From Mariátegui to Mao: Gonzalo Thought and the Ideology of the Shining Path

This presentation examines the history and defining characteristics of the ideology of the Peruvian Communist Party-Shining Path, more commonly referred to as Gonzalo Thought. I will explore how Shining Path leaders attempted to adapt Maoism to the Peruvian situation by placing the ideology within the broader context of the international spread of Maoism from China to the Global South. By using documents published by the Shining Path and comparing them with the organization's actions from its founding in 1969 to Abimael Guzmán's capture in 1992, this research identifies inconsistencies between the organization's ideology and its actions. These inconsistencies reveal that Gonzalo Thought is an amalgamation of conflicting ideas resulting in actions that contradicted and undermined the Shining Path's ideology and political project, which led to the group's eventual failure. By analyzing these contradictions, this presentation contributes to a more thorough understanding of the Shining Path's ideology, an aspect of the movement often overlooked in scholarship.