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The people's war in Peru is our struggle -- it belongs to the proletariat and oppressed of the world. This is the most important and precious revolutionary struggle in the world today. And what makes it even more crucial for us here is this country to support the sisters and brothers in Peru is that we share a common enemy -- the U.S. government and the imperialist system if fronts for. The U.S. is the big backer of the vicious regime in Peru which is trying to crush the murderous moves of the U.S. system against the revolution in Peru. We have special responsibility to stand with our people who are turning the world upside down in the countryside and shantytown of Peru.
Peru's Fujimori regime held a referendum on October 31 on the new Constitution which puts even more power in the hands of the dictator and his military generals. The Constitution was drawn up by the rubber stamp Congress dominated by President Fujimori's henchmen. The regime used armed force to put down protests against the Constitution and limited access to the media by forces calling for a "no" vote. Fujimori used government funds to buy off votes and pressure mayors to campaign for the Constitution in exchange for financing. The vote was held under martial law conditions in Lima and large areas of the country.
With all this, it was no surprise that the rigged-up referendum approved the new Constitution. Fujimori declared a "victory"-and he intends to use this as justification for more crimes against the people. A key feature of the new Constitution is that it allows the government to use the death penalty against captured revolutionaries. Fujimori had openly declared before the referendum that the death penalty could be used against the imprisoned leader of the Maoist Communist Party of Peru, Chairman Gonzalo, and other revolutionaries. The restoration of the death penalty represents a heightened threat to the life of Chairman Gonzalo (Abimael Guzmán). It calls for stepped-up efforts to force the Fujimori regime to allow lawyers and others to visit Gonzalo and other revolutionary prisoners.
Although the passing of the Constitution was expected, what came as a big shock-including to Fujimori's U.S. imperialist backers-was the slim margin of the "yes" vote. Fujimori himself had cast the referendum on the Constitution as a popularity poll on his rule, and he confidently predicted he would win 70 percent or more approval. But as it turned out, the Constitution was only passed by 51 percent to 49 percent (some reports put it at 53 to 47). The "no" vote actually won in 14 of the 25 departments (states) around Peru. The Lima newspaper El Comercio reported that the voter abstention rate was 27.4 percent and that 9 percent of the ballots were turned in blank or spoiled. The regime suffered big losses in the central and southern highlands of the Andes-the areas where the people's war led by the Communist Party of Peru is very strong.
At the same tie as the referendum, a series of guerrilla attacks took place in Lima and other parts of the country. According to a Reuters wire service report: "Maoist Shining Path guerrillas launched attacks on the eve of the vote... The guerrillas detonated bombs in central Lima, damaging a congressional building and a Foreign Ministry office next to it, police said. No injuries were reported. The bombings came hours after guerrillas blacked out the capital and several other cities by downing electrical towers. They bombed at least three banks and a supermarket Friday, causing damage in two Lima commercial districts." According to a UPI report, the guerrillas in Lima "painted graffiti on the walls calling for people to boycott the vote."
Only a few weeks before the referendum, Fujimori was in the U.S. and told President Clinton, other top officials and high-level businessmen that Peru was now "stable" and a profitable place for capitalist investments. But after the close October 31 vote, a former World Bank official said, "This is a call of alarm which shows a polarized country. The fault lines in Peruvian society are very evident." A worried broker in the Peruvian stock exchange said, "We don't know what will happen now. It's a situation of uncertainty, and uncertainty is never good for the stock market."
But right now, Fujimori has the backing of the U.S. ruling class as their main lackey in Peru. And he intends to use the "public approval" of the fascist Constitution as a weapon to repress and squeeze the masses of people even more.
The restoration of the death penalty goes against international treaties signed by the Peruvian government. The U.S. government -- which claims to be "encouraging" the Fujimori regime to "respect human rights" -- has not said anything to oppose this move and, in fact, has indicated quiet approval. Clearly the U.S. imperialists feel it is important for the Peruvian regime to wield the death penalty against the Maoist revolutionaries and the people, even though this will make it harder to put a "democratic" makeup on Fujimori.
Other aspects of the new Constitution take Fujimori's "free market reforms" even further. After he came to power in 1990, Fujimori carried out "austerity measures" under the direction of the International Monetary Fund-the Washington, D.C. -- based institution that act as sort of a world financial policeman for the imperialists. Almost overnight, prices of basic goods soared, wages were cut drastically and the masses of people sank deeper into poverty and misery. Now, that new Constitution mandates more cuts, in public services, limits on free education, and restrictions on workers rights-all in the name of promoting a "free market economy." In the period leading up to referendum, students and others protesting the new Constitution were brutally attacked by the police.
The November 2 New York Times carried an article on "Peru's economic recovery." (Although the article appeared after the referendum, it was apparently written before the vote, since it says that Peruvians "widely voted to support" the new Constitution.) The article quoted a manager of a U.S. mining company which brought a share in a profitable gold mine in Peru: "We're moving into boom times here in Peru. The day Guzmán was caught, the country was different." The remark shows the obscene, predatory nature of these capitalists. They used to regard Peru as a very "risky" place, since the poor are rising up against centuries of oppression and waging a powerful people's war that has shaken the government. But now that they feel a fascist regime has regained some control, these bloodsuckers are attracted to Peru.
What the exploiters mean by "boom times" is that they see a chance to make quick profits for themselves. The Times article admits the "no one is expecting" that the millions of poor will see quick improvements in their lives or that there will be many new jobs for the four out of five Peruvians who are unemployed or under-employed. The Times only cited one example of any benefit to the local economy from the new foreign investments: a few hundred workers hired for several months to build a road to a mine that is producing $1 million in gold a week for the capitalist owner.
For the oppressed people, these developments make it clearer than ever that revolution is the only solution for the masses is Peru. The U.S. imperialists and their lackey regime are aiming to crush the revolutionary armed struggle and the hopes of the oppressed in Peru. The people of the world -- especially here in the U.S. -- need to stand firm with out Peruvian sisters and brothers, defend the life of their leader, Chairman Gonzalo, and support the people's war in Peru.