El partido es la luz del universo. La metáfora de la luz en el discurso inicial de sendero luminoso (1966-1976)

This article analyses the way in which the metaphorical use of the concept of light in the initial texts issued by Peru’s Communist Party ‒ Shining Path (Partido Comunista del Perú‒Sendero Luminoso [PCP-SL]) engendered meanings that united the organization in its initial stage. The analysis is based on a mixed interpretative framework, which brings together contributions from linguistics and communicational pragmatics. These frameworks consist of Lakoff and Johnson’s conceptual metaphor theory, Fauconnier and Turner’s conceptual integration theory, and Sperber and Wilson’s cognitive pragmatics. Next, we identify the conceptual metaphors linked to light on this interpretative basis. Finally, we describe the composition of a space of integration in which the meanings and frameworks involved are projected and given meaning. The analysis concludes that the metaphors of light influence the understanding of the figure of José Carlos Mariátegui, considered the ideological figurehead of the PCP-SL in the 1970s. This figure is invested with scientific and religious attributes and is the forerunner of the so-called Presidente Gonzalo (the name given to Abimael Guzmán Reynoso, the leader of the group) during the 1980s. The originality of the work lies in the fact that it deals with the foundational stage of the PCP-SL, which has proved useful as a means to understand the nature of the organization. At the same time, the theoretical perspective adopted is novel with respect to the predominant sociological and political approaches to the study of the Shining Path phenomenon.