Abimael guzman reynoso biography of abraham

Post-World War II Latin America became a stage for diverse political experiences. After the colonial experience and the interference of Anglo-American powers, the urbanization process and the success of the Cuban Revolution caused different movements to emerge on the continent. In this sense, some tendencies close to socialist ideas were ready to turn around some of these nations.

Before that, in the 1930s, Abimael Guzmán Reynoso was born, the bastard son of a wealthy merchant who for years did not recognize him as his son. At just five years old, Abimael lost his mother and lived part of his childhood and adolescence under the care of some relatives. Some time later, he was recognized by his father and, as a result, had the opportunity to study at good schools and build a university career. During this period, young Abimael became interested in the dialogues of German philosophy.

At the same time, in the 1960s, the Peruvian nation suffered from several political incidents marked by attempted coups by small left-wing militias. Meanwhile, Abimal Guzmán delved deeper into the study of Marxist texts and, in 1965, decided to visit Revolutionary China with the aim of forming a revolutionary guerrilla. In the short period he was in the East he learned how to organize assaults, ambushes, make bombs and manage revolutionary actions.

Back in his homeland, Guzmán formed a guerrilla group called Sendero Luminoso. The movement was an explicit homage to the revolutionary movement of the 1920s, led by José Carlos Mariátegui, head of the “Revolutionary Student Front of Sendero Luminoso de Mariátgui”. In the first years, the organization of Guzmán’s group was carried out in secret. Sendero Luminoso sought to gather and train its supporters and only then take action.

Throughout the 1970s, Abimael embarked on a discreet academic career at the University of Huamanga, in the city of Ayacucho, the focus of his party’s actions. From there, the guerrilla leader gathered the support of several left-wing sympathizers interested in starting a civil war in the country. Throughout this period, the Peruvian dictatorial regime – in force between 1968 and 1980 – showed signs of weakening and alerted Sendero to prepare its revolutionary action.

In the early 1980s, the authoritarian regime surrendered to the political pressures of the time by calling direct elections. At that moment, Sendero Luminoso prepared for its first armed actions. One day before the election, Abimael’s companions invaded a school in the city of Chuschi and set fire to the ballot boxes, ballots and electoral documents stored there. This was the first sign of the group’s opposition to the democratic regime that was taking place in Peru’s political framework.

From then on, Sendero Luminoso began to oppose the government of President Fernando Belaúnde Terry (1980 – 1985). From this point on, the movement began to generate several terrorist actions with the formation of small isolated cells that carried out different criminal actions. Inserted into these guerrilla cells, participants in the movement were introduced to left-wing revolutionary thought and trained in how to handle weapons and explosives.

The growth of the movement transformed the leader of Sendero into a megalomaniac determined to carry out a revolution on a global scale. As time passed, Guzmán believed that he was predestined to become a historical figure and began to demand reverence from his followers. During this period, the terrorist leader proclaimed the creation of the People’s Republic of Peru, where he became head of a state financed by the profits from his terrorist actions.

To increase the number of Sendero followers, Abimael organized contact actions between the guerrillas and the Peruvian indigenous populations. Many times, not agreeing with the radical principles of the revolutionaries, entire villages were massacred and their children were kidnapped for use in the group’s missions. In some cases, the terror spread by “Comrade Gonzalo”, the nickname given to Guzmán, went so far as to employ child bombers.

In the 1990s, Sendero Luminoso began to show its first signs of collapse. The weakening is usually explained by the crisis in socialist countries, represented by the end of the Soviet Union, and the population’s interest in promoting the social and political stabilization of their country. Little by little, the guerrilla outbreaks began to be denounced by the population themselves and their criminal acts were publicly repudiated.

At this point, Sendero fell into discredit, especially after killing and blowing up the body of pacifist leader Maria Elena Moyano. In September 1992, the arrest of Abimael Guzmán put an end to the activities of the senderistas. Many celebrate this feat as the beginning of the process of pacification of the Peruvian nation. Throughout their existence, the revolutionaries led by Guzmán were responsible for more than thirty thousand murders.

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By Rainer Sousa
Graduated in History