NCJ Number
63176
Journal
SURVEY Volume: 17 Issue: 3 Dated: (SUMMER 1971) Pages: 112-128
Date Published
1971
Length
17 pages
Annotation
THE NATURE AND SCOPE OF, AND PROSPECTS FOR, URBAN GUERRILLA WARFARE IN LATIN AMERICA ARE EXAMINED, WITH COMPARISONS BETWEEN THEORIES OF MAO TSE TUNG AND ACTUAL PRACTICE IN LATIN AMERICA.
Abstract
MOST LATIN AMERICAN GUERRILLA ACTIVITY IS URBAN, BUT NOT ALL URBAN VIOLENCE CONSTITUTES GUERILLA WARFARE, WHICH HAS REVOLUTION AS ITS GOAL. THE MOST WIDESPREAD GUERRILLA ACTIVITY IS IN BRAZIL, URUGUAY, AND GUATEMALA, FOLLOWED BY ARGENTINA AND CHILE. ACTIVITIES RANGE FROM ASSAULTS AND RAIDS TO KIDNAPPINGS AND TERRORISM. A MAIN GOAL IS TO PROVOKE REPRESSIVE COUNTERMEASURES BY GOVERNMENTS AND THUS GENERATE PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR REVOLUTION. GUERRILLA TACTICS STEM FROM BOTH FRUSTRATION WITH TRADITIONAL METHODS OF ACHIEVING CHANGE AND DIVORCE OF ACTIVISTS FROM TRADITIONAL LEFT-WING GROUPS. PROPAGANDA AND PUBLICITY ARE ESSENTIAL TO GUERRILLA EFFORTS, BUT TO DATE, LATIN AMERICAN URBAN GUERRILLAS HAVE BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL IN GENERATING WIDESPREAD SUPPORT. THEY ALSO LACK THE RIGID DISCIPLINE THAT MAO BELIEVED TO BE ESSENTIAL. SUPPORT FROM OUTSIDE THEIR BORDERS AND FROM WITHIN THEIR OWN MEMBERSHIP IS LIMITED. MEMBERS ARE MAINLY STUDENTS, INTELLECTUALS, AND A FEW PRIESTS. THE TREND TOWARD URBAN GUERRILLA ACTIVITY HAS PARALLELED THE TREND TOWARD URBANIZATION THROUGHOUT LATIN AMERICA. URBAN GUERRILLA ACTIVITY IS AIDED BY PROXIMITY TO SUPPLY SOURCES AND FREEDOM FROM DETECTION, BUT IS HAMPERED BY THE DIFFICULTY OF ESTABLISHING MAJOR BASES OR CONCENTRATING FORCES. DESPITE THE UNCLEAR PROSPECTS FOR CURRENT URBAN GUERRILLA ACTIVITIES, AND FIRM GOVERNMENT COUNTERINSURGENCY MEASURES, THE SLOWED FOOD PRODUCTION AND GROWING GAP BETWEEN LATIN AMERICAN AND U.S. LIVING STANDARDS ARE INTENSIFYING THE CONDITIONS CONDUCIVE TO EXPANDED GUERRILLA ACTIVITIES. (CFW)