Terruqueo

The term terruqueo is derived from the word terruco, or "terrorist" in English, a neologism which originated from individuals in Ayacucho describing Shining Path guerrillas during the internal conflict in Peru.[1][2] Historian Carlos Aguire said that the -uco replaced the ending of the word terrorista by Quechua speakers since they typically terminate words with -uco.[2] Since the 1980s, the word terruco has been carelessly used by right-wing politicians in Peru to target left-wing, progressive and indigenous groups, with this baseless attack being called a terruqueo.[1][2][3]

Terruqueos began to appear during the 1980s and would occur throughout Peru's internal conflict.[1][2][3] Into the 1990s, authoritarian president Alberto Fujimori utilized terruqueos to discredit those who opposed him, 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 the terruqueo as a "strategy of manipulating the legacy of political violence".[1][2] The terruqueo became so prominent that political discussions in Peru often devolved into the attacks, especially during elections.[2]

When Ollanta Humala was involved in Peruvian politics, opponents used the terruqueo against him.[2] The attack evolved into linking left-wing groups with Hugo Chávez and his chavismo ideologies as the crisis in Venezuela began to unfold in the 2010s.[1] During the 2020 Peruvian protests against Manuel Merino, Popular Force congresswoman Martha Chávez described protesters as "vandals and extremists, undoubtedly linked to Shining Path or MRTA".[1]

The attacks became even more frequent during the 2021 Peruvian general election when Daniel Urresti described Verónika Mendoza as "Terrónika" and supporters of Keiko Fujimori, daughter of Alberto Fujimori, attempted to link Pedro Castillo to terrorists.[2][4] Even center-right political parties such as the Purple Party (Partido Morado) were described as "Moradef", likening the party to MOVADEF.[2]

Analysts believe that terruqueos are detrimental to democracy in Peru as they suppress ideas of various political groups and occasionally target human rights groups, promoting political polarization and ultimately political violence.[2] The attacks have also resulted in less support for left-wing groups in Peru, with Americas Quarterly writing that despite the Truth 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.[1]

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