Violent Opportunities: The Rise and Fall of “King Coca” and Shining Path

Abstract

The scope and intensity of political violence in a democratizing society are influenced particularly by regional opportunities arising from state weakness that favor the formation of coalitions against the state. The illicit market for coca in Peru’s Upper Huallaga Valley fostered a tactical alliance between Shining Path guerrillas and coca producers that funded Shining Path’s national presence. Falling coca prices in the 1990s, combined with key state-strengthening measures under the Fujimori government, destroyed that relationship and weakened the‘ guerrilla organization.