From: SCIENCE%MITVMA.BITNET@ohstvma.acs.ohio-state.edu
Subject: Ch. 8 of Shining Path on Mao
Organization: The Ohio State University Department of Computer and Information Science
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 00:29:23 GMT



Excerpt from Sendero Luminoso on Mao Zedong
Ch. 8 from "CPP and Mao Tsetung"

Central Committee
The Communist Party of Peru, December 1987
Reproduced by the People's Movement Peru of France.
Distributed by the Comite Sol Peru
Re-distributed by the Maoist Internationalist Movement on
September 7, 1992

The Maoist Internationalist Movement is proud to present these
excerpts from the political documents of the Communist Party
of Peru led by Comrade Gonzalo. To our knowledge, this is the
first time these documents appear in the world of electronic
communications. Since the original language of the translators
is not English, we take some liberties in changing the grammar
and idiomatic phrases of Maoism.

Maoist Internationalist Movement
PO Box 559
Cambridge, MA 02140

Chapter 8: "Chairperson Mao and the Objective Situation in the
Backward Countries" written in September 1979 and
redistributed in December, 1987

Chairperson Mao Tsetung employed the term "objective
situation" to analyze the revolutionary situation or the
objective conditions for the revolution and its development in
the backward countries, that is, semi-feudal and semi-colonial
countries; he starts from the necessity of penetrating into
the essence of things and not staying at simple appearances.
For him, it is fundamental to take into account the semi-
feudal basis and the imperialist oppression that weighs on the
backward countries, in which the revolution is a democratic
revolution, that is, anti-feudal and anti-imperialist
revolution, and whose development demands the armed struggle
from the countryside to the cities through revolutionary base
areas as the new State that upsurges accordingly as the old
reactionary landlord-bureaucratic State is being destroyed.
This is fundamental in order to understand the specific
conditions that a revolutionary situation acquires in a semi-
feudal and semi-colonial society, and its development in those
societies.

Chairperson Mao Tsetung established the conditions that
comprise the objective situation and mainly the contradictions
that arise, and the development of which derives the unfolding
of the revolution, that is in essence armed struggle and the
unavoidable triumph of the revolution. As it can be seen in
point 4 of his work "A single spark can start a prairie fire,"
he emphasizes the following points and contradictions:

1) On the international level, a development of the
contradictions among imperialist countries. Evidently, today
these contradictions are sharper than yesterday, and the
struggle for world hegemony between the two superpowers, U.S.
imperialism and Soviet social-imperialism grows more each day.
This derives in our country as contradictions among the
exploiters, mainly of the grand bourgeoisie as can be seen in
recent times in their factions: bureaucratic bourgeoisie and
comprador bourgeoisie, contradictions that, far from
diminishing, will continue developing.

2) Contradiction between the reactionary rulers and the vast
masses of taxpayers. Among us, the growth of the state
apparatus necessarily leads to tax increases that fall upon
the vast masses of people and, furthermore, the state economy
evolves in a constant budgetary crisis; the process followed
under the present regime and the present situation clearly
show the above, as well as that it is the masses of people
that through indirect taxation suffer more and more the state
expenditures, a situation that is worsening each time more and
will continue worsening.

3) Contradiction between imperialism and national industry.
Also among us this contradiction is obvious; the industry in
our country is all the time more subdued to the imperialist
rule, and the access to their markets more limited; on the
other hand, the aggression of foreign merchandises run by
imperialism limits national industry and the financial
impositions of imperialism sink it more in economic recession,
even worsened by the world crisis. As stated by Mariategui,
imperialism does not allow the development of a national
industry.

4) Contradiction between the bourgeoisie and the working
class. Seeking to escape from their difficulties, the
capitalists "try to find an outlet by means of an unbridled
exploitation on the workers, and the latter oppose them." This
statement of Chairperson Mao's is proved among us everyday to
satiety, mainly we see it today in the development of the
crisis which our country is suffering in recent years. In
synthesis, we see how brutally the salaries are shrunk; the
working day hours are increased and hard work conditions are
imposed in order to safeguard enterprises' profits; but facing
this we see the resistance of the proletariat through
persistent strike struggle, even against all forms of
harassment and repression, suspension of guaranties and the
state of emergency.

5) An even greater deepening of the contradiction between the
landlord class and the peasantry. In this country, the State
has assumed the collection of territorial rental through the
agrarian debt, the imperialist investment mainly through the
Banco Agrario and the control of all the associative system
(cooperatives, SAIS, etc.) in agricultural production and,
furthermore, it maintains servile forms of production, thus
joining the old feudal landlord exploitation. In this way, the
situation of the peasantry is worsened due to the evolution of
feudalism stamped by the agrarian law and the penetration of
bureaucratic capitalism in the countryside.

6) The merchants of national products and the independent
producers are pushed more each time towards bankruptcy. Today
the economic crisis clearly shows the validity of this
statement. It is enough to remember the bankruptcy situation
faced by the small industrial production and small trade, as
well as the small mining; let us emphasize the serious
situation the street vendors suffer, on whom also repression
falls. But the situation hits even the middle producers.

7) The reactionary government increases its troops
unlimitedly. In our country the development and reinforcement
of the reactionary armed and police forces is evident, both in
number and weaponry, with the creation of new repressive corps
and the wider range of their functions and the greater control
they exercise upon all the functions of society. Evidently,
this process will be further developed.

8) Hunger and banditry extend all over the country. The
Peruvian masses of people suffer chronic hunger, but today the
crisis is even greater; really the masses, specifically the
poor peasantry, have nothing to feed on, and with hunger
sickness comes at its side, fattening itself mainly on
children and youth. Delinquency expands more and more, and
cattle stealing increases in the countryside backed by the
authorities themselves.

9) The vast peasant masses and the urban poor find themselves
in a situation in which they can hardly keep alive. This
verification made by Chairperson Mao in China is also a cruel
reality among us. Misery settles more and more among the
masses of people of our country.

10) Due to the lack of budgetary means, many students fear to
be unable to continue their studies. With regard to our
country this is also true. The budget for education as well as
that for health, decreases, and education agitates in deep
crisis; in this way, many students quit studying due to the
lack of academic centers and, moreover, due to the lack of
resources.

11) Due to the backward character of production, many
graduated students have no hope of finding work. Among us,
this situation also happens, thousands of graduated students
work in anything but in their profession.

This is how Chairperson Mao Tsetung judges the revolutionary
situation in the backward countries, and when he analyzes the
contradictions that the objective situation presents, he finds
the material basis that gives support to the armed struggle,
its development and triumph. From the above we can see that in
our country a similar objective situation is given, and the
same contradictions are developing. All this is very evident.
They are contradictions that are developing and in no way can
they be solved by a reactionary government; furthermore, we
all know that the contradictions that can not be solved
sharpen; therefore, the objective situation in our country is
and will be more propitious for the development of the
revolution, for the development of its superior form, the
armed struggle; in consequence, the question is to initiate
the armed struggle, this is the unavoidable perspective of our
condition as a semi-feudal and semi-colonial country. What
other perspective can our country have? What other road can we
follow in Peru? What other hope can our masses of people and
the proletariat possess?

Chairperson Mao Tsetung, concluding his analysis said:
"Once we understand all these contradictions, we shall see in
what a desperate situation, what a chaotic state China finds
itself. We shall also see that the high tide of revolution
against the imperialists, the warlords and the landlords is
inevitable and will come very soon. All China is littered with
faggots, which will soon be aflame."

Following our country the same laws of the revolution, being
our situation similar as well as our perspective, can we think
in a different manner? No, in no way.

But, furthermore, Chairperson Mao Tsetung has established a
brilliant distinction between a revolutionary situation in
development and a stationary revolutionary situation, as can
be seen in point 3 of chapter II of his work "Why is it that
red power can exist in China?" Chairperson Mao starts from
that in a semi-feudal and semi-colonial country, as ours is,
there always exists a revolutionary situation, or an objective
situation, as he calls it, for the development of armed
struggle, but this is presented in two forms: 1) stationary
revolutionary situation, and 2) revolutionary situation in
development. Moreover, analyzing his statements, we can say
that a stationary revolutionary situation can be transformed
into a revolutionary situation in development through the
action of the subjective conditions upon the objective
situation; it is very important to keep this in mind.
Furthermore, it is necessary to differentiate the unequal
development of the revolutionary situation and to take into
account that this situation can appear even in a region, and
that the revolutionary action itself can generalize it in the
whole country and that, also, armed struggle can be initiated
in the midst of a general falling back of the revolution, as
proven by the Uprising of the Autumn Crop in August of 1927 in
China.

Develop the People's Growing Protest!
September, 1979
Newsgroups: talk.politics.china