Peruvian Communist Party (; PCP) is a communist party in

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

that was founded as the Peruvian Socialist Party (, PSP) in 1928 by a group led by José Carlos Mariátegui until its name change in 1930. In contemporary Peruvian politics, it is often referred to as the Peruvian Communist Party – Unity (; PCP (Unidad)) to distinguish it from similarly named communist parties. The PCP is headquartered at Ramón Castilla Square in

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

, and publishes ' ("Unity") and ' ("Our Flag"). The party participates in the annual International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties (IMCWP).

History

The group was originally founded as the Peruvian Socialist Party (PSP) in 1928 by a group of nine socialist sympathisers (known as the "Group of Lima"), which included

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

philosopher and journalist José Carlos Mariátegui, and formally changed its name in 1930, following Mariátegui's death and his succession by as party leader. Following a period of outright illegality, the group gradually incorporated itself into the legal political scene during the 1960s, which led to the disappointment with its so-called burocratic and collaborationist character, believing that

guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...

was the only path to the establishment of a

socialist state A socialist state, socialist republic, or socialist country is a sovereign state constitutionally dedicated to the establishment of socialism. This article is about states that refer to themselves as socialist states, and not specifically ...

. In 1962, a faction split and formed the National Liberation Army (ELN) a year later, which led such a military campaign until its defeat by 1965. In 1963, the ongoing

Sino-Soviet split The Sino-Soviet split was the gradual worsening of relations between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) during the Cold War. This was primarily caused by divergences that arose from their ...

separated the PCP into two rival factions, one pro-Soviet and the other pro-Chinese. The latter subsequently split from the Peruvian Communist Party in January 1964 and adopted the name " Peruvian Communist Party – Red Flag" (PCP-BR). The party was originally led by Saturnino Paredes, José Sotomayor, and Abimael Guzmán. Due to internal disagreements among the party's three leaders, the party expelled several of its members in its early history. Two parties subsequently emerged from a 1969 split in the party: the Communist Party of Peru – Red Fatherland (PCP-PR) and the Communist Party of Peru – Shining Path (PCP-SL) led by Guzmán. Afterwards, Paredes became the party's sole leader and renamed the party "Peruvian Communist Party (Marxist–Leninist)". In response to the Sino-Albanian split, the party dropped its commitment to

Maoism Maoism, officially Mao Zedong Thought, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed while trying to realize a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic o ...

and aligned itself with the Party of Labour of Albania and

Hoxhaism Hoxhaism ( , ) is a variant of Marxism–Leninism developed in the late 1970s as a result of a schism in the anti-revisionist movement, namely between the Chinese Communist Party and the Party of Labour of Albania. The ideological dispute be ...

. In 1978, the "PCP-Mayoría" faction split from the PCP to form a more pro-Soviet branch, as it considered that the PCP had adopted Eurocommunism instead, operating until the 1980s. Following the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

in 1991, the PCP and other communist parties in Peru have since participated at a much smaller level in the country's politics, mainly through broad left-wing political alliances. In the 2011 general election, the party took part in the successful Peru Wins alliance of Ollanta Humala.

Leadership

Jorge del Prado was the party's general secretary from 1966 to 1991. The PCP is currently led by Roberto de La Cruz Huamán.

Notes

References

Sources

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External links