(The following letter, concerning Hugo Blanco, was sent by Pierre Frank to James Aronson,’ editor of the New York weekly, NATIONAL GUARDLAN. )
In Cedric Belfrage's otherwise excellent articie on the outbreak of guerilla warfare in Peru (NATIONAL GUARDIAN, July 31), there are two references to the Trotskyist peasant leader Hugo Blanco, which seem to be based on misinformation and which we are sure You will want to correct.
"In 1959", the article states, "Hugo Hlanco, an intellectual inapired by Trotsky and Fidel Castro, learned Quechua and: began organising resistance in the Convencion Valley mear Cuzco, but gave hinself up to ‘the police in 19674",
Further on, the conduct of Luis de-la Puente Uoeds, -one of. the three guerilla leaders currently in the resistance movement, is atated to be in "contrast to the mystery in which predecessor Blanco clothed his actions..."
Hugo Blanco was an agricultural student in Suenos Aires when, inspired by the Cuban Revolution, he decided to return home to Feru to participate in tee peasant struggles. Practical exper=ience led him to conclude that while much could be learned from the Cuban example, if could not be mechanically duplicated in Peru, Adjusting his tactics to the inclinations of the peasants themselves, anong whom he was very popular, he took the lead in organising unions. These defended the daily interests of the Peasants themselvas - much like the Peasant Loague organised by Francisco Juliao in Braztl = and engaged, where conditions were favourable, in "recuperating" land from ‘big landholders. This led to armed conflicts in which Blanco was pictured in the Fress as a "guerilla" Leader although he’ actually heeded a federation of some 10,000 nembers whose struggles Were mainly on we economia front.
The Peruvian government mounted a repressive operation like the one now directed against Luis de la Fuente, Guillermo Lobeaton and Gonzalo Fernandez Gases. Hugo Blanes waa captured on May 30, 1963, when, desperately i11, he was brought by his followers ‘dowm out of the mountains in search of clandestine médical treatment. Blanes did not give hinself up any more than (Castra did after the affair at the lionteada barracks. At the time, the prosas reported that Blaneo was charged with "responsibility" for the death of "five rural policemen" killed during skirnishes with tho Land-= hungry rural peasants.
As for the "mystery" in which "Blanco ‘clothed hia actions..." Che Gueversa had this to say in an interview givon in Jjlgiers,
Day
=—(o— July 23, 1963, published in the August 3 issue of El Koudjehid: "twro Glanco is the head of one of the guerilla movemonts in Peru, lie atruggled strongly but the roprossion was strong. IT don't know what his tecticsa of strugglo were, but his fell doce not signify the ond of tho movonent. It is only «© mean that hae follen but the movenont continues. Ono timo, when wo wore prepering to meke cur landing from the Granma, and when thore was great risk that all of us would bo killed, Fidel said: "What is nore important than us is tho cxanmple wo sot". Its the sano thing, Hugo Slenco sot an oxample, a good oxample, and he strugglod nas mich as ho could, Gut he suffered a defoat, the populer foroos suffered a dofcrt. Its only a passing steago. ifterward will come another staga",
Guevara's tributo wes not without more immedinto ronson than referonce to the gonoral cxamploe saat by Blanco, it the ond of October, 1962, during the Caribboan crisis, Fugo Bianco, as ef demonstration of solidarity with the Cuban revolution, led a march of 5,000 poasants from villages in the jndos into Cuzco. Thoy sccupied the city for soveral hours bofore withdrawing. The action rocoivod duo publicity in Poru at tho tinc.
Readers of the National Guardian will undoubtedly be intarestod in the way Foruvions look at Hugo Blanco, Last year ugo Neirc, whe is on the staff of the Lima daily Expreso, published a book of reportage (Cugeo: Tierra y Muerte) on the ponsant movement that swapt the Cusco arca from Dacember 19643 to March 1964, This bogan, Neira states, when "the city of Quillabamba was taken by the unions carrying out ean order to go on strike issued in Cuzco by the Federntion in order to win tho reloase of imprisoned umion lenders, among them, Huge Blanco", Heira travelled throughout the region, making ea first-hand investigation of this novel turn in Feru's poasant movement. (The movement was put down by a massive "operation" of the govrornment's armed forcos in which hundreds of arrests were mode, including the entire leadership of the poasant federation. } imong othor things, Neira indicates tho imprisoned Hugo Slanco's role:
"Fought by the right, his image distorted by prestige duc to erroneous reports about him being a guerilla fighter, injured by the sileneco, if not tho sabotage, of the traditionnl, burcaucratic groups of Commumism, extolled by the Frm (Fronte de Izquierda Revolucionario), feared end hated by the unorganised yeanaconas and hacendados, admired by the union ranks, Ilugo Blanco looms over the whole South. -
"This is the straight truth, without falsification, of what this man, who is a prisoner today in Arequipa, means today to the Peasant masses... “Woe owe hin everything! eny the peasantea. In fact overy change in Convencion and elseawhera in the country, waa accelerated dua te the danger they saw in the peasants having no
= o=hope othor than hope in the rovolutionary unionism of Hugo Blanes.
"Devotion ta Blanco is total = they don't dare bring him to trial. Io en reforring to the unionised poasants. Nie is our chief! they sey ... and in every poasant's home there is an empty bed, It is the onc that was waiting hopefully for tho lcader when ho was going around the rogion orgenising or when he waa passing during the night, under the stars, fleocing from the police",
it the moment, the ID[R (Mevimiento de Izguierda Revolucionaris}), as Mr Bolfrago reports, is leading = gucrilla strugglc, which the governnoant is trying to suppress, as in previous operationa, with napaim and bombs, The guerilla fighters undoubtedly onjoy wide sympathy in Foru, although the tactical wisdon of the initiative taken by the EIN and the attitude of the sectors on this ia not yot clear. Neira had the following to say in hia book csnterning the leadership of the pornsants movanont:
"Tor the moment no party as yot holds a monopoly on this network of roesalitios, The leadera come from various groups. It. se0na that those with the meat woight aro from the FIN, the MIR, Trotskyist pPoople, But there are also ponsant Leaders of great capacity linked to the PCP (Feruvian Communist Perty) ..."!
411 those groups, as well’ as tho unions, student crganisztions and broad intcllectuml circles are-at present the target of a massive nation-wide witeh hint mounted by the Ealaunde government in conjimetion with ite effert to stemp out tho guerilla movement. Fresh fears have baen expressed for Hugo Blanco! sa Ltt 6 in view of the announcenont by the Peruvien liiniater of the Interior July 4 (as reported in the Paris Le Monde July 5) that the operation ef the armed forcas was aimed at "ellninating subversivo oxtermisn ence and for e111" and thet instructions had boon given to the army "to give ne0 quarter and not to eepturc any heroes."
It woule seom that the Fornvian suthorities regret not having summarily dispetchod Alancs, and heve docided mot to ropent the ferror®, That they might take advantage of the current anti- @verilloa operation is obvious.
i word should elso be said for Blanco's sister, LUchi, who, according to a February 11, 1954, Pronsa Latina dispateh from Lina, was arrested with hundreds of others whon 4,000 peasants engaged in land seizures at Sicuane, during which 17 were killed by governmont forees. Of thoge arrested, 18, including Luchi, "wern gent to the grin Sepa prison in the Loreto Department of the tmason Jungle", Pronen Latina reported. to furthor word has been received as to her fate or that of the seventcen others.
TD Toh ee so TS a oe PR Te
i. throe=deay conference of Trotakyiata from different atates, which concluded in Dombay, sugust 9, decided to form «2 now political party to be known as the Socialist Workers Farty, with the immodinte objective of bringing bout a regroupment of the MNarxist- Leninist forces to achieve a speedy socialist transformation of Indian society.
The conference, which was cheired by Shri Somendra Eumar, «a trade union londer of Bihar, clectod a nine-menber organising committee, with Shri Hurlidhar Parija of Domoay as secrotary, to organise units in different states end to convene a regular conference of the now party, i. constitution was adopted,
The Trotakyists, who hed morged with the Ravolutionary Cormimist Perty of India (REPI) in 19460, severed connections with that organisation in 1963 duc to serious differences over the attitude of the Congress governmnont, particularly since the Sino-Indian berdor conflict.
The conforence was of tho view that it is necessary for the Trotskyists, who have been vindicated in their struggle against Stalinism on a world scale, to project themselves as a distinct communist tendoncy in Indian left polities in viow of the crisis in the official Commist movement internationally end the proas distortions of Trotskyist positions dissominated by the Communist partioes.
4& 23-page policy statement adopted by the conference attributed the prosent deepening crisis in the Indian economy {acute food shortage, inflationary trend ote.) 18 years after independence and despite throo five-year plans, af due to the basic policies of the Congress govermmont, which secks to build caplitalisn in the country under tho disguise of a "sociclist pattern” in a period of the decay of world capitalisn.
The now party believes that only a soclalist transformation of aocioty on the basis of a progrannc of mationaliesation of the key industrics, oredit inatitutions, import and export trade =- i,a. sooial cwmership of tho moans of preduction under a workers and peasants govornnont - can froe the productive forces in. the industrial and agricultural sphore from the present fetters and bring about oa resolution of tho orisis.
The party therefore calls for the creation of a unitod front of the Icftt to fight for the dislodging of the ruling capitalist class from the soats of powor and establishing o workera end Peasants gpovornment based on clectead panchayats (councils) at. workers and posasents.
The party monintains that the Congress government, deapite ita policy of non=-alignment, is basicelly aligned to the imperialist Carp. Tho party calls for a nopotiated settlement of India's border and other disputos with noighbouring countrics, including Chinn, Fakistan, Coylon, ilepal and Burma,
4 Fesolution adopted by tho conference states that the poople of Kashmir should have the right to salf-determination . On Goa the conforence favourcd a rofercndum, lotting the Goa people freely decide whether thoy would like to morge with tho noighbouring state of Neherashtra or remain as an independant state within the Indian Union,
The party called for the settlenant of all interatate border disputes within the Indian Union on the basis of the domocratically determined will of the pooplo concernad. It eriticised the traditional left partios for chaviniam on these riatters.
The declaration of the new party oxplaine the difforences it has with the traditional loft partios, including tho Fraje Socialists, the Samyukta Seclalists, the two rivel Commmist Fartios, the RCFI ote, The split in the CP is considered to be a projection of tho Sino-Soviet conflict but it is recognised to Have its main roots im Indian politics and ta be of far-reaching consequence for the Indian left movrenent as ‘a-wholc,
Intormationclly, the party is pledged to support the atruggeles of the workors in the advanced capitalist countries for sccialisn and soliderises with the liberation struggle of the colenial and semi-colonial people against colonielisn and neo-colonialiam. It also supports the poople in the workers! states in their struggeic against the bureaucracy and for socialist donocracy. itis committed to a policy of unconditional defenca.of the workera' states, including the USSR, China, Orth Vietnam, Yugoslavia and Cuba in the event of imperialist aggression,
On Vietnam, the party calls for united action by tha Indian and international working class movenont in support of the horoic liberation war of the Vietnamese poople, it scored the Shastri g0versamant for its servile attitude towarda US imperialism om Vietnam and other questions, It stands for India's imoriodiata withdrawal from the Coumonwealth,.
The now party has fraternal relations with tha Fourth International founded by Leon Trotaky. Its Headquarters aro to De in Bombay,
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