OUR GREAT LEADERSHIP’S SPEECH IS A WEAPON OF COMBAT THAT SHINES VICTORIOUS AND VIGOROUS BEFORE THE WORLD^{1 2}

Without Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, Gonzalo Thought cannot be conceived, because the latter is the creative application of the former to our reality. The key question of this point lies in the comprehension of the historical process of the development of the ideology of the proletariat, of its three stages given shape in Marxism-Leninism-Maoism and of Maoism as principal; and what is essential, principally, is its application of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism as a universal truth to the concrete conditions of the Peruvian revolution; hence Gonzalo Thought is specifically principal for the Communist Party of Peru and the revolution it leads. . . .

In its process of development, every revolution, through the struggle of the proletariat as the leading class and, above all, of the Communist Party that upholds its unrenounceable class interests, generates a group of leaders and mainly one who represents and leads it, a leader of acknowledged authority and influence. In our reality this has been concretized, by historic necessity and chance, in Chairman Gonzalo, leader of the Party and of the revolution.

But, moreover, and this is what is fundamental of every leadership, revolutions generate a thought that guides them, the result 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 attain victory and conquer Power and, still more, to continue the revolution and always maintain the course toward the sole grand goal, Communism; a guiding thought that, having reached a qualitative leap of decisive importance for the revolutionary process it leads, identifies itself with the name of the one who gave it shape theoretically and practically. In our situation, this phenomenon specified itself first as Guiding Thought, then as Chairman Gonzalo’s Guiding Thought, and subsequently as Gonzalo Thought; because it is the Chairman who, creatively applying Marxism-Leninism-Maoism to the concrete conditions of Peruvian reality, has generated it, thus endowing the Party and the revolution with an indispensable weapon that is a guarantee of triumph.

— First Congress of the Party, (Fundamental Documents)³

The Central Committee, unconditionally reaffirming itself in our beloved and respected Chairman Gonzalo, Leader of the Party and the Revolution, who with his all-powerful Gonzalo Thought leads us to our goal, the always golden Communism, likewise reaffirming ourselves in the First Congress of the Party, a Marxist Congress, a Marxist-Leninist-Maoist, Gonzalo Thought Congress, as well as in our Basis of Party Unity with its three elements, salutes the Peruvian people, very especially the masses of the Base Areas who persist heroically defending the New Power with People’s War, all the masses inside and outside the country who have been serving the People’s War, the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement, the parties and revolutionary organizations that support our heroic People’s War, comprehended as part of the World Revolution.

Chairman Gonzalo’s speech shines vigorous and victorious before the world, arming the Party to overcome the bend with People’s War, applying the agreements of the Third Plenum,⁴ a glorious Plenum, putting our forces in tension, because we defend the interests of the people, the principles of the Party, of the People’s War; we do this and will continue doing it, upholding our red flag to the top, which, once hoisted, must never be lowered.

The Party takes a firm position on what was established by our Great Leadership, which condemns and crushes those who think that we are living through a defeat; it is simply a bend in the road of the revolution, nothing more; what corresponds is to persist and overcome the bend with People’s War, since without it there would be no place for the proletariat, for the people, for the Party, and the revolution could not triumph. The Party, assuming its role as heroic combatant, has been applying Gonzalo Thought with firmness and resolution to resolve new problems, crushing the campaigns of encirclement and annihilation within the low-intensity war that imperialism, mainly Yankee imperialism, elaborates, demolishing the monstrosities of “pacification,” which is an uncompromising defense of this order of exploitation and oppression that that drove of reactionary and revisionist imbeciles of every ilk vociferates to defend and sustain their daily pittances.

Chairman Gonzalo established for us: “ . . . Our Party was founded to conquer Power, it was reconstituted to fulfill that objective and initiated the armed struggle to give shape to that course; this road has brought us to the immediate goal of conquering Power in the entire country, it is political strategy that must guide us, it is a more complex, more intensified, more glorious struggle, to finish off the democratic revolution, it is to construct the People’s Republic of Peru. All our work is in service of this . . . ” Hence the Party maintains unaltered the course of the revolution in the face of the bend’s own problems, demonstrating a great power of recovery. Specifically, in the face of the detention of Comrade Feliciano,⁵ the Party closed ranks in the system of Party leadership, and, cohesive, unfolds a defense of his life and integrity, linked with the defense of our Great Leadership with People’s War. Demonstrating that the Party has known how to generate a leadership for our necessity, for our reality; we are sufficiently forged, risk does not daunt us, dangers do not stop us, all this is one more test. Let it be welcome!

We have unmasked and are blowing into a thousand pieces the counter-revolutionary hoax that this fascist, genocidal, and homeland-selling regime set up, nursing and sponsoring a revisionist ROL;⁶ miserable revisionist rats, groveling petty chieftains⁷ who have been unable to withstand a work accident, have been incapable of giving internal debate, fleeing cowardly, expressing as part of their revisionist essence their splitting aspirations, and from outside they have upheld their black, rotten, and purulent black flags of capitulation. Thus they acted and act, trying to surprise the unwary and ignorant, miserable traitors who accuse and defame our Leader of capitulation. The Party has unmasked with deeds, with proofs, the fabricated montages, one by one the hoaxes such as the so-called “self-criticisms”; hence we condemn and reject outright the position “ . . . that Chairman Gonzalo is behind the letters . . . ” After 6 years since the presentation of the “letters,” since that does not correspond to reality, the only thing they do is echo the black vomits that are belched from the blood-filled maws of this fascist, genocidal, and homeland-selling regime, thus converging with the revisionist and capitulationist ROL; the only thing they will have as underpinning will be the rot that emanates from the sewer of reaction and nothing more.

Masterfully, our Great Leadership has established and at the same time contributes to the world revolution, having defined: that Marxism has been developed, making precise that Maoism is a new, third, and superior stage of Marxism, and that to be a Marxist today is to be a Maoist. In the face of this, the Party assumed the solemn commitment to Uphold, defend, and apply Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, principally Maoism! And to struggle untiringly to contribute to placing it as command and guide of the world revolution, the sole, very red, and unfading flag that is the guarantee of triumph for the proletariat, the oppressed nations, and the peoples of the world in their inexorable combatant march, of legions of iron towards golden and forever shining Communism. It is since 1966, from the reconstitution, that we have been assuming Maoism.

And today, Chairman Gonzalo in the Speech establishes for us: “Finally, now let us listen to this. As we see in the world, Maoism marches uncontainably to command the new wave of the world proletarian revolution. Understand well and comprehend. Those who have ears, use them. Those who have understanding⁠—and we all have it⁠—use it. Enough nonsense! Enough darkness! Let us understand that! What is unfolding in the world? What do we need? We need Maoism to be embodied⁠—and it is doing so⁠—and for it to go on generating Communist Parties, to handle, to lead, that new great wave of the world proletarian revolution that is coming upon us . . . Today there is one reality: the same contenders of the First and Second World Wars are generating, are preparing the new Third world war. We need to know this and we, as the children of an oppressed country, are part of the booty. We cannot consent to this! Enough imperialist exploitation! We must do away with them! We are from the third world and the third world is the base of the world proletarian revolution, with one condition, that the Communist Parties uphold and lead! That is what must be done!”; highlight the importance of oppressed nations that will be the base of the world proletarian revolution and the immediate necessity of generating Maoist Communist Parties that develop people’s war, in order thus to unfold as corresponds the new great wave of the world revolution and impose Maoism as command and guide.

At the world level we confront a sinister general counter-revolutionary offensive commanded by imperialism, mainly Yankee imperialism; reaction and revisionism want to sweep away everything that implies revolution, but it is and will be the main historical and political trend. The rattle of false peace that Yankee imperialism shakes seeks to lull the consciousness of the masses to sleep in order to impose, at whatever cost, its hegemony as the first world superpower. The peace it offers is the peace of the bayonets of the cemeteries; we must understand that there are four⁠—SOCIALISM, DICTATORSHIP OF THE PROLETARIAT, PARTY, AND MARXISM-LENINISM-MAOISM⁠—that are attacked in a systematic, cunning, and sinister way. Socialism is negated, the dictatorship of the proletariat is attacked, the necessity of the Party is negated, and the obsolescence of Marxism is proclaimed.

For this, let us start from what was established by our Great Leadership in the Third Plenum:

On socialism: “ . . . Five five-year plans, twenty-five years, with a world war in which the USSR had 25 million dead and they had to apply scorched earth. The drive and the conditions created in those times allowed a vigorous advance and development until the 1960s; the drove of revisionists could not contain the continuing expression of a powerful force, the vigor, the vitality of the forms that the new system generates. The five-year plan from 1961 to 1965 gives importance to the economic bases; those from 1966 to 1970 and from 1971 to 1975 are for economic bases. The first five-year plan gave priority to the development of heavy industry; Chairman Mao says: Stalin did not know how to handle the system of production well, he tilted it, he did not put it on the two feet: agriculture and industry. Despite the errors committed, the vigor of the power of those new social relations created a complete revolution and certain bases of economic development that satisfied the needs of millions and did . . . What system did something similar? The United States? This had its umbilical cord in England, there they were bourgeois; on arriving in the USA there was no feudal base to hinder them. How many centuries did they need? A long toil, they are centuries, 350 years, and it must not be detached from England. In 30 years, could they make a homeland as great as the USSR? Have they been able to do away with hunger as in China? Who can boast? No one . . . ” Thus what there was in the USSR was the bankruptcy of revisionism; revisionism is the vanguard of restoration, not “ . . . collapse of the Soviet Union . . . ” as some put forward. Socialism did not fail, but rather the abandonment of Socialism to adjust themselves to the old imperialist world; there they disintegrate their system to be part of the world imperialist order.

On the Dictatorship of the Proletariat: “ . . . They call it totalitarian: We must see what Chairman Mao says in On the People’s Democratic Dictatorship,⁸ see who benefits the people and the class more, sweep away that nonsense of totalitarianism, an old tale, they want to bewilder us, make the benefits, the advantages they gave the people be seen. What does reaction, the bourgeoisie, give? . . . ”

On the Party: “ . . . They proclaim non-partisanship, they aim to dissolve the politics of the working class, of the proletariat, they want only the politics of the bourgeoisie . . . ” They dream of the class without its vanguard, without its general staff, without its scientific ideology, dreams that end in nightmares.

On the question of Marxism: “ . . . The bourgeoisie is so decrepit that it does not attack directly but rather they resort to ideas from two centuries ago, vindicating totally ultra-reactionary figures, conceited fools like Tocqueville, a rose-tinted version of the American bourgeois dictatorship; they are a complete pastime, they say Marxism has become obsolete, it does not serve, they do not attack openly. When have they provided grounds? No one ever proved the obsolescence of Marxism. They have crowed, they are apprentices, mountebanks⁹ like Dühring and a drove of plunderers of Marxism. In synthesis, we must carry out the defense of Marxism, of socialism, of the dictatorship of the proletariat, of the Party, seeing the great things it generated, what interests it serves, and counterpose to it what interests capitalism, imperialism, the bourgeois dictatorship, the petty parties serve. We are not for times of ambiguities. For the revolution to advance it is necessary to contend with violence for great separations. Chairman Mao said: ‘Only a great chaos can generate the new order.’ We have had insufficient instances of chaos, we must generate more, do it at the level of ideas; moving ideas is vital to form public opinion, without that Power is not conquered . . . ”

Thus the COMMUNIST PARTY OF PERU demands taking up the speech as a weapon of combat, applying the all-powerful Gonzalo Thought to resolve new problems (Third Plenum), which is the guarantee of triumph until Communism, defending the life and physical integrity of our Great Leadership with People’s War. And celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Chinese Revolution with actions that shake the rotten imperialist order, in order thus to enthrone among the masses our scientific ideology of the proletariat.

LONG LIVE CHAIRMAN GONZALO, LEADER OF THE PARTY AND THE REVOLUTION!

LONG LIVE THE ALL-POWERFUL GONZALO THOUGHT!

LONG LIVE THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF PERU!

THE PEOPLE’S WAR WILL INEVITABLY WIN!

PEOPLE’S WAR UNTIL COMMUNISM!

LONG LIVE MAOISM, DOWN WITH REVISIONISM!

LONG LIVE THE TRIUMPH OF THE CHINESE REVOLUTION!

September 1999    PCP-CENTRAL COMMITTEE