The Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (, abbreviated MRTA) was a Peruvian Marxist-Leninist guerrilla army which started in the early 1980s. Their self-declared goal was to demonstrate to leftist groups in Peru that sought change through the current government the viability of radical revolution. The MRTA also aimed to provide an alternative to another militant group, the Shining Path, which placed them in direct competition. The group was led by Víctor Polay Campos until he was sentenced to 32 years' imprisonment in 1992 and by Néstor Cerpa Cartolini ("Comrade Evaristo") until his death in 1997.
The MRTA took its name in homage to Túpac Amaru II, an 18th-century rebel leader who was himself named after his claimed ancestor Túpac Amaru, the last indigenous leader of the Inca people. The MRTA was designated as a terrorist organization by the Peruvian government, the US Department of State, and the European Parliament but was later removed from the United States State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations on 8 October 2001.
At the height of its strength, the movement had several hundred active members. Its stated goals were to establish a socialist state and rid the country of all imperialist elements.
Ideology
The ideology of the MRTA is informed by both Peruvian nationalism and Marxism-Leninism. The MRTA takes its name from Sapa Inca Tupac Amaru, the last Inca emperor who led a failed rebellion against the Spanish colonial government and was executed in 1572. One of his descendants, Jose Gabriel Concorcanqui, took the name Tupac Amaru II and led another popular revolt against the Spanish (1780–1782). The MRTA considered itself the vanguard of ideas that already had popular support among oppressed groups, much like the indigenous leader. In their official statements, the MRTA drew a connection to the anti-colonial struggle against the Spanish to the twentieth century, arguing that Peru was still a subordinate economy to the west especially the United States. The MRTA argues that globalization is the mechanism of neo-colonialism, even that there is no real difference. The MRTA sees the IMF and World Bank as important instruments of neo-colonialism, and argues that the policies enforced by these organizations on Peru have caused unemployment and stalled development. In their first radio transmission, the MRTA said, "the war which we begin today is a continuation of the open and clandestine war we Peruvians have waged against foreign and internal oppressors (for centuries)." Drawing upon the works of Jose Carlos Mariategui's Seven Interpretive Essays on Peruvian Reality, the MRTA combines an appreciation for Peru's indigenous history with the works of Karl Marx. Peruvian Marxists differ from traditional Marxists in a few ways. Notably, the Peruvian Marxist tradition holds that non-industrial workers could become politically conscious and begin a popular uprising, a notion dismissed by European Marxists in Mariategui's time. Peruvian Marxists are less concerned with achieving the key precursors of traditional Marxist revolutions, and instead focus on the daily experiences of Peruvians. Revolution, they argue, is the only way to improve the conditions of the Peruvian people.
Peruvian Marxists also valorize Indigenous societies for their communal organization, which is seen as a precursor to socialism. Effectively, Peruvian Marxists equate the establishment of a socialist state in Peru with a return of an Indigenous state, which is considered more just and representative of Peruvian peoples and interests.
In order to achieve their vision, the MRTA declared the necessity of forgoing legal reform in favor of violent revolution. Accordingly, the MRTA aimed to escalate preexisting conflicts and create new ones to demonstrate the feasibility of revolution to a critical mass of Peruvians. Conflict would further deteriorate conditions in Peru, hopefully leading to a transition from a pre-revolutionary state to revolutionary state. The MRTA believed that political organization would be important to a successful revolution, but criticized preexisting leftist groups as naive for believing in a peaceful reform movement. The MRTA believes that "reformism" in general has stalled the progress towards global socialist revolution by preventing the rise of class consciousness.
The MRTA simultaneously preached Peruvian nationalism while arguing they were part of a larger Latin American effort to remove North American interference on the continent. The prominence of Peru's Indigenous past in the MRTA's rhetoric meant they never aspired to fully merge with a global movement, only that they wished to aid like-minded allies.