The Autobiography of María Elena Moyano. The Life and Death of a Peruvian Activist (María Elena Moyano: en busca de una esperanza)

Description

Shining Path guerrillas, Sendero Luminoso, assassinated María Elena Moyano and dynamited her body on February 15, 1992. They murdered her in the presence of her sons, Gustavo and David Pineki, while the family attended a community event sponsored by a Vaso de Leche [Glass of Milk] committee in Villa El Salvador [a large municipality near Lima]. Her assassination had an impact on all of Peru. A multitude attended her burial. Close to 300,000 persons accompanied the coffin in a monumental repudiation of the terror of the Shining Path. Why kill her? Assuredly, she represented hope to a country tired of violence and a danger to those who plotted terrorism. With this book, I tried to recover the voice of María Elena Moyano— a voice echoed by thousands of Peruvian women. The book consists of the reconstructed testimony of one of the best representatives of Peruvian womanhood of the last decade. Her support for the development and centralization of the women’s movement was significant. Her work in the community was innovative, spurring the formation of committees for the protection of the consumer. Her clear thinking and determination, in the face of violence, enabled us to look for peaceful alternatives to that violence. After being twice elected president of the Women’s Federation of Villa El Salvador, she became deputy mayor of her district. In this book, I tried to reconstruct María Elena Moyano’s words— words that embrace a very significant and creative period for women in Peru. To retrieve her voice, to introduce her to those who did not know her, I gathered material from radio, television, newspapers, and magazine and book interviews that contained her statements. I organized the material by theme and date, designed the chapters, and added notes to give context to the information. Editor’s Preface ix Acknowledgments xi Translator’s Preface xiii Chronology xv Prologue Women in Peru: A History of Struggle and Courage 3 María Elena Moyano: The Life and Death of a Peruvian Activist 23 Part One I. Peru: In Search of Hope 37 II. Villa El Salvador: A Valorous Community 39 III. The Popular Women’s Federation of Villa El Salvador 41 IV. The Vaso de Leche Program 44 V. The Communal Kitchens 47 VI. The Economic Crisis 49 VII. Local Government 53 VIII. The Women’s Committees for the Protection of the Consumer 58 IX. The Terror of the Shining Path 61 X. On the Side of Life 67 XI. The People’s Movement 70 Part Two Autobiography 75 Afterword 91 Notes 95 Selected Bibliography 101 Index 105