Editing Shining Path (section)

==== Level of support ====
[[File:Zones registering Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) activity.svg|thumb|243x243px|Areas where the Shining Path was active in Peru]]

By 1990, the Shining Path had about 3,000 armed members at its greatest extent.<ref name=":8" /> The group had gained control of much of the countryside of the center and south of Peru and had a large presence in the outskirts of Lima. The Shining Path began to fight against Peru's other major guerrilla group, the [[Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement]] (MRTA),<ref>[[Nelson Manrique|Manrique, Nelson]]. "The War for the Central Sierra," p. 211 in ''Shining and Other Paths: War and Society in Peru, 1980–1995'', ed. Steve Stern, Duke University Press: Durham and London, 1998 ({{ISBN|0-8223-2217-X}}).</ref> as well as ''[[Peasant|campesino]]'' self-defense groups organized by the Peruvian armed forces.

The Shining Path quickly seized control of large areas of Peru. The group had significant support among peasant communities, and it had the support of some slum dwellers in the capital and elsewhere. The Shining Path's interpretation of Maoism did not have the support of many city dwellers. According to opinion polls, only 15 percent of the population considered [[Subversion (politics)|subversion]] to be justifiable in June 1988, while only 17 percent considered it justifiable in 1991.<ref>Kenney, Charles D. 2004. ''Fujimori's Coup and the Breakdown of Democracy in Latin America.'' Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame. Citing Balibi, C.R. 1991. "Una inquietante encuesta de opinión." ''Quehacer'': 40–45.</ref> In June 1991, "the total sample disapproved of the Shining Path by an 83 to 7 percent margin, with 10 percent not answering the question. Among the poorest, however, only 58 percent stated disapproval of the Shining Path; 11 percent said they had a favorable opinion of the Shining Path, and some 31 percent would not answer the question."<ref name="Kenney">Kenney, Charles D. 2004. ''Fujimori's Coup and the Breakdown of Democracy in Latin America.'' Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame.</ref> A September 1991 poll found that 21 percent of those polled in Lima believed that the Shining Path did not torture and kill innocent people. The same poll found that 13 percent believed that society would be more just if the Shining Path won the war and 22 percent believed society would be equally just under the Shining Path as it was under the government.<ref name="Kenney" /> Polls have never been completely accurate since Peru has several anti-terrorism laws, including "apologia for terrorism", that makes it a punishable offense for anyone who does not condemn the Shining Path. In effect, the laws make it illegal to support the group in any way.<ref>Sandra Coliver, Paul Hoffman, Joan Fitzpatrick, Stephen Bowman, Secrecy and Liberty: National Security, Freedom of Expression and Access To Information, (Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague Publishers,) 1999, p. 162.</ref>

Many peasants were unhappy with the Shining Path's rule for a variety of reasons, such as its disrespect for [[Indigenous peoples in Peru|indigenous]] culture and institutions.<ref>Del Pino H., Ponciano. "Family, Culture, and 'Revolution': Everyday Life with Sendero Luminoso," p. 179 in ''Shining and Other Paths: War and Society in Peru, 1980–1995'', ed. Steve Stern, Duke University Press: Durham and London, 1998 ({{ISBN|0-8223-2217-X}}).</ref> However, they had also made agreements and alliances with some indigenous tribes. Some did not like the brutality of its "popular trials" that sometimes included "slitting throats, strangulation, stoning, and burning."<ref>U.S. Department of State. March 1996 {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20010217013051/http://www.freelori.org/gov/statedept/95_perureport.html "Peru Human Rights Practices, 1995"]}}. Retrieved 16 January 2008.</ref><ref>[[Orin Starn|Starn, Orin]]. "Villagers at Arms: War and Counterrevolution in the Central-South Andes," p. 237 in ''Shining and Other Paths: War and Society in Peru, 1980–1995'', ed. Steve Stern, Duke University Press: Durham and London, 1998 ({{ISBN|0-8223-2217-X}}).</ref> Peasants were offended by the rebels' injunction against burying the bodies of Shining Path victims.<ref>Degregori, p. 140.</ref>

The Shining Path followed Mao Zedong's dictum that guerrilla warfare should start in the countryside and gradually choke off the cities.<ref>''Desarrollar la lucha armada del campo a la ciudad'', San Marcos 1985 PCP speech</ref>

According to multiple sources, the Shining Path received support from [[History of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi|Gaddafi's Libya]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/marie-colvin-colonel-gadaffi-gaddafi-libya-mad-dog-and-me-chn0vrpjf|title=Mad Dog and me – the Colonel Gadaffi I knew|last1=Colvin|first1=Marie}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/aug/23/libya-gaddafi-vicious-despot|title=Gaddafi: a vicious, sinister despot driven out on tidal wave of hatred|date=23 August 2011|work=The Guardian|first=Simon|last=Tisdall|access-date=4 February 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/news/muammar-gaddafi-kitsch-dictator-162327388.html|title=Muammar Gaddafi: The Kitsch Dictator|work=Sky News|via=Yahoo News|date=5 September 2011|first=Tim|last=Marshall|access-date=4 February 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Qaddafi, Terrorism, and the Origins of the U.S. Attack on Libya|first=Brian Lee|last=Davis|page=17|publisher=Praeger|date=1990|isbn=9780275933029|lccn=89016095}}</ref>