Following a pattern which was not uncommon among Latin American intellectuals from upper and upper-middle-class backgrounds at the time, Morote embraced first religion (becoming the pastor of an evangelical Christian church) and later Communism. At the beginning of his tenure as rector, Morote recruited Abimael Guzmán as a professor of philosophy at the university. Guzmán went on to become the leader of a terrorist group, the Shining Path, which sought to bring about a pro-Communist uprising in Perú modeled after Mao Zedong's revolution in China. The Shining Path waged a 13-year-long conflict with both the Peruvian government and rival leftist militants. Osmán Morote Barrionuevo, one of Efraín Morote's sons, became the Shining Path's second-in-command. Efraín Morote's other two children also became members of the Shining Path.