Speaker 1: Just a note before we begin. This episode contains mentions
Speaker 1: of violence. Heyl. I'm Aaron Hanes. I'm the editor at
Speaker 1: large for The Nineteenth News, a nonprofit newsroom reporting on
Speaker 1: gender politics and policy. I'm also the host of a
Speaker 1: brand new weekly podcast from The Nineteenth News and Wonder
Speaker 1: Media Network called The Amendment. Each week, we're bringing you
Speaker 1: a conversation about gender politics and the unfinished work of
Speaker 1: American democracy. Our very first episode features my dear friend
Speaker 1: and Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Nicole Hannah Jones. It's out now,
Speaker 1: so please go listen and follow the show. On top
Speaker 1: of all of this, I'm your guest host for this
Speaker 1: month of Womanica, this Black History Month. We're talking about revolutionaries,
Speaker 1: the black women who led struggles for liberation from violent governments,
Speaker 1: colonial rulers, and enslavers. These women had the courage to
Speaker 1: imagine radically different worlds, and they used their power to
Speaker 1: try and pull those worlds into view. Today, we're talking
Speaker 1: about an Afro Peruvian organizer whose commitment to bettering women's
Speaker 1: lives and achieving tangible progress in her community drew the
Speaker 1: ire of guerrilla groups and a military dictatorship alike. But
Speaker 1: She held steadfast to her cause even up to her
Speaker 1: untimely death, earning her the name Madre karahe mother courage.
Speaker 1: Let's talk about Maria Elena Moyano. Maria was born on
Speaker 1: November twenty third, nineteen fifty eight, in Lima, Peru. She
Speaker 1: and her siblings were mostly raised by her mother, a laundress.
Speaker 1: When Maria was still young, her family was forcibly moved
Speaker 1: to Villa el Salvador, a shanty town on the outskirts
Speaker 1: of Lima. Many of these towns had sprung up to
Speaker 1: accommodate rural migrants who had moved towards the capital, often
Speaker 1: offering meager shelter and supplies. But by the nineteen ninety
Speaker 1: Via El Salvador was three hundred thousand residents strong and
Speaker 1: an epicenter of grassroots community led organizing. Maria fitt into
Speaker 1: the village's new tradition. Well. She grew up organizing in
Speaker 1: local church groups and later in the grassroots movements across
Speaker 1: chantytowns like hers. She pursued a sociology degree for two
Speaker 1: years before she ran out of money and dropped out. Besides,
Speaker 1: she was learning more about changing people's lives on the
Speaker 1: ground than she ever could in a classroom. A breach
Speaker 1: ran through Peruvian society, one so deep people often spoke
Speaker 1: about two perus. One Peru was white and rich, the
Speaker 1: other was indigenous, non white, and impoverished. Maria saw this
Speaker 1: divide every day, and she saw the hand it dealt
Speaker 1: lower class black Peruvians like her own family. In nineteen
Speaker 1: eighty three, Maria, by now married with two children, helped
Speaker 1: create a club for her mos like herself, marginalized from
Speaker 1: society in need of a support system and basic services.
Speaker 1: Maria also became the secretary of Via L. Salvador's Women's Federation.
Speaker 1: By nineteen eighty six, she'd become its president. As the
Speaker 1: head of the Women's Federation, Maria organized community driven functions
Speaker 1: for her village, public kitchens, health committees, income generating projects,
Speaker 1: and education. Most unique was a Vaso de leche or
Speaker 1: a Glass of Milk, program, which provided milk to people
Speaker 1: suffering from malnutrition. The program was so successful that the
Speaker 1: mayor of Lima asked Maria and the Women's Federation to
Speaker 1: expand into the city. These organizations were Via L. Salvador's
Speaker 1: form of self governance. They elected leaders who knew their
Speaker 1: community struggles and avenues for improvement. Leaders like Maria, who
Speaker 1: was elected deputy mayor of Via L Salvador in nineteen
Speaker 1: eighty nine. Via L Salvador's politics were revolutionary, but Peruvian
Speaker 1: politics were a minefield, and Maria soon found herself targeted
Speaker 1: by two violent enemies. At the time, Peru's president Fujimori
Speaker 1: was moving steadily towards dictatorship, implementing oppressive economic policies that
Speaker 1: left shantytowns like Maria's in turmoil. In response, a Marxist
Speaker 1: inspired guerrilla group had formed the Cindero Luminoso, or Shining Path.
Speaker 1: They said they stood for the poor, but their methods
Speaker 1: had grown increasingly violent, especially towards programs that aimed to
Speaker 1: help the poor with the government's cooperation programs like Maria's.
Speaker 1: On September ninth, nineteen ninety one, a bomb exploded at
Speaker 1: a distribution center for the Vaso de Leche program. The
Speaker 1: Cindero circulated pamphlets accusing Maria of planting the bomb. They
Speaker 1: said she'd worked with the government, misappropriated funds, and brought
Speaker 1: corruption to Via El Salvador. The truth couldn't be clearer.
Speaker 1: Maria was the Cindero's next target. She could have left Peru. Instead,
Speaker 1: Maria wrote a letter publicly disavowing the violent act. I
Speaker 1: could never destroy what I have built with my own hands,
Speaker 1: she wrote. She denounced police and state violence, and she
Speaker 1: condemned the Cindero, suggesting it had become a threat to
Speaker 1: the communities it claimed to protect. Over the next months,
Speaker 1: Maria continued to organize, even as she received more and
Speaker 1: more death threats. On February fourteenth, nineteen ninety two, the
Speaker 1: Cindero threatened to attack her community. Maria organized a march
Speaker 1: against violence instead. The next day, Maria went to a
Speaker 1: community fundraiser where the Cindero shot her to death in
Speaker 1: front of her family. They then dynamited her body. Maria
Speaker 1: was thirty three years old. Maria's death in the very
Speaker 1: town where she created so much positive change, created a
Speaker 1: public outcry. Maria's fellow organizer spoke out against the Peruvian
Speaker 1: left for not offering her more support or protection as
Speaker 1: she took on the dangerous Cindero alone. Public opinion turned
Speaker 1: against sin Cindero quickly. Over the next few years, President
Speaker 1: Fujimori consolidated his power, and the leader of the Cindero
Speaker 1: was captured. Maria's memory held strong over Peru. Roughly three
Speaker 1: hundred thousand people attended her burial, and later she was
Speaker 1: given the Order of Merit by the Peruvian government. Amnesty
Speaker 1: International published a report on women's rights in her memory,
Speaker 1: and she was immortalized in films and books. In February
Speaker 1: of nineteen ninety two. Maria knew her death was imminent,
Speaker 1: but it wasn't through a heroic death or a submission
Speaker 1: to the Cindero that she saw the path to revolution.
Speaker 1: In her own words, revolution is an affirmation of life,
Speaker 1: the belief in and struggle for a just and dignified society.
Speaker 1: I will continue to fight for peace with social justice.
Speaker 1: All month We're talking about revolutionaries. For more information, you
Speaker 1: can find us on Facebook and Instagram at Wamanica Podcast.
Speaker 1: Special thanks to co creators Jenny and Liz Kaplan for
Speaker 1: having me as a guest host. Talk to you tomorrow.