Fundamental Documents of the Communist Party of Peru

#PUBLICATION NOTE

This edition of the Fundamental Documents of the Communist Party of Peru has been prepared and revised for digital publication by the Institute of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism under the Central Committee of the Communist Party in Switzerland on the basis of the following editions:

• On Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, in A World to Win, No. 11, 1988.
• On Gonzalo Thought, in A World to Win, No. 11, 1988.
• Programme of the Communist Party of Peru, pamphlet published by the Committee to Support the Revolution in Peru, Berkeley.

#INTRODUCTION NOTE

These are the Fundamental Documents of the Communist Party of Peru, drafted by Comrade Gonzalo in Lima, Peru for the First Session of the Party's First National Congress before January 1988.

In the three documents that make up the Party's Fundamental Documents, Comrade Gonzalo defines Maoism as the new, third, and higher stage of the ideology of the international proletariat, Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, mainly Maoism, and makes a fundamental synthesis of the content of Maoism; he also systematizes Gonzalo's Thought, the guiding thought of the Communist Party of Peru and the Peruvian revolution, whose main content was expressed in the Party's General Political Line; and he establishes the General Programme for the Democratic Revolution in Peru and the Party's Declaration of Principles.

Together with the General Political Line, the Fundamental Documents make up the Party's basis of unity according to the First National Congress.

#Workers and oppressed people of the world, unite!

#ON MARXISM-LENINISM-MAOISM

#Gonzalo

#Before January 1988

#★

The ideology of the international proletariat arose in the crucible of the class struggle as Marxism, becoming Marxism-Leninism and, finally, Marxism-Leninism-Maoism. In this way, the omnipotent, scientific ideology of the proletariat, which is omnipotent because it is true, has undergone three stages:

• Marxism
• Leninism
• Maoism.

These are three stages, periods, or milestones in the dialectical process of development of a single unity that, in 140 years, beginning with the Communist Manifesto, through the most heroic epic of class struggle, through fierce and fruitful two-line struggles within the Communist Parties themselves, through the tremendous work of giants of thought and action that only the class could have brought forth, with three unfading luminaries standing above the rest — Marx, Lenin, and Mao Zedong — and through great leaps, especially three, has armed us with Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, mainly Maoism today.

However, while the universal validity of Marxism-Leninism has come to be recognized, Maoism is not broadly recognized as the third stage; thus, while some simply deny it as such, others only go so far as to accept it as «Mao Zedong's Thought». Essentially, in both cases, while they clearly have differences between them, they both negate the overall further development of Marxism by Chairman Mao Zedong. Not to recognize the character of Maoism as an «-ism» is to deny that it is universally applicable and, consequently, its character as the third, new, and higher stage of the ideology of the international proletariat: Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, mainly Maoism, which we uphold, defend, and apply.

#1. INTRODUCTION

As an introduction, and to better understand Maoism and the need to fight for it, let us recall Lenin. He taught us that, as the revolution shifted to the East, it would confront specific conditions which, without negating principles and laws, were nonetheless new situations, and that Marxism could not fail to recognize this fact on pain of leading the revolution to defeat. Despite the uproar raised especially by pedantic and bookish intellectuals full of individualism and false Marxism in opposition to what was newly arising, the only appropriate and correct thing to do was to apply Marxism to the concrete conditions and to resolve the new situations and problems that every revolution necessarily confronts and resolves; this in the face of consternation and hypocritical «defence of the ideology, the class, and the people» put forward by revisionists, opportunists, and renegades, and the enraged and blind attacks by the stultified academics and hacks of the old order, debased by rotten bourgeois ideology and ready to defend the old society on which they were parasites. Furthermore, Lenin expressly stated that the revolution in the East would give rise to new and great surprises that would further shock those who worship known paths and who are incapable of seeing the new; and, as we all know, he entrusted the comrades from the East with resolving problems that Marxism had not yet been able to resolve.

Further, we should keep in mind that, when Comrade Stalin appropriately and correctly stated that we had entered the stage of Leninism in the development of Marxism, there was also opposition, and those who opposed it also did so in the name of defending Marxism. Let us keep in mind that some people also said that Leninism was only applicable to the backward countries, but, through struggle, practice confirmed it as a great further development of Marxism, and the ideology of the proletariat shined throughout the world as Marxism-Leninism.

Today, Maoism faces a similar situation, and, just as the new and Marxism have always made their way through struggle, so, too, Maoism will prevail and become recognized.

#2. CONTEXT

As for the context in which Chairman Mao worked and in which Maoism was forged, on an international level, the basis was imperialism, the world wars, the worldwide proletarian movement, the national liberation movement, the struggle between Marxism and revisionism, and the restoration of capitalism in the Union of Socialist Council Republics [USCR]. Three milestones stand out in this century:

• First the 1917 November Revolution, the dawn of the proletarian world revolution.
• Second, the victory of the Chinese revolution in 1949, changing the correlation of forces in favour of socialism.
• Third, the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution launched in 1966 as a continuation of the revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat in order to continue on the road to communism.

Suffice it to say that Chairman Mao led two of these glorious historic events.

Maoism took concrete shape in China, the centre of the world revolution, amidst the most complex convergence of contradictions, intense and bloody class struggle marked by the imperialist powers' attempt to carve up China among themselves, the fall of the Qing Dynasty (1911), the 4th of May Movement of 1919, the upheaval of the vast peasantry, the 22 years of armed struggle for the democratic revolution, the tremendous struggle to build and develop socialism, and the ten years of revolutionary fervour to advance the Cultural Revolution in the midst of the greatest two-line struggle in the Communist Party of China, mainly against revisionism, with the world situation already described in the background. Four of these historic events are of particularly extraordinary importance:

• The founding of the Communist Party of China in 1921.
• The 1927 Autumn Harvest Uprising, which was the beginning of the road of encircling the cities from the countryside.
• The founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.
• The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution of 1966-76.

In all of these, Chairman Mao was the leading figure, and, above all, the highest and acknowledged leader of the Chinese Revolution.

Regarding Chairman Mao's biography, we can say that he was born on the 26th of December, 1893, opening his eyes to a world convulsed in the flames of war. He was the son of peasants and was seven years old when the Boxer Movement broke out. He was 18 years old and studying to be a teacher when the Empire collapsed; he enlisted in the army and later became a great organizer of peasants and students in Hunan, his native province. Founder of the Communist Party and the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, he put forward the road of encircling the cities from the countryside, developed people's war, and, with it, the military theory of the proletariat. He formulated the theory of New Democracy and founded the People's Republic. He was the motive force of the Great Leap Forward and the driving force behind socialist construction, the leader of the struggle against the modern revisionism of Hrusev and his lackeys, and the leader and guide of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. These milestones mark a life totally and completely dedicated to revolution. In this century, the proletariat has won three great victories; two were led Chairman Mao, and if one is glorious enough, then two is all the more so.

#3. CONTENT

On the content of Maoism — obviously, its essence — we should emphasize the following fundamental questions:

#3.1. THEORY

Marxism is made up of three component parts: Marxist philosophy, Marxist political economy, and scientific socialism. The further development of all of these gives rise to a great qualitative leap for Marxism as a whole, as a unity, to a higher level, which means a new stage. Consequently, it is essential to point out that Chairman Mao has produced, in theory and in practice, precisely such a great qualitative leap. In order to better explain, we will examine this point by point.

#3.1.1. MARXIST PHILOSOPHY

In the sphere of Marxist philosophy, he developed the essence of dialectics, the law of contradiction, establishing it as the only fundamental law; and, in addition to his profoundly dialectical understanding of the theory of knowledge, whose essence is the two leaps that make up this law (from practice to knowledge and back to practice, the leap from knowledge back to practice being the main one), we must emphasize his masterly application of the law of contradiction to politics; moreover, he brought philosophy to the masses, fulfilling the task laid out by Marx.

#3.1.2. MARXIST POLITICAL ECONOMY

In the sphere of Marxist political economy, Chairman Mao applied dialectics to analyse the relationship between the basis and the superstructure and, in carrying out the struggle of Marxism-Leninism against the revisionist theory of the «primacy of the productive forces», he concluded that the superstructure, consciousness, can transform the basis and with political power develop the productive forces. He developed the Leninist idea that politics is the concentrated expression of economics, and proclaimed that politics must be in command (applicable to all spheres) and that political work is the lifeblood of economic work; all this lead to a genuine management of political economy and not just a series of economic policies.

One question that is overlooked, despite its importance, especially for those who face new-democratic revolutions, is the Maoist theory of bureaucrat capitalism, that is, the capitalism that imperialism develops in the oppressed countries on the basis of different levels of feudalism or other previous systems. This is a crucial problem, especially for Asia, Africa, and Latin America, since from its understanding is derived the correct leadership for the revolution, particularly because the economic basis for advancing the revolution to the second, socialist stage depends on confiscating bureaucrat capital.

But the main thing is that Chairman Mao Zedong has further developed the political economy of socialism. His criticism of socialist construction in the USCR is extremely important. So, too, are his theses on how to build socialism in China: taking agriculture as the basis and industry as the guide, industrialization guided by the relationship between heavy and light industry and agriculture, centring economic construction on heavy industry and simultaneously giving full attention to light industry as well as agriculture. We should emphasize the Great Leap Forward and the conditions for its implementation: first, a correct line setting an appropriate and correct course; second, a range of small, middle, and large organizational forms, with more of the former and less of the latter; and, third, a tremendous push, a colossal effort on the part of the masses to set it in motion and finally to win, a leap forward whose results are more appreciated by looking at the process it sets in motion and its historical perspectives than by the immediate results, and at its links to agricultural producers' cooperatives and the people's communes. Finally, we must keep in mind his teachings on objectivity and subjectivity in understanding and managing the laws of socialism (whose full blossoming has not been seen in the short decades of socialism, which likewise has prevented a better understanding of these laws and their specific characteristics), and especially the relationship between revolution and economic development, concentrated in his slogan: «Grasp revolution, promote production.»¹ Nevertheless, despite its crucial importance, not much has been said about this further development of Marxist political economy.

#3.1.3. SCIENTIFIC SOCIALISM

In the sphere of scientific socialism, Chairman Mao further developed the theory of classes, analysing them on the economic, political, and ideological levels; revolutionary violence as a universal law without exception; revolution as the violent replacement of one class by another, putting forth his theory that «Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun»,² and he solved the problem of the conquest of political power in the oppressed nations by indicating the road of encircling the cities from the countryside and establishing its general laws. He brilliantly defined and developed the theory of the class struggle under socialism: that, under socialism, antagonistic struggle persists between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, between the capitalist road and the socialist road, and between capitalism and socialism, and that it was not yet settled which one would win out; it would be resolved over a long period of time, a process of restoration and counter-restoration, until the proletariat would finally achieve the definitive consolidation of its political power, the dictatorship of the proletariat. Finally and most importantly, he formulated the great historic solution for continuing the revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat, the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.

#★ ★ ★

These fundamental questions, simply outlined but well known and undeniable, show Chairman Mao's further development of the component parts of Marxism and the obvious further development of Marxism-Leninism to a new, third, and higher stage: Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, mainly Maoism.

#★ ★ ★

Continuing with this synthetic approach, let us look at other specific points which, though they are derived from those previously mentioned, should be taken up, even if only enumeratively, so as to call attention to them.

#3.2. NEW DEMOCRACY

First of all, the further development of the Marxist theory of the State, in relation to the three types of dictatorships:

• The dictatorship of the bourgeoisie, in the old type of bourgeois democracies, like the United States, a category to which can be added the oppressed nations, such as those in Latin America.
• The dictatorship of the proletariat, as in the USCR and China before the revisionists usurped political power.
• New Democracy as the joint dictatorship based on the worker-peasant alliance led by the proletariat under the leadership of the Communist Party, which was forged in China during the democratic revolution and in Peru today takes the form of people's committees, base areas, and the New Democratic People's Republic in the process of formation.

Within this further development of the theory of the State, it is essential to stress the key difference between the State system (the dictatorship of a class or classes that hold political power), which is the main thing, and the system of government (the organization of the exercise of that political power).

Furthermore, New Democracy — one of Chairman Mao's most outstanding developments — masterly gives concrete form to the bourgeois revolution of a new type that can only be led by the proletariat, in sum, the democratic revolution in the context of the new era of the proletarian world revolution in which we find ourselves. New-democratic revolution means a new economy, new politics, and new culture; obviously, it means overthrowing the old order and building a new one with guns in hand, which is the only way to transform the world.

Finally, it is important to emphasize that, while New Democracy, being a democratic revolution, fulfils democratic tasks, it also advances in relation to some socialist tasks. This provides an overall solution to the problem of two stages — democratic and socialist — that correspond to countries like ours. It guarantees that, once the democratic stage is completed, the revolution will continue advancing uninterruptedly to the socialist stage without the slightest pause.

#3.3. THE «THREE WEAPONS»

The problem of building the «Three Revolutionary Weapons» demands that the Party understand the relationship between the Party, the army, and the united front; a task of leadership is to correctly and appropriately understand and handle the interrelated construction of all three in the midst of war or the defence of the New State based on the power of the armed masses. This construction is guided by the principle that the appropriate and correct character of the ideological line is decisive, and it is on this ideological-political basis that organizational construction develops simultaneously, in the course of the struggle between the proletarian line and the bourgeois line and in the storm of the class struggle, mainly war, which presently or potentially is the main form of class struggle.

#3.3.1. THE PARTY

Concerning the Party, Chairman Mao takes as his starting point the need for a Communist Party, a political party of a new type, a political party of the proletariat; today, we would say a Marxist-Leninist-Maoist political party; a political party whose objective is to conquer and maintain State power, which inseparably links the Party to people's war, whether it be to launch it, to develop it, or to wage it to defend itself; a political party based on the masses, either as a consequence of the people's war — which is a war waged by the masses — or the united front, which, being a front made up of classes, is based on the majority of the masses. The Party develops and changes according to the stages of the revolution and their periods; the motive force of its development is the concentrated contradiction within it in the form of two-line struggle between the proletarian line and the bourgeois line, or the non-proletarian line in general, which is in essence and mainly a struggle against revisionism. This leads to the crucial importance of ideology in the life of the Party and of the unfolding of rectification movements to adjust the functioning of the whole system of the Party's organizations and its membership to the appropriate and correct ideological and political lines, so that the proletarian line may predominate and keep a steel grip on the Party's leadership. The Party's purpose is the establishment of the political power of the proletariat, even under New Democracy, where the proletariat is the leading class, and mainly the establishment, consolidation, and development of the dictatorship of the proletariat, so as, through cultural revolutions, to win the final goal, communism. This is why the Party must lead everything in an all-around way.

#3.3.2. THE REVOLUTIONARY ARMY

The revolutionary army is an army of a new type, an army for carrying out the political tasks set by the Party in accordance with the interests of the proletariat and people. This takes the concrete form of three tasks: to wage war, to produce (so as not to become a parasitic burden), and to mobilize the masses. It is an army that is built politically based on the ideology of the proletariat, Marxism-Leninism-Maoism (today), and on the General Political Line and the Military Line established by the Party. It is an army that bases itself on people, not weapons; an army that has emerged from the masses and is always linked with them and serves them wholeheartedly, allowing it to move among them like a fish in water. Without a people's army, the people have nothing, Chairman Mao says, while he also teaches us about the necessity that the Party commands absolute leadership over the army and sets forth the great principle: The Party commands the gun, and we will never allow the gun to control the Party. Beyond thoroughly establishing the principles and norms for building the army of a new type, the Chairman also warned that the army could be used to restore capitalism if leadership were usurped through a counter- revolutionary coup, and he further developed Lenin's thesis on the people's militia, advancing further than ever before in the general armament of the people, opening the way and pointing the direction toward the sea of armed masses, which will lead us to the final emancipation of the masses and the proletariat.

#3.3.3. THE UNITED FRONT

Chairman Mao Zedong was the first to develop a complete theory of the united front and establish its principles. It is a united front based on the worker-peasant alliance and which guarantees the hegemony of the proletariat in the revolution; a united front of classes led by the proletariat, represented by its political party, in sum, a united front under the leadership of the Communist Party; a united front for people's war, for the revolution, for the conquest of political power in the service of the proletariat and the masses. Concretely, therefore, the united front is the unity of the revolutionary forces against the counter-revolutionary forces in order to wage the struggle between revolution and counter- revolution, mainly through people's war, arms in hand. Obviously, the united front is not the same at every stage of the revolution, and, moreover, it has its specific characteristics depending on the different periods of each stage; likewise, the united front in a specific revolution is not the same as on a world scale, though both follow the same general laws. Furthermore, it is important to emphasize the relationship between the united front and the New State, which Chairman Mao established during the Anti-Japanese War, when he explained that the united front was a form of joint dictatorship. This is a question that we who face democratic revolutions must study.

#3.4. PEOPLE'S WAR

People's war is the military theory of the international proletariat; people's war sums up, for the first time, in a systematic and all-encompassing way, the theoretical and practical experience of the struggles, military actions, and wars waged by the proletariat as well as the people's long experience in waging armed struggle, especially the peasant wars in China. It is because of Chairman Mao that the class has a military theory; however, there is much confusion and misunderstanding around this issue. These problems arise from how the people's war in China itself is understood. It is often viewed, narrowly and contemptuously, as a mere guerrilla war; this already denotes a lack of understanding of the fact that, with Chairman Mao, guerrilla warfare acquires a strategic character. This view also does not understand how guerrilla warfare, on the basis of its essential fluidity, can develop mobility, mobile warfare, positional warfare; it can unfold plans for major strategic offensives and it can seize small, middle, and big cities with millions of inhabitants, combining attacks from the outside with uprisings from the inside. Thus, in conclusion, the four stages of the Chinese revolution, in particular from the Agrarian Revolutionary War to the People's War of Liberation, with the Anti-Japanese War taking place between these two periods, demonstrate the diverse aspects and complexity of the revolutionary war waged for more than 20 years with a huge population and a huge mobilization and participation by the masses; the war involved examples of many different experiences; and the essence of this war has been extraordinarily studied, and its principles, laws, strategy, tactics, norms, and so on, have been masterly established. It is in that incredible crucible and on the foundation laid by Marxism-Leninism that Chairman Mao was able to establish the military theory of the proletariat, people's war.

We must keep in mind that, subsequently, the Chairman himself, with full knowledge of the existence of atomic bombs and missiles and the ability to use them, defended and further developed people's war to wage it under new conditions involving nuclear weapons and against powers and superpowers; in sum, people's war is the weapon of the proletariat and people in confronting nuclear war.

A key and decisive question in understanding the universality of people's war is understanding its universal validity and consequently applicability, taking into account the different types of revolutions and the specific conditions of each revolution. To understand this key question, it is helpful to keep in mind the fact that, since the Petrograd uprising, the model of a simple uprising has not been repeated, and to consider the anti-fascist resistance and guerrilla wars in Europe during the Second World War, as well as the armed struggles being waged in Europe today, and to see that, in the end, the November Revolution was not only an uprising, but a revolutionary war that lasted several years. Consequently, in the imperialist countries, the revolution can only be conceived of as revolutionary war, and today, this can only mean people's war.

Finally, today more than ever, we Communists and revolutionaries, the proletariat and the people, need to be tempered in the point: «Yes, we are advocates of the omnipotence of revolutionary war; that is good, not bad, it is Marxist.»³ This means we have to be advocates of the invincibility of people's war.

#3.5. THE GREAT PROLETARIAN CULTURAL REVOLUTION

The historical significance of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution is that it is the most far-reaching of Chairman Mao's further developments of Marxism-Leninism, the solution to the great pending problem of continuing the revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat. It «constitutes a broader and deeper new stage in the development of the socialist revolution in our country».⁴ What was the situation? As the Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China Concerning the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution put it: «Although the bourgeoisie has been overthrown, it is still trying to use the old ideas, culture, customs, and habits of the exploiting classes to corrupt the masses, capture their minds, and endeavour to stage a comeback. The proletariat must do the exact opposite: it must deal merciless blows and meet head-on every challenge of the bourgeoisie in the ideological field and use the new ideas, culture, customs, and habits of the proletariat to change the worldview of the whole of society. At present, our objective is to struggle against and overthrow those persons in power who are taking the capitalist road, to criticize and repudiate the reactionary bourgeois academic ‹authorities› and the ideology of the bourgeoisie and all other exploiting classes, and to transform education, literature, art, and all other parts of the superstructure not in correspondence with the socialist economic basis, so as to facilitate the consolidation and development of the socialist system.»⁴

It was in these conditions that the most earthshaking political event and the largest mass mobilization the Earth has ever seen took place. This is how Chairman Mao defined its objectives: «The current Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution is absolutely necessary and most timely for consolidating the dictatorship of the proletariat, preventing capitalist restoration, and building socialism.»⁵

We would further emphasize two other questions:

• Firstly, the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution marked a milestone in the development of the dictatorship of the proletariat toward consolidating the political power of the proletariat, given concrete form in the revolutionary committees.
• Secondly, the restoration of capitalism in China following the 1976 counter-revolutionary coup does not negate the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, but rather formed part of the contention between restoration and counter-restoration, and, in fact, it points to the crucial historic importance of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in the inexorable march of humanity toward communism.

#3.6. THE WORLD REVOLUTION

Chairman Mao emphasizes the importance of the world revolution understood as a single whole. His fundamental starting points are that the revolution is the main trend, while imperialism is increasingly decaying every day; that the role of the masses grows more immense year after year and that they are making and will make their irresistible transforming force felt; and the great truth that he reiterated: either all of us will march on to communism or none of us will. Within this specific perspective of the era of imperialism is the great historic moment of the «next 50 to 100 years»,⁶ and, within that context, the period now beginning of the struggle against US imperialism and Soviet social-imperialism, those paper tigers fighting for world hegemony and threatening the world with nuclear war, to which we must respond, first, by condemning such a war, and then getting ready to oppose it with people's war and make revolution. Furthermore, based on the historic importance of the oppressed nations and even more their future perspectives, as well as the economic and political relations developing due to the decay of imperialism, the Chairman set forth his theory on the question of the differentiation of the three worlds. All of this points to the need to further develop the strategy and tactics of the world revolution. Unfortunately, little or almost nothing is known of the writings and statements by Chairman Mao regarding these most important questions; however, what little we do know shows the tremendous prospects he foresaw, and these are major guiding principles which we should follow to understand and serve the proletarian world revolution.

#3.7. SUPERSTRUCTURE, IDEOLOGY, CULTURE, AND EDUCATION

These and other related problems have been sharply and profoundly studied and resolved by the Chairman; therefore, this is another fundamental question that demands attention.

#★ ★ ★

In conclusion, the content of these fundamental questions clearly demonstrates to anyone who cares to see and understand that we have a third, new, and higher stage of Marxism: Maoism; and that to be a Marxist today means to be a Marxist-Leninist-Maoist, and mainly a Maoist.

#4. DEFINITION

The exposition of the content leads us to two questions.

#4.1. WHAT IS THE FUNDAMENTAL ASPECT OF MAOISM?

What is the fundamental aspect of Maoism? The fundamental aspect of Maoism is political power. Political power for the proletariat, political power for the dictatorship of the proletariat, political power based on an armed force led by the Communist Party. More explicitly:

• Political power under the leadership of the proletariat in the democratic revolution.
• Political power for the dictatorship of the proletariat in the socialist and cultural revolutions.
• Political power based on an armed force led by the Communist Party, conquered and defended through people's war.

#4.2. WHAT IS MAOISM?

What is Maoism? Maoism is the elevation of Marxism-Leninism to a new, third stage in the struggle of the proletariat to lead the democratic revolution, the development and construction of socialism, and continuing the revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat through proletarian cultural revolution, at a time when imperialism is increasingly decaying and revolution has become the main trend in history, in the midst of the greatest and most complex struggles ever seen, along with the inexorable struggle against modern revisionism.

#5. ON THE STRUGGLE AROUND MAOISM

Briefly, the struggle in China to establish Mao Zedong's Thought began in 1935, at the Zunyi Meeting, when Chairman Mao assumed the leadership of the Communist Party of China; in 1945, the Seventh Congress decided that the Communist Party of China was guided by Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong's Thought, though this concrete formulation was suppressed by the Eighth Congress, where a Right-wing line held sway. The Ninth Congress of 1969 summed up the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and stated that the Communist Party of China was guided by Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong's Thought; up to that point, there was progress.

On an international level, Maoism began to become influential in the 1950s, but it was only with the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution that it become widely known, acquiring enormous prestige, and Chairman Mao became recognized as the leader of the world revolution and the founder of a new stage of Marxism-Leninism; thus, many Communist Parties came to adopt the denomination of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong's Thought. On a world level, Maoism openly and sharply confronted modern revisionism and exposed it deeply and thoroughly, and the same thing occurred within the ranks of the Communist Party of China itself, raising even higher the Chairman's great red banner: the third, new, and higher stage of the ideology of the international proletariat. Today, Maoism faces the triple attack of Soviet, Chinese, and Albanian revisionism. Moreover, even among those who recognize the Chairman's great contributions, including his further development of Marxism, there are some who believe we are still in the stage of Marxism-Leninism, and others who only accept Mao Zedong's Thought, but in no way accept Maoism.

Obviously, the revisionists in Peru who follow the dictates of their respective overlord — Gorbacev, Deng, Alia, or Castro — have attacked Maoism; among them we must condemn, unmask, and fight the callous revisionism of Del Prado and his gang of the so-called «Peruvian Communist Party»; the spineless snakes of the so-called «Communist Party of Peru, Red Homeland», who formerly proclaimed themselves «great Maoists» and then became lackeys of Deng after having condemned him in 1976 when he was overthrown; as well as the anti-Maoism of the so-called «United Left», teeming with everything from all sorts of revisionists and even anti- Marxists to phoney Marxists and opportunists of all shades. To uphold Maoism as a revealing mirror in front of the revisionists and to relentlessly struggle against them while working for the development of the People's War and the victory of the omgoing democratic revolution is an obligatory and unavoidable task of a strategic nature.

The Communist Party of Peru, through the Red Faction led by Chairman Gonzalo, which pushed forward the reconstitution of the Party, took up Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong's Thought in 1966; in 1979, the slogan «Uphold, defend, and apply Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong's Thought!»; in 1981, «Toward Maoism!»; and, in 1982, Maoism as a component part and higher development of the ideology of the international proletariat: Marxism-Leninism-Maoism. With the People's War, we have come to more profoundly understand what Maoism means and have taken the solemn pledge to «Uphold, defend, and apply Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, mainly Maoism!», and to tirelessly fight to help make it the commander and guide of the world revolution, the only really imperishable Red Flag, the guarantee of victory for the proletariat, the oppressed nations, and the peoples of the world in their inexorable struggle and march toward communism, forever golden and shining.

#Workers and oppressed people of the world, unite!

#CONCERNING GONZALO'S THOUGHT

#Gonzalo

#Before January 1988

#★

Every revolution, in the course of its development, due to the struggle of the proletariat as the leading class and, above all, of the Communist Party which unwaveringly upholds the class interests of the proletariat, brings forth a group of leaders and mainly one who comes to represent and lead it, a leader of recognized authority and influence. In our situation, because of historical necessity accident, this has meant concretely Chairman Gonzalo, top leader of the Party and of the revolution.

But, further, and this is the basis of every headquarters, revolutions create a thought that guides them, a product of the application of the universal truth of the ideology of the international proletariat to the concrete conditions of each revolution, a guiding thought indispensable to achieve victory and conquer political power, and, further, to continue the revolution and always advance toward the only truly great goal, communism. This guiding thought, having made a qualitative leap of crucial importance for the revolutionary process, becomes identified with the name of the person who forged it in theory and in practice. In our case, this phenomenon took specific form, first, as the Guiding Thought, then, as Chairman Gonzalo's Guiding Thought, and, finally, as Gonzalo's Thought; because it is the Chairman who, by creatively applying Marxism-Leninism-Maoism to the concrete conditions of Peruvian reality, has developed it, thus providing the Party and the revolution with an indispensable weapon which is our guarantee of victory.

Gonzalo's Thought has been forged through many years of intense, tenacious, and unceasing struggle to uphold, defend, and apply Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, to reclaim and further develop Mariategui's road, to reconstitute the Party, and, most importantly, while serving the world revolution, to launch, continue, and develop the People's War in Peru, whose sole commander and guide in theory and practice is Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, mainly Maoism.

There is a fundamental need for the Party to study Gonzalo's Thought for a more correct and appropriate understanding of the General Political Line, and especially of the Military Line, with the purpose of deepening our understanding of particular points related to the Peruvian revolution, those specific and inherent characteristics masterly pointed out by Chairman Gonzalo; in this way, we will serve the Great Plan to Develop Base Areas, the advance of the People's War, and the future conquest of political power throughout the country.

We must study Gonzalo's Thought within the historical context from which it arose, so as to understand its ideological basis. We must understand its specific content, most fully expressed in the General Political Line and in the Military Line at its centre. We must emphasize its fundamental aspect, the question of political power, of conquering political power here in Peru, inextricably linked with the conquest of political power by the proletariat throughout the whole world. We must pay special attention to strengthening it in the two-line struggle.

In sum, these fundamental questions can be dealt with by applying the following outline.

#1. HISTORICAL CONTEXT

#1.1. INTERNATIONAL

Concerning events:

• The development of the Second World War and after.
• The powerful national liberation movement, and, within it, the waging and victory of the Chinese revolution.
• The Cuban revolution and its repercussions in Latin America.
• The great struggle between Marxism and revisionism.
• The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.

But the key link is to see how, in this great class struggle on a world scale, Gonzalo's Thought holds that a third stage of the ideology of the proletariat has developed: first, as Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong's Thought; then, as Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong's Thought; and, later, as Maoism, recognizing its universal validity; thus reaching Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, mainly Maoism, as today's expression of Marxism.

#1.2. DOMESTIC

Concerning events:

• Peruvian society and the political struggle in the post-war period, the so-called National Democratic Front, the activities of the American People's Revolutionary Alliance [APRA], Odria's government and the struggle against his eight-year rule, the struggle between APRA-ists and Communists, and, especially, the development of bureaucrat capitalism in the 1960s and the first part of the '70s and the sharp class struggle that accompanied that period, «Velascoism» and Velasco's so-called revolution, and the collusion and contention between the comprador bourgeoisie and the bureaucrat bourgeoisie (the two sections of the big bourgeoisie) supported by opportunism and especially revisionism.
• The class struggle in the peasant movement.
• The development of the labour movement.
• The movement among intellectuals.
• The armed struggles in the country, especially those waged by the Movement of the Revolutionary Left and the National Liberation Army in 1965, as well as previously by Blanco, Vallejos, and Heraud.
• The question of the Party: How a political party founded on a clear Marxist-Leninist basis deteriorated into a revisionist political party, the need to reclaim and further develop Mariategui's road while developing and reconstituting the Party, the Communist Party of Peru founded in 1928 by Mariategui himself, and how, through reconstitution, a Marxist-Leninist-Maoist political party was built.

Here, the fundamental thing is how Gonzalo's Thought profoundly comprehends Peruvian society, centred on the crucial question of bureaucrat capitalism, and sees the necessity of reconstituting the Party and of conquering political power and defending it through people's war.

#2. IDEOLOGICAL BASIS

One cannot conceive of Gonzalo's Thought without Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, because it is the creative application of the latter to our conditions. The key to this question is understanding the historical process of development of the ideology of the proletariat, of its three stages contained in Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, with Maoism the main one; and the most essential thing is its application of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism as universal truth to the concrete conditions of the Peruvian revolution. It is because of this that Gonzalo's Thought is primary specifically for the Communist Party of Peru and the revolution it leads.

This Guiding Thought, having made a qualitative leap of crucial importance for the Party and the revolution, has become Gonzalo's Thought, thus marking a milestone in the life of the Party.

#3. CONTENT

#3.1. THEORY

How it comprehends and applies the three component parts of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, mainly Maoism; the importance it gives to Marxist philosophy, the need to train ourselves in it, and especially its application of the law of contradiction in the study of all problems, always aiming to define the primary aspect and the process of development of things; in political economy, the concern with the relations of exploitation and especially with bureaucrat capitalism, with the perspective of developing the revolution, and with the effect of the People's War on the basis, as well as its attention to the economic relations of imperialism, assessing their political consequences; in scientific socialism, how it focuses on the People's War and the concrete form that people's war takes in Peru, how the question of political power is always kept in mind, and, particularly, its tempering and development as the New state.

#3.2. ON CONTENT

The most substantive and most developed part of Gonzalo's Thought is found in the Party's General Political Line; this Thought, then, is the direct basis for the line and its five components, with the most essential being how it understands the Programme and firmly maintains the course the Programme has set.

#3.3

We should emphasize Gonzalo's Thought's remarkable fulfilment of the requirements outlined by Chairman Mao: theoretical solidity, understanding of history, and good, practical handling of policy.

#4. WHAT IS THE FUNDAMENTAL ASPECT OF GONZALO'S THOUGHT?

The fundamental aspect of Gonzalo's Thought is the question of political power, concretely, the conquest of political power in Peru, thoroughly and completely throughout the country, as a consistent application of the universal truth of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism to our revolution. But, since it is a Communist thought, it understands the conquest of political power in Peru as part of the conquest of political power for the proletariat on a world scale, and that the conquest of political power in the country, today taking concrete form in the people's committees, base areas, and the New Democratic People's Republic in a process of formation, with the objective of establishing the People's Republic of Peru, serves to establish the dictatorship of the proletariat in our country, for, without it, we cannot advance to communism. All of this is for the purpose of firmly and resolutely serving the establishment of people's republics and mainly the dictatorship of the proletariat throughout the world, under the leadership of Communist Parties, with revolutionary armies of a new type, through people's war and the development of cultural revolutions, until communism shines all over the Earth.

#5. TEMPERING IN THE TWO-LINE STRUGGLE

Gonzalo's Thought has been tempered in persistent, firm, and wise two-line struggle, defending the proletarian line and defeating opposing lines. Among the most important struggles, we should highlight those against modern revisionism, especially as represented by Del Prado and his lackeys; against Right-wing liquidationism led by Paredes and his gang; against «Left-wing» liquidationism led by Sergio and his so-called «Majoritarians»; and against the Right-opportunist line that opposed the initiation of the armed struggle. Without struggle, Gonzalo's Thought would not have been able to develop; and Chairman Gonzalo's remarkable handling of the two-line struggle in the Party is a fundamental question that we should study and learn from.

To study and especially to apply Gonzalo's Thought is crucial to being able to better serve the Party, the development of the People's War, and the proletarian world revolution, just as learning from Chairman Gonzalo is crucial to serving the masses wholeheartedly.

#Workers and oppressed people of the world, unite!

#CONSTITUTION OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF PERU

#Gonzalo

#Before January 1988

#★

#1. DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES

The Communist Party of Peru bases itself on Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, mainly Maoism, and, specifically, on Gonzalo's Thought, as the creative application of this universal truth to the concrete conditions of the Peruvian revolution by Chairman Gonzalo, top leader of our Party.

The Communist Party of Peru, the organized vanguard of the proletariat in Peru, which is part of the international proletariat, takes up the following very important fundamental principles:

• Contradiction, the sole and fundamental law of the incessant transformation of eternal matter.
• The masses are the makers of history, and «It is right to rebel».⁷
• Class struggle, the dictatorship of the proletariat, and proletarian internationalism.
• The necessity of a Marxist-Leninist-Maoist Communist Party which applies with firmness its independence, initiative, and self-reliance.
• Combat imperialism, revisionism, and reaction implacably and relentlessly.
• Conquer and defend political power through people's war.
• Militarization of the Party and the concentric construction of the «Three Revolutionary Weapons».
• Two-line struggle as the motive force of the Party's development.
• Constant ideological transformation and always putting politics in command.
• Serve the people and the proletarian world revolution.
• Absolute selflessness and an appropriate and correct style of work.

#2. GENERAL PROGRAMME OF THE DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTION

The Communist Party of Peru has communism as the final goal. Thus, given that Peruvian society today is oppressed and exploited by imperialism, bureaucrat capitalism, and semi-feudalism, the revolution has a democratic first stage and a socialist second stage, in order to, subsequently, unfold successive cultural revolutions. At this time, with the People's War, the Party is developing the democratic revolution, having as its immediate goal the conquest political power throughout the country. To this end, we proclaim the following objectives:

• Destruction of the Peruvian State — a dictatorship of the exploiters headed by the big bourgeoisie — of its repressive armed forces which sustain it and all of its bureaucratic apparatus.
• Sweep away imperialist oppression, mainly that of US imperialism, Soviet social-imperialism, and that of any other imperialist power or country; general confiscation of its monopolies, factories, banks, and all forms of its property, including the foreign debt.
• Destroy bureaucrat capitalism, both private and State-owned; confiscate all of its economic properties, possessions, and rights, along with those of imperialism, for the benefit of the New State.
• Liquidation of semi-feudal property and all of its subsistent forms, confiscating it to give the lands to the peasantry, primarily the poor peasantry, applying the principle of «Land to those who till it.»
• Respect the property and rights of the national bourgeoisie, and the middle bourgeoisie, in the countryside as well as the cities.
• Fight to establish the People's Republic of Peru as a united front of classes based on the alliance of the working class and peasantry led by the proletariat headed by its Communist Party; this is the formation of the New Democracy which will carry forward a new economy, a new politics, and a new culture.
• Develop the People's War, which, through a revolutionary army of a new type under the absolute leadership of the Party, destroys part by part the Old Political Power, mainly its armed and repressive forces, and serves to build the New Political Power for the proletariat and the people.
• Complete the formation of the Peruvian nation, really unifying the country to defend it against all imperialist and reactionary aggression, safeguarding the rights of the minorities.
• Foster the development of the Peruvian proletariat as part of the international working class, the formation and strengthening of Communist Parties, and their unification in a revived international Communist movement guided by Marxism-Leninism-Maoism; all of this so that the proletariat can fulfil its great and historic mission as the final class.
• Defend the liberties, rights, benefits, and conquests that the working class and the masses have achieved at the cost of their own blood, recognizing these and guaranteeing that they are really in force through a Declaration of the Rights of the People. Respect particularly the right to religious conscience, but in its exact dimensions, to believe as well as not to believe. To combat as well all arrangements harmful to the people's interests, especially any form of free labour or personal duty or oppressive taxes which are imposed on the people.
• Real equality for women; a better future for the youth; protection for mothers and children; respect and support for the elderly.
• A new culture as a fighting weapon to make the new nation concrete, that serves the masses of the people, and that is guided by the scientific ideology of the proletariat. Pay special importance to education.
• Support the struggles of the international proletariat, of the oppressed nations, and of the peoples of the world; fighting against the superpowers, the United States and the Council Union, imperialism in general, international reaction, and revisionism of every form; understanding the Peruvian revolution as part of the proletarian world revolution.
• Struggle tenaciously and heroically for the full and complete victory of the democratic revolution throughout the country, and, this stage completed, immediately and without any interruption, go over to the socialist revolution in order to, together with the international proletariat, the oppressed nations, and the peoples of the world, through cultural revolutions, continue the march of humanity toward its final goal, communism.

#3. SPECIFIC PROGRAMME

But, considering that the democratic revolution in the country is going through a period characterized by the following:

• Deepening of the general crisis of Peruvian society, mainly bureaucrat capitalism.
• Growing reactionary character of the State, today with an APRA government that is fascist and corporatist, headed by the genocidal Garcia Perez.
• Sharpening of the class struggle, with the masses grasping more and more the necessity to fight and resist.
• The People's War that is growing.
• The people need a People's Republic built according to the principles of New Democracy.

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#4. RULES

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