LA SERNA, M. (2020) With masses & arms: Peru’s Tupac Amaru revolutionary movement

Abstract

Much has been written about the violence unleashed by the Shining Path, from its origin and national deployment to its fall and legacy, but almost nothing about the MRTA. In his book, With Masses & Arms: Peru's Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, historian Miguel La Serna proposes to fill this gap in studies on the internal armed conflict in Peru. In this sense, La Serna argues that the history of the MRTA has never been told and exists as a tangential branch of the great studies on the Shining Path, known as senderología. This leaves out the daily experiences of militant men and women and leaders of the MRTA. Precisely, With Masses & Arms focuses on the history of the MRTA from the perspective of these actors and the response of the State and civil organizations.