As part of the Violences in Latin America Talk Series, the Center for Latin American Studies at Rutgers University hosted the presentation “Pactos de Alianza: How Communities Resisted the Shining Path Insurgency in Peru” by Renzo S. Aroni Sulca (NYU). The talk offered a powerful and nuanced perspective on community-based resistance during one of the most violent periods of Peru’s internal armed conflict.
Aroni examined how Indigenous and peasant communities mobilized to confront the threats posed by the Shining Path, drawing on oral histories, communal archives, and a microhistorical approach. Central to his presentation was the Pacto de Alianza, an inter-communal coalition formed between 1983 and 1986—and later revived in 1992—as a response to the insurgency’s authoritarian practices and its persecution of local leaders.
The talk highlighted the agency of rural communities, challenging narratives that portray them solely as victims. Instead, Aroni emphasized their strategic decision-making, the formation of autonomous systems of self-defense, and how collective memory, cultural practices, and local leadership shaped their resistance.
By foregrounding community voices, Aroni’s work invites a rethinking of the historiography of political violence in Peru. It contributes to broader conversations about memory, autonomy, and Indigenous modes of survival and resilience in Latin America.
