The Resurgence of the Shining Path

The Shining Path are not good people. Due to extremist beliefs bordering on demagoguery, they indiscriminately killed everyone, even other leftists who supported democracy, unionization, and the uplifting of the Andean poor. Back in the 80s and 90s, I thought they were the meanest and craziest mf'ers in the world. When I found out my college TA did her dissertation by researching and hanging out with Sendero members, I thought she was the bravest person I knew.

Then came Fujimori. He conducted his own version of the Dirty War, cut off Sendero's head by capturing its leader Abimael Guzman, and crushed the movement. Violence evaporated and the country prospered, relatively speaking. End of story.

Down but not out.

Well, not quite. Today, at least a dozen Peruvian soldiers were killed in an ambush staged by the Shining Path. This sudden uptick in violence does not bode well for Peru.

With the current global economic crisis, the Shining Path will only grow stronger. With copper prices tumbling, a major source of revenue for Peru will quickly dry up. Gringos and Europeans who previously trampled and destroyed the Inca Trail in the name of cultural curiosity will cancel future trips due to their ever-shrinking stock portfolios. Poverty sows discontent. Sendero will find recruits easily.

With any downturn in the economy, crime and illicit drug use will rise. This means that Sendero will profit from coca cultivation, processing, and shipping for the pending growth in America's demand for the white stuff. Finally, the Shining Path can disrupt energy supplies by sabatoging the ever-growing network of oil and natural gas pipelines in Peru.

Whenever there is a massive financial crisis, violent fringe groups with distorted ideologies inevitably rise. (See Nazis, fascists, etc.) Unfortunately, in Peru, Sendero will prosper more than the other crazies.
CKY