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Peruvian political flags

Last modified: 2005-12-17 by antonio martins
Keywords: apra | map: south america | globe | earth | star: 5 points (white) | star: dense | pcp | mrta | tupac amaru | firearm: rifle | peru posible | t | sun: incaic | sun: 12 rays | perú 2000 | partido nacionalista |
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See also:

Introduction

Apart from the actual parties, there are also the political platforms. Since the self-coup staged by President Fujimori in 1992, the Peruvian parties have became less and less important to candidates, as the last election showed.
Guillermo Tell Aveledo, 06 Sep 2000


APRA
Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana / American Popular Revolutionary Alliance

[APRA party flag]
image by Guillermo Tell Aveledo, 06 Sep 2000

The APRA, founded in the 1920s in Peru, was conceived by his founder, Victor Raul Haya de La Torre, as to become a political party for the Americas, based in our realities and not in foreing ideologies. Ultimately, while the party was non-communist (and condemned as such by the Soviet Union), it had socialist ideas. Since Haya de La Torre couldn’t succeed in making the APRA an all-American party, the action of the core of the APRA focused on Peru (the APRA and the PAP are pretty much the same).
Guillermo Tell Aveledo, 06 Sep 2000 and 08 Sep 2000

Dark red was the most prominent shade I saw in a book remembering the late Victor Raul Haya de la Torre, leader of the APRA and the Peruvian Aprist Party (PAP). However, I’ve seen pictures of the APRA and PAP’s flags with regular red — if there’s such a thing.
Guillermo Tell Aveledo, 08 Sep 2000


APRA-PAP
Partido Aprista Peruano / Peruvian “Aprist” Party

[PAP party flag]
image by Guillermo Tell Aveledo, 15 Nov 2003

The shade of red is brighter and the ratio is smaller (≅2:3 vs. ≅1:2) than in the other flag.
António Martins, 15 Nov 2003

I believe that this is the current flag. The red one was used years ago and now, if used, must be less used than the white version. I have at least other photo or two and also show the white version. The party logo is also now red on white background.

I can speculate that they tried to appear more centrist changing the revolutionary and leftist flag (and ideology) to a more centrist flags (and ideology). Furthermore red was the color of the Senderist and [aprist] García was the president under whom the senderist expanded and controlled the andean region, and was next president Fujimori [non-aprist] who moved the senderist revolt to a focalized conflict of low intensity, and people can be confused with two red flags.

Jaume Ollé, 19 Nov 2003

Two variants of this party flags can be seen at http://cerna.hem.netlink.se/formula.jpg (broken link as of 22 Feb 2005, Ivan Sache). Party logo at: http://cerna.hem.netlink.se/stjarna.gif (broken link as of 22 Feb 2005, Ivan Sache).
Dov Gutterman, 17 Apr 2000

original flag

[PAP party flag]
image by Guillermo Tell Aveledo, 06 Sep 2000

Since Haya de La Torre couldn’t suceed in making the APRA an all-American party, the action of the core of the APRA focused on Peru; the P.A.P. became a member of the International Socialist. After almost 60 years in the opposition (to sometimes cruel governments), the Partido Aprista Peruano (also called, more easily, as APRA — the APRA and the PAP are pretty much the same), it reached higher platitudes whe it won the Presidency of Peru in the 1980s. It has not won a Presidential Election since.
Guillermo Tell Aveledo, 06 Sep 2000 and 08 Sep 2000

Dark red was the most prominent shade I saw in a book remembering the late Victor Raul Haya de la Torre, leader of the APRA and the Peruvian Aprist Party (PAP). However, I’ve seen pictures of the APRA and PAP’s flags with regular red — if there’s such a thing.
Guillermo Tell Aveledo, 08 Sep 2000


(unidentified peruvian communist party)

[PCP party flag]
image by Jorge Candeias, 21 Mar 2003

Seen yesterday in Euronews in a demonstration in Lima, Peru, this red flag with white "PCP" initials is probably the flag of the Peruvian Communist Party (Partido Comunista Peruano) (seems to be a traditional communist party, probably close to the Soviet Union in the old days). Or, perhaps, of the Communist Party of Peru (Partido Comunista del Peru) (seems to be a maoist party). They both shorten their names to "PCP".
Jorge Candeias, 21 Mar 2003


M.R.T.A.
Movimiento Revolucionario “Tupac Amaru” / “Tupac Amaru” Revolutionary Movement

[MRTA flag]
image by Santiago Tazón, 21 Jun 2001

Presentation

Tupac Amaru (real name José Condorcanqui) was born in Cuzco in 1741, and after some years declared himself an Inca descendent (which is unsure). He assembled a number of partisans, and started a revolt in Tungasuca on 6 November 1780. The attack on Cuzco was a failure and he was capturated by the spanish army and executed in Cuzco on 18 May 1782. The Quechua people remember today the just cause of Tupac Amaru and a marxist indigenous movement established in 1984 took his name. The militant people were named "emerretistas", and started the armed strugle in 1987 in the Amazonian Forest.
Jaume Ollé, 08 Dec 1996

Tupac Amaru II (Jose Gabriel Condorcanqui) claimed to be the descendant of Tupac Amaru I, one of the last Inca emperors. In the popular Peruvian imaginative world, Tupac Amaru II represents rebellion and resistance to invasion. However, Tupac Amaru II has always been given a secondary role in the history of the country, dominated by a minority of European origin. Tupac Amaru II reappeared in the 70’s, put forward by the progressist members of the military regime (with socialist tendencies) of general Juan Velasco (1968-1975). In the government palace, a picture of the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarre was replaced by one of Tupac Amaru II, in order to highlight the Inca past of Peru. Since then, several streets in the popular sections of Lima, the capital of Peru, have been named after Tupac Amaru. That name does not appear in the richest sections of the city, including San Isidro, where the Japanese embassy is located. Ivan Sache, 08 Dec 2000

Description of the flag

This flag was prominently hung from the windows and railings of the Japanese Embassy in in Lima, taken over by MRTA on 17 December 1996. The flag is a tricolor, the design long associated with revolutionary change and independence. The two outer bands are red, which is the colour traditionally associated with Marxism and socialist revolution.
David Cohen, 11 Mar 1997

A red-white-red triband sounds a lot like the national flag of Peru.
Roy Stilling, 11 March 1997

On the central white band are the letters "MRTA" - the Spanish-language acronym for the group. The head on the flag depicts Tupac Amaru, an Inca leader who symbolises the Peruvian people’s struggle against their oppressors. He led an anti-colonialist rebellion against the Spanish in the 1500’s, almost succeeding in shaking off Spanish domination of a large part of South America. He was eventually captured, and drawn and quartered in Cuzco’s main square. The stylised V below Tupac Amaru is formed by a star and a gun - the gun symbolising Tupac Amaru’s belief in armed struggle to acheive their objectives. The V stands for the word Venceremos — Spanish for "We shall win!" — Tupac Amaru’s slogan is «Con las masas y las armas, Patria o muerte… ¡venceremos!»
David Cohen, 11 Mar 1997

See also: Tupamaros party (Uruguay)

The flag of this group can be seen on these photos:

Logo at: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~ats/MRTA/mrtalogo.gif.

Dov Gutterman, 17 Apr 2000

Flag variations

I know three flags used by the movement:

  • Vertical white and red with the letters MRTA in black in the center.
  • Horizontal red over white with the letters MRTA in black in the centre of the white stripe
  • Peru national flag pattern with the letters MRTA (in black) on the central band, and above an image (white/black) of the head and half body (since below of the chest) of Tupac Amaru; in the left of this image one arrow with double point; and in the right side an automatic rifle (similar to a Kalashnikov AK47).
Jaume Ollé, 08 Dec 1996

Red arrow and rifle

[MRTA flag var #1]
image by António Martins, 25 Sep 1999

Vertical white and red

[MRTA flag var #2]
image by António Martins, 01 Oct 1999

Horizontal red over white

[MRTA flag var #3]
image by António Martins, 01 Oct 1999

Peru posible

[Peru posible flag]
image by Guillermo Tell Aveledo, 06 Sep 2000

Flag of the platform that supported the main opposition candidate to the Presidency, Alejandro Toledo. This is a typical logo on bedsheet flag, although the logo is pretty clever, combining Inca symbols (the yellow “sun”) with the "T" of Toledo. On the second round to the presidency, other parties of the opposition rallied for Mr. Toledo, among them the APRA.
Guillermo Tell Aveledo, 06 Sep 2000


Peru 2000

[Peru 2000 flag]
image by Guillermo Tell Aveledo, 06 Sep 2000

This was the platform that supported the candidacy of President Fujimori for a third term. It used the peruvian colours and the platform’s very unimaginative logo.
Guillermo Tell Aveledo, 06 Sep 2000


Partido Nacionalista Peruano

[PN flag]
image by Guillermo Tell Aveledo and António Martins, 04 Jun 2004

The designer of the flag is Juan José González Sánchez, member of the Spanish Vexillological Society.
José Alegría, 17 Sep 2003

central detail

[PN emblem]
image by Guillermo Tell Aveledo and António Martins, 04 Jun 2004