Terruqueo (fromAndean Spanishterruco, -ca 'terrorist')^[1] is inPeru thediscoursive attack of people labeling them asterrorists or terrorist sympathizers without relevant evidence, primarily via the use of the politicalpejorativesterruco ortuco.^[2][3] Ussually, the terrorist groups alleged to be linked areShining Path and theTúpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement guerrilla, armed groups involved in thePeruvian Internal Armed Conflict.^[3]

This practice in political discourse has been described as a form ofnegative campaigning and oftenracist method offearmongering weaponized againstanti-Fujimorists,liberal orleft-wing political opponents, or any kind ofsocial inequality critics; and the tactic has primarily being used byright-wing parties andFujimorists to create aculture of fear.^{[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]} It has also been described as a form of discoursivedehumanization.^[11]United Nations experts have condemned the use of theterruqueo, describing it as an intimidation tactic used by the government.^[12]

The termterruqueo is the verbification of the wordterruco which derived from the wordterrorista, or "terrorist" in English, aneologism which originated from individuals inAyacucho describingShining Path guerrillas during theinternal conflict in Peru.^[8][13] Historian Carlos Aguire said that the -uco replaced the ending of the wordterrorista byQuechua speakers since they typically terminate words with -uco.^[13]

Since the 1980s, the wordterruco has been carelessly used by right-wing politicians in Peru to targetleft-wing, progressive and indigenous groups, with this baseless and often racist attack being called aterruqueo.^{[4][6][7][8][13][14]}

Since the 1930s, the political elite of Peru used fear mongering tactics to influence the public by targeting foreigncommunist movements according to historian Antonio Zapata of thePontifical Catholic University of Peru, beginning withJoseph Stalin and later withFidel Castro.^[5]Terruqueos began to appear during the 1980s and would occur throughout Peru's internal conflict.^[8][13][14] The basis of theterruqueo began during the presidency ofFernando Belaúnde when Legislative Decree 46 broadly defined terrorism as "any form of glorification or defense of the political discourse of subversive organizations".^[4]

Into the 1990s,authoritarian presidentAlberto Fujimori utilizedterruqueos with the help of theNational Intelligence Service to discredit those who opposed him, including dissenters from his own government, with political scientist Daniel Encinas saying that this would evolve into conservative politicians using the attack to target those opposed to Fujimori's neoliberal economic policies and that the right-wing used theterruqueo as a "strategy of manipulating the legacy of political violence".^[8][9][13] Following the1992 Peruvian self-coup, Fujimori would broaden the definition of terrorism in an effort to criminalize as many actions possible to persecute left-wing political opponents.^[4] The Fujimori government threatened activists and critics of thePeruvian Armed Forces withlife imprisonment, describing such groups as the "legal arm" of terrorist groups.^[15] Ultimately, aculture of fear was created by Fujimori, with individuals fearing that they would be described as a terrorist.^[10]

Discussing Fujimori's actions, Fernando Velásquez Villalba states:^[4]

[T]he figure of the terrorist was presented as the personification of evil. [...]The harshness of Fujimori's anti-terrorist legislation places the terrorist as the most dangerous enemy for society and the state. [...] In other words, a terrorist, no matter how long he fulfills his sentence, will never cease to be a terrorist. The enemy will always be the enemy and, therefore, if the terrorist is still alive, the era of terrorism, at least in some memories, is a latent fear and can therefore be repeated. [...] In addition to being slanderous, the ''terruqueo'' has served to awaken deep memories and fears of internal armed conflict. In addition, the ''terruqueo'' undermines the attempts of social organizations to create any form of opposition against the hegemonic elites. Thus, the ''terruqueo'' is, mainly, an attempt to control and monopolize political legitimacy, resorting to memories of the recent past. The fear of a repetition of the painful past is powerful enough to manipulate public opinion and criticize the various social protests.

Thus, using theterruqueo, according to Velásquez Villalba, Fujimori made himself a "permanent hero" and made left-wing ideologies an eternal enemy within Peru.^[4]

Theterruqueo would then become so prominent that political discussions in Peru often devolved into the attacks, especially during elections.^[13] WhenOllanta Humala, who initially espoused a left-wing ideology, was involved in Peruvian politics, opponents used theterruqueo against him, even though he was a soldier in the army who fought directly against the insurgency.^[9][13] The attack evolved into linking left-wing groups withHugo Chávez andchavismo as thecrisis in Venezuela began to unfold in the 2010s.^[8]

During the 2020 Peruvian protests againstManuel Merino, protesters whose motives were originally praised by the media were described as terrucos when they began to make labor rights demands.^[16] CongresswomanMartha Chávez of the FujimoristPopular Force party described protesters as "vandals and extremists, undoubtedly linked to Shining Path orMRTA".^[8] The protests, fueled by younger individuals who were not influenced by conservative governments and the armed forces were not affected by theterruqueo since they did not hold fearful memories from the historical conflict, with demonstrators often chanting "they messed with the wrong generation".^[4]

Theterruqueo attacks became even more frequent during the2021 Peruvian general election whenDaniel Urresti describedVerónika Mendoza as "Terrónika" and supporters ofKeiko Fujimori, daughter of Alberto Fujimori, attempted to linkPedro Castillo to terrorists.^[13][18] Evencenter-right political parties such as thePurple Party (Partido Morado) were described as "Moradef", likening the party toMOVADEF.^[13]

Terruqueos were most intense against Castillo; he was portrayed as a "communist threat" that would bring "terrorism" and humanitarian disaster similar to Venezuela.^[4] Media organizations in Peru would use theterruqueo along withfake news in an effort to support Fujimori.^[9][16]The Guardian described links to guerrilla groups such as the Shining Path as "incorrect", and theAssociated Press said that allegations by Peruvian media of links to Shining Path were "unsupported".^[17][19] Conservative politicianRafael López Aliaga would reportedly call for death in two separate incidents; in May 2021 he allegedly chanted "Death to communism! Death toCerrón! Death to Castillo!" to supporters and at the Respect My Vote rally that was organized byWillax TV ownerErasmo Wong Lu on 26 June 2021, he supposedly stated "Death to communism, get out of here, filthy communists, you have awakened the lion, to the streets!"^{[9][20][21][22]}

When the 2022–2023 Peruvian political protests occurred, right-wing groups and the government ofDina Boluarte used theterruqueo to label protesters as terrorists, providing an excuse for authorities to use violence with impunity.^[23][24] ThePeruvian Armed Forces would use the tactic to describe protest groups and those who supported a new constitution as terrorists.^[25] Experts of the United Nations condemned its usage during the protests.^[12]

Analysts state thatterruqueos are detrimental todemocracy in Peru as they suppress ideas of various political groups and occasionally targethuman rights groups, promotingpolitical polarization and ultimatelypolitical violence.^{[4][9][13][26]} Theterruqueoappeals to fear present in Peruvians of older generations, with the tactic relying on the emotions of audience.^[4][5] According to Fernando Velásquez Villalba,terruqueos are a latent phenomenon that appear more frequently in times of crisis.^[27]

Using theterruqueo to threaten individuals with astatus quo bias, leftist andprogressive groups, along with human rights groups, have been targeted with the tactic.^[9] Attacks resulted in less support for left-wing groups in Peru, withAmericas Quarterly writing that despite theTruth and Reconciliation Commission finding that left-wing groups distanced themselves and even prevented violence during the internal conflict, the groups were still seen disapprovingly in Peru.^[8]

FormerChristian People’s Party politicianÁntero Flores-Aráoz, addressing violent actions by demonstrators during the2022–2023 protests againstDina Boluarte, argues that when the individuals involved interror activities, including thearson of public and private buildings, or the attempts toattack airports, are deemed as "terrucos", some sectors — includinginternational officials — reject the labelling of said individuals as such, considering the term aspejorative and "offensive".^[28] However, sincePeruvian law definesterrorism as acts that create alarm or collective fear in population, therefore Flores-Aráoz argues that it's legitimate to call terrorists those involved in such actions.^[28]

The use of theterruqueo has specifically linked indigenous and "serrano" Peruvians to terrorism.^[9] In the bookBuscando un inca, historianAlberto Flores Galindo wrote:^[9]

‘Senderista’ was replaced by ‘terrorist’ and this word became over time a synonym of “people from Ayacucho”, which in turn was equivalent to anyone who was Indian or mestizo, was poorly dressed, or made a deficient use of Spanish ... To be called “people from Ayacucho” was to admit to have incurred in the antiterrorist law. In this manner, the end of the war in 1984, became an onslaught of the western side of Peru against its Andean region.

United Nations experts condemned the fear mongering tactic, saying it was an act of intimidation that stigmatized human rights workers, indigenous individuals and rural groups.^[12] During the protests in 2023, Edgar Stuardo Ralón, Vice President of theInter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), stated thatterruqueos created "an environment of permission and tolerance towards discrimination, stigmatization and institutional violence".^[26]

• Chilezuela
• McCarthyism
• Moral panic
• Red-baiting
• Red Scare
• Scapegoating
• Witch-hunt

• Anti-communism in Peru
• Terrorism in Peru
• Racism in Peru
• Political repression in Peru
• Red Scare
• Anti-communist terminology
• Political pejoratives for people
• Anti-Indigenous racism in Peru
• Political campaign techniques
• Controversies in Peru

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