ELECTIONS, NO! PEOPLE’S WAR, YES!
Proletarians of all countries, unite!
ELECTIONS, NO!
PEOPLE’S WAR, YES!
The Peru Peoples Movement, an organism generated by the Communist Party of Peru for the party work abroad, calls on the Peruvians in Peru and abroad not to vote and to boycott the upcoming reactionary elections 2021, General Elections of the old Peruvian state, landlord-bureaucratic in the service of imperialism, mainly Yankee, which will take place this April 11.
In “Against constitutional illusions and for the New Democratic State!”, the Party said: “ON THE ELECTIONS. Marx remarked: ‘The oppressed are allowed to decide once every few years; which members of the oppressing class are to represent them and crush them in parliament.”
Subsequently the Party showed its confirmation by the experience of our history, stating:
“In the country this is easily proved. Although with important interruptions of the periodic electoral processes by military governments, especially interruptions linked, on the one hand, to the development of the popular struggle and the contradictions between the feudal landowners and the big bourgeoisie on the other and between the comprador bourgeoisie and the bureaucratic bourgeoisie and, emphasising that the military governments themselves have served to implement elections either to regularise their own situation, to end their rule or t to preserve it. The elections in Peru have served to preserve or develop the Peruvian state, the formal republic, the dictatorship of feudal landowners and big bourgeoisie. Thus, elections have been, as could not be otherwise within the prevailing social order, an instrument in the hands first of the comprador bourgeoisie and then of the bureaucratic bourgeoisie. This has been the main thing in the electoral processes of the Peruvian state in this century and this is what has determined the class character of the elections in the country.
These fundamental questions pose us:
1) The Peruvian state is landlord-bureaucratic, a dictatorship of feudal landowners and big bourgeoisie under the control of US imperialism; against this, the people fight for the construction of a new democratic state which requires the destruction of the old existing order.
2) The Peruvian state, like all states, is sustained, defended and developed through violence; Facing this, the people need revolutionary violence, following the path of encircling the cities from the countryside.
3) Elections are means of domination by the landowners and big bourgeoisie; they are not for the people nor means to transformation nor means to overthrow the power of the rulers, hence the just orientation is to use them only for agitation and propaganda purposes.”
This is established by the Party, extracted and confirmed by the country’s own history up to the present day, moreover, by the very development of the invincible People’s War led by the CPP, despite the difficult and complex situation through which it is going through like every revolution in order to triumph.
These reactionary elections in 2021 are taking place within the context of the greatest world crisis, as an expression of the general and ultimate crisis of imperialism and of the greatest crisis, in all aspects, of the outdated semi-colonial, semi-feudal society where a bureaucratic capitalism in service of imperialism, mainly Yankee, is developing, that is, of bureaucratic capitalism in Peru and of the state that represents and defends it. Hence, this time the General Elections for the replacement of the authorities of the old and rotten Peruvian state are once again crucial for the reaction.
These elections of 2021, as they were meant to be, have been presented and developed as a defence of the outdated existing order and the evolution of Peruvian society; and in this framework the more than 18 “parties” or, better said, electoral fronts of individuals or groups whose only affinity is to unite in order to gain control of the Executive or to seek together a seat, with the aim of enjoying the spoils that the old State has become. Call these electoral junctions, parties or fronts what you like. They correspond, as the case may be, to one of the two factions of the big bourgeoisie and the groups within them, by the programmes they defend, whether centre on investment and private enterprise or on investment and state enterprise, or others, like for example the candidate of the “Acción Popular” (Lezcano), which they take from one faction or the other. It is also noteworthy that the programme of the bureaucratic faction includes the need of imperialism and reaction to restructure the old state by means of a “constitutional reform” or a “new constitution”, which revisionism and opportunism raise as the main banner and reactionary way out of the crisis; a historical and political impossibility. Also, among these representatives of the factions and the corresponding groups into which they are divided, there are those who are reactionary demo-liberals or fascists; the reactionary press and the ROL call them “right”, “left” or “centre” in order to try to obscure their class character. But all these parties and their representatives uphold and defend the same fundamental aims and goals and have only differences in form and means and how to use them, because once appointed by this fraudulent procedure they all will have to implement the programme of one of the two factions of the domestic big bourgeoisie and, as part of this, the “packages” of the “right” and “left” will have to be implemented, as part of this, the “aid packages”, handing out “bonuses” to individuals and raising tax rates (as always dumping more on the shoulders of the people as indirect taxes) because they are dictated by the imperialist master through his international organisations (IMF, WB, IDB, etc.) and the need for Peruvian reaction to try to placate the explosiveness of the masses and as anti-crisis measures. Even more so now that the head of US imperialism, Biden, has said that taxes should be raised on all multinationals in all countries in order to “compete on an equal footing”. Imperialist deceit, because with equal tax rates, those who will come out with an advantage in this competition with equal rules will be the biggest ones, which are mainly the US imperialist multinationals, over their rivals in the other imperialist countries. As it happened with the so-called opening of the markets since the end of the 19th century with “gunboat liberalism” and from the 20th century until today, with the application of the economic policy of “neo-liberalism” and US “globalisation”, which, therefore, could not change the social relations of production in the world as the rats of the revisionist and capitulationist ROL of the “peace charter” hoax claim.
All those who are appointed by these fraudulent elections to the highest office of the old state, down to the last parliamentarian, we can dare to say, will be part of the generalised corruption of this state rotten to the core, which is good for nothing, except to be swept away by the People’s War, because corruption is not a problem only of individuals or of some groups but a generalised evil as an expression of the system, it is through corruption that imperialism, the big bourgeoisie and the landlords intervene directly in the management of the institutions and functionaries of the landlord-bureaucratic state.
For the sake of brevity, we summarise the concrete situation of the elections within the general situation of the country with the following quotation from reaction itself, which, because it amounts to a confession of part, relieves us of evidence, where they conclude on the need to increase the deception and manipulation of the masses through the debates between candidates, candidates chosen by them according to their own criteria, to seek to unite the masses to the electoral yoke of reaction and, thus, to try to legitimise the new authorities through the “citizens’ vote”. Quote:
“(On)… April 11, the date on which we will go to the polls to renew our authorities in the Executive and the Legislative, and the only thing we know for sure, from what the polls announce, is that no one will obtain a significant majority in either of the two bodies on that day. As far as the presidential elections are concerned, we can take it for granted that there will be a second round between two candidates whose identities we do not know at the moment, but who are unlikely to each win more than 20% of the valid vote. And as far as Congress is concerned, everything indicates that a very divided vote will produce a plethora of small benches, forming a national representation with very similar characteristics to the current one.
Ultimately, what the polls anticipate (and the election will most likely confirm) is that there is a public disdain for the country’s political class. In other words, there is an absolute lack of hope in what the leaders of the parties that house them can offer Peruvians in these elections, regardless of their ideological origins or the convictions they claim to embody. It is no secret that, at present, most people perceive those who ask for their vote as individuals in search of privilege and willing to poke each other’s eyes out for a share of power, and not as people with a vocation for service and a particular vision of things that they would like to be perceived as. The panorama is thus, in that sense, bleak. But today’s debate between five of the presidential hopefuls offers a chance to begin to change it. Organised by IDEA Internacional and El Comercio, […] the number of participants has been kept to a minimum so that the differences between them are clear and discernible to all. As we have seen on other occasions, a debate with too many participants simply loses its raison d’être.” (Editorial: Contraste de Ideas, El Comercio de Lima, 09 March 2021).
On the other hand, a few days ago, the Minister of the Interior himself pleaded for people to go out and vote, given the lack of interest among the masses.
These elections show a further collapse and decomposition of the old state. The reactionary Editorial says “bleak panorama”, “too many participants”, “loses its raison d’être”. Unmistakable signs of the crisis of the parties that sustain the old order as the Editorial of El Comercio desperately describes it, showing the dispersion at all levels, the designation of candidates almost by proposal before and for themselves; a crisis not of today, but aggravated by the electoral process and with desolate results for the reaction already announced; a crisis of the parties that obviously proves the growing deterioration of the old Peruvian state. The electoral participation in the process already shows its total failure, according to figures of the ONPE itself, the first eight presidential candidates were nominated with a participation of 5.8% of the affiliates of those eight parties, others like the Nationalist Party nominated Captain Carlos with the participation of only 0.9% in the internal elections, the other participating organisations did it by nominating delegates for them to designate the candidate, in these fairs only an average of 3.54% of the affiliates participated. 8 of the 18 presidential candidates Acuña (APP), George Forsyth(VN), Ciro Gálvez (Runa), Daniel Urresti (PP), Rafael Santos (PPS), Daniel Salaverry (SP), Ollanta Humala (PN) and Keiko Fujimori (FP) head the list of candidates with the most open investigations by the Public Prosecutor’s Office since 2010, two of them at least for the crime of genocide, Humala and Urresti; Mendoza also has pending the matter of the “agendas of Nadine Heredia”, the wife of the genocidal Humala, for whom she was his secretary, and Rafael López Aliaga has allegations of tax evasion. More than 215 aspirants to Congress in the 2021 General Elections are facing charges of bribery, theft, fraud, domestic violence and violence against women. Opinion polls show the rejection and lack of interest of the masses in the elections. Therefore, the candidates have adopted to present themselves as supporters of “anti-politics”, i.e. they confess to be supporters of reactionary politics. We defend revolutionary politics as the highest activity of the class.
In summary of the above: unbeatable objective conditions for the revolution, for a leap in the People’s War, as a condition to forcibly advance in the delayed task of the General Reorganisation of the Party (GRP) by and for the People’s War, crushing the right opportunist, revisionist and capitulationist line (ROL), with its two sides of the same coin, renegades of the great leadership of Chairman Gonzalo, the CPP, the Basis of Party Unity and the People’s War.
Reaction, worse than before, in its own internal struggles, is capable of using everything in the struggle for its group or faction interests, what will it not be capable of in its struggle against the people and the revolution; in the current general elections it has set in motion two monstrosities: racism like the reactionary pig of Lopez of Opus Dei who said in apology “the Indian came out of me” or that Salaverry who assaulted an immigrant. These are outdated ideas of false superiorities totally opposed to the forging of a nation in formation, like ours, and the solidarity of the peoples, as well as the sinister use of religion not only as an instrument of the class struggle, which it really is, but also to use masses against masses, to break up the popular struggle and stifle the revolution in progress, the People’s War, that can never be stopped because the life of the Party has not stopped for a second and can never be stopped.
The dispersion of votes and the lack of definition mark the General Elections of April 2021. But, in addition, the fact will be repeated, that the parliament with the distribution of seats will develop as an aggravated collusion and struggle of individuals, groups and factions of exploiters, further rotting the outdated parliamentary system, disfigured to the maximum by the fascist constitution of 1993. Thus, everything shows that the Peruvian state has become weaker in its foundations and will have to rely more and more on its armed and repressive forces; and it will become clearer to the people that the armed forces are the backbone of the state and that this state is nothing but organised violence for the maintenance of the enslavement of the Peruvian people.
The electoral process reveals fundamental problems of Peruvian society, despite the pretence of the semi-feudalism that still exists, the basis of the crisis in agricultural production, insurgence of the Peruvian people and the land problem, which was said to have been overcome; bureaucratic capitalism, sustained by backwardness and tied to imperialist domination, mainly Yankee, as always sucking our blood and getting ready to suck more from us; in short, the general crisis of the outdated society which has only one way out: the revolution, the triumph of the People’s War in progress, a condition for its victorious development is the GRP.
On the other hand, the results of the governments that have succeeded each other headed by the old state and the fascist regime (initiated with the self-coup of Fujimori and the Armed Forces in April 1992), from that of the genocidal Humala (Captain Carlos), with P.P. Kuzinky, passing through Vizcarra, Merino and the present Sagasti, the sinister results of the governments headed by these genocidal, starving and country-selling governments are clear. In 1985, the Party said that the new government would be even more starving and more genocidal, and so it has been with every government until today. Today hunger corrodes and devours the class and the people; and in the meantime, taking the data of the National System of Deaths (Sinadef) more than hundred thousand people died with the coronavirus, because of the bad living and sanitary conditions, because of the lack of adequate preventive measures, because of the lack of public health care and hospital assistance, because of the Yankee monopoly, with the support of the rulers, on oxygen, moreover the vaccines only arrive in drops and for the reigning, because they did not make the contracts in time with the pharmaceutical companies, surely waiting for the highest bidder to give them the good pro or preference of acquisition.
Against the general elections apply the boycott; continue to promote the task of the General Reorganisation of the Communist Party of Peru, firmly subject to the great leadership of Chairman Gonzalo and his all-powerful Gonzalo Thought, by and for the People’s War, combat the revisionism of the revisionist and capitulationist ROL, whichever face it presents itself with, till death.
The Party guided by Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, Gonzalo Thought guarantees the course of the revolution!
The boycott policy applied under the present conditions in which we are developing is just and correct in the forging and growth of a massive anti-electoral torrent linked to the development of the People’s War. The order is simple and concrete: Don’t vote! And the slogan is clear and resolute:
Elections, no! People’s War, yes!
For the General Reorganisation of the Party!
Peru Peoples Movement
April 2021
