People / group

Shining Path

1969– · 20th century · Also known as Sendero Luminoso, Communist Party of Peru – Shining Path

The Shining Path is a Maoist insurgent organisation in Peru, founded around 1969 by the philosophy professor Abimael Guzmán in Ayacucho. It launched an armed struggle in 1980, and the conflict with the state cost some 70,000 lives by official estimates. The movement collapsed after Guzmán's capture in 1992, though small remnants survived in remote valleys.

Shining Path
Image: Cesar David MP · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 3 profiles

Republic of PeruMilitary, Decline, SummaryPeople's Republic of ChinaImpactPeople's Republic of ChinaImpact

Mentioned in 1 state history

Republic of Peru

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Shining Path. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/shining-path
MLA
“Shining Path.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/shining-path. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Shining Path.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/shining-path.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Shining Path’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/shining-path (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻