The Founder - Abimael Guzman
Abimael Guzman was a philosophy professor that formed and lead the communist revolutionary group called the Shining Path. Guzman formed this group in the late 1960's and used terrorist and guerrilla tactics to attempt to destabilize and overthrow the Peruvian government.
Guzman was born in 1934, attended Roman Catholic high school and the San Augustin University in Arequipa. At the University he studied law and philosophy. He and some of his peers became very interested in the communist revolutions that were happening in China and the Soviet Union. Guzman eventually joined the Communist Party of Peru in the late 1950s.
After being hired as an assistant professor at the National University of Christobal de Huamanga in Ayacucho, he started gaining followers that were students and faculty members. Eventually Guzman was promoted to director of personnel, slowly taking over the university and only hiring professors that agreed with his political beliefs. During this time, he left the Communist Party of Peru and joined a group with Mao inspired ideas, called the Bandera Rosa. This group sent Guzman to China, allowing him to deepen his communist beliefs in the countryside.
He was later expelled from Bandera Rosa, and went out to create his own organization, calling it the Communist Party of Peru for the Shining Path of Jose Carlos Mariategui. Eventually shortening the name to the Shining Path.
Guzman started recruiting Indians of Ayacucho, students, and faculty from other universities, as well as other individuals from businesses and government agencies. His followers called him Dr. Puka Inti – Red Sun – following his ideological push to empower the indigenous people of Ayacucho that he recruited. New York Times in 1992 reported that some individuals saw Guzman as a brilliant individual, while others claimed he could only recite what he had learned from the Maoist ideology he studied. Apart from the disagreement about his ideological strengths, many were in favor of his organization skills, some quoting that it was the best organized institution in Peru. Guzman took over the mountainous region of Ayacucho, but after suffering a skin condition, had to move from the high altitude to the city of Lima. There he took over shantytowns of the impoverish. Guzman permanently went underground in the 1980’s after the first armed attack against polling stations.
Guzman was born in 1934, attended Roman Catholic high school and the San Augustin University in Arequipa. At the University he studied law and philosophy. He and some of his peers became very interested in the communist revolutions that were happening in China and the Soviet Union. Guzman eventually joined the Communist Party of Peru in the late 1950s.
After being hired as an assistant professor at the National University of Christobal de Huamanga in Ayacucho, he started gaining followers that were students and faculty members. Eventually Guzman was promoted to director of personnel, slowly taking over the university and only hiring professors that agreed with his political beliefs. During this time, he left the Communist Party of Peru and joined a group with Mao inspired ideas, called the Bandera Rosa. This group sent Guzman to China, allowing him to deepen his communist beliefs in the countryside.
He was later expelled from Bandera Rosa, and went out to create his own organization, calling it the Communist Party of Peru for the Shining Path of Jose Carlos Mariategui. Eventually shortening the name to the Shining Path.
Guzman started recruiting Indians of Ayacucho, students, and faculty from other universities, as well as other individuals from businesses and government agencies. His followers called him Dr. Puka Inti – Red Sun – following his ideological push to empower the indigenous people of Ayacucho that he recruited. New York Times in 1992 reported that some individuals saw Guzman as a brilliant individual, while others claimed he could only recite what he had learned from the Maoist ideology he studied. Apart from the disagreement about his ideological strengths, many were in favor of his organization skills, some quoting that it was the best organized institution in Peru. Guzman took over the mountainous region of Ayacucho, but after suffering a skin condition, had to move from the high altitude to the city of Lima. There he took over shantytowns of the impoverish. Guzman permanently went underground in the 1980’s after the first armed attack against polling stations.