May the Chinese Revolution serve as a powerful incentive for us to fulfill the Party’s tasks in the place where we belong!
IN COMMEMORATION OF THE 75th ANNIVERSARY OF THE CHINESE REVOLUTION, we publish after these introductory lines, the document by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Peru, from Chairman Gonzalo's speech at the meeting of leaders and cadre on the occasion of the 40th Anniversary of the Chinese Revolution, held on September 30, 1989.
In this speech, Chairman Gonzalo highlights the significance of the Chinese revolution and Chairman Mao's role. He says that the Chinese revolution calls on us to reflect on the democratic revolution, the socialist revolution, the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and the restoration and counter-restoration, which, in essence, is the permanent revolution, as Marx said, the class's march to enter communism through the dictatorship of the proletariat.
Today, more than ever, we must assert that communism is the future reality towards which we inexorably march. It is the necessary march towards our final goal, but we must go through stages and very arduous processes, and each stage presents new and more difficult problems. However, as communists, we have the necessary strength to overcome them, based on the most powerful ideology. Therefore, we reaffirm that this is the necessary goal for communists, which the class, the proletariat, must reach no matter the difficulties it has to face. The problems we see today, such as the restoration in China and the USSR, do not deny that goal; they only reveal the long and complex process of the march towards communism. In this era when the alleged obsolescence of communism is preached, let us take the Chinese revolution as an example, and let our Party, as part of the world revolution, serve the ultimate goal: communism.
Chairman Gonzalo, calls on us to reaffirm ourselves in the great slogan of 1979: To raise, defend and apply Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, principally Maoism! (adjusted as we said Mao Zedong Thought back then); even more today that they pretend to deny it, vain dreams! Maoism is the new and the new has never been easily accepted; it has been imposed in hard struggle by the leadership of the proletariat in the revolution under the communist parties. He stresses, that without Maoism there would be no people's war and more, this people's war would not be a burning flame that imposes itself against wind and tide.
Maoism has significance for the international proletariat and the peoples of the world. Consequently, the task of striving to make it the command and guide of the world revolution remains valid; it is a necessity. Let's think about the immense power that Maoism holds, the power it can use to arm the proletariat and the people. Chairman Mao said in difficult times to think of our almighty ideology. We have Maoism. It was rightly said that the proletariat possessed the most powerful atomic bomb: Mao Zedong Thought, back then.
"Only through storms does the world change," said Chairman Mao. May the Chinese Revolution serve as a powerful incentive for us to fulfill the Party's tasks in the place where we belong!
It is evident that it has been a transcendental revolution in humanity for various reasons: one of them being the immense mass it has mobilized, initially 400 million and in the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, 800 million; a zone of great conflicts worldwide, extensive and rooted in long struggles of the people, the peasantry, long-standing peasant struggles, and wars like the Opium War of the 19th century, for example. In the Cultural Revolution, a long process was assessed, and it was stated that China has been marked by various armed struggles. The Communist Party of China (CPC) and Chairman Mao, the third luminary of Marxism, the highest summit, come into play regarding this. All this has given China very special conditions, and what happened there has shaken the world.
To think about the democratic revolution; to think about its essence as a revolution, as the overthrow of one class by another, which is achieved through people's war, through violence, to think about this universal law, even more so today when they want to declare it outdated. The democratic revolution in China is a paradigm, a prototype of a revolution that goes against imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucrat-capitalism. The democratic revolution inevitably leads to the second revolution, thus the Chinese revolution not only leads us to think about the democratic revolution but also its uninterrupted continuation as a socialist revolution; therefore, in the democratic revolution, it is not feasible to achieve the socialist revolution in a country like ours. Chairman Mao teaches us that the socialist revolution is the continuation of the democratic revolution, and furthermore, as a cultural revolution, it is the continuation of the revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat sustained by the people's army capable of defending the New State based on immense masses; he has made it very clear to us that the revolution is posed with the construction of socialism, that its construction is extremely complex and requires a long time; moreover, Chairman Mao told us that even we, the communists, had not achieved a complete and thorough understanding of the laws of socialism and that it requires a long time. He told us that it implies a sharp and violent class struggle, that there are two paths that confront each other: the capitalist path and the socialist path, and it is not defined who will prevail over whom; of course, he never doubted that socialism would prevail in the long run, what he showed us was the sharp class struggle for the dictatorship of the proletariat, in concrete terms.
He taught us that socialism requires relying on immense masses: peasantry, proletariat, people, to generate new modalities, so as not to repeat the old capitalist paths, collapsed by the revolution and which would deviate from the socialist path; moreover, socialism would have to generate new forms. He made it clear that the class struggle continues, sharp and intense, and that the focal point of the conflict is the dictatorship of the proletariat supported by immense masses. Furthermore, the Chinese revolution has demonstrated the necessity of the Cultural Revolution, that the revolution demanded resolute struggle but was necessary to continue the revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat. Obviously, the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution is an epic chant of the revolution in the world, a milestone of victory for the communists and revolutionaries worldwide, an indelible fact. Although it is a process we must face, this revolution has left us great lessons that we already apply, such as the need to change ideology as a fundamental step for the class to seize Power; today, generating an ideological leap to seize Power.
Apart from these two issues, the Chinese revolution has shown us how revolution occurs within a process of restoration and counter-restoration (a contradiction with two aspects). No class seizes Power all at once; instead, restoration occurs; therefore, resolute struggle must be waged to counteract restoration until the class finally establishes itself in Power definitively. Along this path, the proletariat has already covered the greatest distance.
Thus, the Chinese revolution calls us to reflect on the democratic revolution, the socialist revolution, the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, and the process of restoration and counter-restoration, which essentially constitutes the permanent revolution, as Marx stated—the resounding march of the class to enter communism by passing through the dictatorship of the proletariat.
Today, more than ever, we must assert that communism is the future reality towards which we inexorably march. It is the necessary march towards our final goal, but we must go through stages and very arduous processes, and each stage presents new and more difficult problems. However, as communists, we have the necessary strength to overcome them, based on the most powerful ideology. Therefore, we reaffirm that this is the necessary goal for communists, which the class, the proletariat, must reach no matter the difficulties it has to face. The problems we see today, such as the restoration in China and the USSR, do not deny that goal; they only reveal the long and complex process of the march towards communism. In this era when the alleged obsolescence of communism is preached, let us take the Chinese revolution as an example, and let our Party, as part of the world revolution, serve the ultimate goal: communism.
Thus, we have seen what the Chinese revolution encompasses and the role of Chairman Mao.
It is the decisive question. Chairman Mao teaches us that everything is determined by ideological-political matters, and our ideology is none other than Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, principally Maoism. It is not the time nor the reason to outline Marxism; what interests us is to see how the ideology of the proletariat as a magnificent reality unfolds through leaps and stages. Marxism had its first stage, Leninism had a second, and the greatest and highest expression came in the third stage: Maoism. Thus, as communists, we find that Marxism is an unstoppable, vibrant, and thriving force in full development. Many fools have declared it dead, but Marxism has been further developed, giving a sober "mea culpa" to those empty words. The same was said during Marx's time, similarly during Lenin's time, and it should not surprise us that now there are impostors, supposed buryers of Marxism. And Maoism is attacked, cunningly and sinisterly, because it is the highest conception of humanity.
However, precisely when we rise to higher stages of communist party ideology, it is attacked, denied, and declared obsolete. But all this noise about the alleged obsolescence of Marxism is nothing more than, and this is very important, the prologue to a new development of Marxism, just as it was when Marx and Lenin were alive. Maoism is the highest scientific ideology, and consequently the highest transformative reality. It emerges from matter, it is a material expression, because spirit is nothing more than a form of matter. Therefore, we have received the highest ideology of humanity: Maoism.
We must reaffirm the great slogan of 1979: "Uphold, defend, and apply Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, principally Maoism!" (adjusted as we said Mao Zedong Thought back then). This is even more important today, as they seek to deny it. Vain dreams!
Maoism is something new, and the new has never been easily accepted. It has been imposed through fierce struggle by the leadership of the proletariat in the revolution under communist parties. For Lenin, Marxism is the tree of life, and idealism is nothing but a parasite. Thus, the idealism they spread today is nothing but a rotten parasite. On the other hand, Maoism is the living tree of life. We are convinced of the greatness of Maoism. We owe so much to it. Without Maoism, we wouldn't even be here together. Without Maoism, there would be no people's war, and even if there were, it wouldn't be the blazing flame that defies all odds.
Maoism has significance for the international proletariat and the peoples of the world. Consequently, the task of striving to make it the command and guide of the world revolution remains valid; it is a necessity. Let's think about the immense power that Maoism holds, the power it can use to arm the proletariat and the people. Chairman Mao said in difficult times to think of our almighty ideology. We have Maoism. It was rightly said that the proletariat possessed the most powerful atomic bomb: Mao Zedong Thought, back then.
Thus, let us reaffirm Maoism as the most glorious summit.
Of course, it is clear that they are colluding with the darkest global reaction, imperialism, because they both converge.
Every day it becomes clearer what is contained in this new offensive; everything sinister and treacherous about Gorbachev and Deng. They deny the most basic issues; thus, the Chinese revisionists, followers of Deng, argue that capitalism has stages: embryonic, primary, secondary, and superior, four stages, and that since World War II, capitalism would have reached its superior stage; they deny Lenin's central theses on imperialism, furthermore, they say that capitalism is far from being outdated, that it has enough strength to solve its problems. Writers in the international press argue that the global capitalist system, the American one, is proving the falsity of Marx's theses, that Marx fundamentally erred in claiming that under capitalism, overproduction generates crises, that today these crises are manageable and do not demonstrate the obsolescence of the system. But at the same time, they say that no one can deny that crises are generated by potential overproduction; as you can see, they contradict themselves. However, what interests us is how the Chinese revisionists and the imperialists collude in denying Marxism.
A businessman from the upper bourgeoisie, tied to imperialism, mainly Yankee imperialism, states that the Peruvian economic process leads inevitably to a highly explosive moment and that, therefore, they are already implementing plans, along with the Catholic Church, to contain this explosiveness. Precisely, "Community in Action [Comunidad en Acción]" managed by Caritas is part of these plans to curb revolution and exploit the hunger of the masses. In China today, they say that the new role of the Church must be seen, that in socialism, it cannot be said that religion is the opium of the people; this is an open denial of Marx, with the argument that it was said before, but it was before Marxism provided a scientific explanation of the role of religion. We also see in this how revisionism coincides with reaction. For us, the role of the Church is clear. We have stated it before, differentiating the class interests of the hierarchy from the religiosity of the people. Furthermore, no one forgets the furious admonition of the Pope: "Lay down your attitude" while blessing the reactionary armed forces. The Pope goes where there are problems and plays a counter-revolutionary role. Poland is another example.
Thus, revisionism is showing specific forms in its denial of Marxism, a denial that contains its own death and disintegration.
The Party proposed that the moment would come for the great battle in defense of Marxism on all fronts; that moment has arrived, the moment to defend Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, principally Maoism. The issue requires a thorough study of revisionism, just as we study the enemy, because we are in a life-or-death war with it; studying it, exposing its true nature, demonstrating its monstrosity to the entire world. The aim is to precisely pinpoint how Marxism is questioned and denied by revisionism, imperialism, and global reaction colluding together.
On the economic front, they argue that capitalism has found the solution to its problems and, consequently, is not heading towards its downfall; they want to make the peoples of the Earth, the proletariat, believe that capitalism is eternal. Politically, they also want to dumb us down, make us believe, fools that we are, that the bourgeois dictatorship is not a system that is heading towards its ruin, that the bourgeoisie is not obsolete but has entered a stage of resurgence, perpetuating the bourgeois dictatorship. Ideologically, they proclaim the validity of patched idealism with religion, primarily Catholicism, which embodies more superstition and deception, the most reactionary.
Armed with Maoism, which is the pinnacle of Marxism, with people's war, with the Party, mobilizing the masses, we must unmask all those lies and crush them, and most importantly, serve the advancement of the world revolution.
The CPP is Marxist-Leninist-Maoist, Gonzalo Thought. The Communist Party and the People's War it leads are demonstrations of the invincibility and vitality of Marxism, of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, principally Maoism. Consequently, there is a great responsibility. Therefore, we must develop the People's War to demonstrate the continued power of Maoism and to seize country-wide power.
The seizure of power is crucial because we are in a key part of Latin America which, at this moment, is going through the harshest economic, political, and ideological crisis, a general crisis with a bleak outlook in the coming years. As evidenced by the fact that while Asia has countries growing above 9%, Africa at 3%, and underdeveloped areas of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East at 2.5%, countries in Latin America are growing at 1%, which aligns with a high population percentage.
Meditating on the role of the CPP and what it implies to seize Power throughout the country is of historical significance. The facts show how the Party has established that two decades will be added to the reaction, as they themselves say today. Seriously reflecting on the campaign of North American imperialism, Bush says they are going against cocaine. Peru is the main producer, Bolivia the second, and Colombia the third, which is true. But where is the United States aiming? To carry out its counter-revolutionary war in the Andean countries, which are the backbone of Latin America, especially South America. And within this backbone, where does the people's war burn? In Peru, due to the Party's leadership and the action of the masses. Thus, they target us. What implications does this have? It leads to the development of the contradiction between the nation and imperialism, mainly North American imperialism, without forgetting the other superpower and other powers. It involves a change in contradiction: let us not forget that other countries can be used. Within this perspective, they propose to carry out the opening of Brazil to the Pacific through the ports of Matarani and Ilo, which has serious implications, especially for the southern part of the country, as well as the criticized policy of the Peruvian state of distancing itself from Bolivia and approaching Chile. Direct Yankee aggression or the use of puppets leads us to a war of national liberation. And despite the sacrifice and effort it may demand, it will be a magnificent perspective to unite ninety percent of the Peruvian people, at a time when the Party aims to seize Power throughout the country, with harsh conditions for the triumph of the Peruvian revolution. Imperialism dreams, then, if it intends to suffocate the revolution. And no matter how difficult, complex, and bloody this period may be, it leads to the triumph of the people, serves the emancipation of the class, and the world proletarian revolution. What is decisive is to place Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, principally Maoism, as the command and guide of the world revolution.
"Only through storms does the world change," said Chairman Mao. May the Chinese Revolution serve as a powerful incentive for us to fulfill the Party's tasks in the place where we belong!
Central Committee
Communist Party of Peru
Chairman Gonzalo's speech at the meeting of leaders and cadre on the occasion of the 40th Anniversary of the Chinese Revolution