Manuel Pérez

Manuel Pérez
Portrait of Pérez.
Born	May 9, 1943 Alfamén, Spain,
Died	February 14, 1998) Santander, Colombia
Cause of death	Hepatitis
Nationality	Spanish Colombian
Ideology	Marxism–Leninism Mao Zedong Thought Camilism Anti-revisionism
Political party	ELN CGSB

Gregorio Manuel Pérez Martínez (May 9, 1943 – February 14, 1998), also known as Pérez the Priest or by his alias Chairman Poliarco was an Spanish Catholic Priest and Colombian communist revolutionary who lead the ELN for more than 2 decades. He was one of the main pioneers of Liberation Theology and Camilism , serving as ideologue and commander of the ELN, as well as Chairman of the CGSB from 1978 – 1998 and 1990 – 1994 respectively.

Biography

Early Life and Priesthood

Pérez was the eldest of two children born to Marcelino and Herminia, a humble farming couple. At the age of 12, he was sent to the minor seminary in Alcorisa, and in 1959 he transferred to the major seminary in Zaragoza , where he studied philosophy . In 1962, Pérez joined the Hispanic-American Priestly Cooperation Organization (OCSHA) and pursued his theological studies at a seminary in Madrid . He was later ordained by Pope Paul VI in Rome . Pérez admired the priest and sociologist Camilo Torres Restrepo , who inspired a multitude of clergymen to participate in the guerrilla struggle in Latin America . He also admired Che Guevara for the Cuban Revolution, and later his work in Bolivia, as well as Mao Zedong. Upon arriving in Colombia with fellow priests under pretext of missionary work, Pérez became involved in socialist political organizing in the impovershed town of Chambacú. For this, he and his fellow clergymen were thrown out of the country. Pérez returned 8 months later, in 1969, and alongside fathers Laín and Jiménez, joined the ELN.

Commander of the ELN

Pérez was elected head military commander of the ELN in 1978 and remained so until his death in 1998. In 1978, Pérez issued his Primary Public Communication, urging all people of Colombia to throw their support towards a Protracted People's War. The ELN was thus officially reorganized in 1983 under a more explicitly Maoist ideological formation and organization at the Anorí Meeting of Heroes and Martyrs. After regaining military and economic capacity through extortion of German and Italian multinational corporations, as well as attacks on the Caño Limón-Coveñas oil pipeline , Pérez gave the guerrilla group the name Unión Camilista - Ejército de Liberación Nacional (Camilista Union - National Liberation Army), in honor of Camilo Torres Restrepo, and formed the ELN Guerrilla Trilateral Alliance, along with the Marxist-Leninist-Maoist Revolutionary Workers' Party (PRT) and Revolutionary Integration Movement - Patria Libre (MIR-PL). As commander, he ordered increased operations in oil-producing areas and pressure on oil workers' unions. He declared multinational oil companies military targets and initiated the bombing of their pipelines. In 1986 Pérez continued his reorganization efforts and consolidated the ELN into a proper political party at the first national assembly, in which the Central Committee was formed, and the creation of "war fronts" was ordered, giving the organization a federal structure. In 1985, the ELN joined the National Guerrilla Coordinating Committee, and in 1987, the Simón Bolívar Guerrilla Coordinating Committee (CGSB), which served as a united front of all like minded communist organizations under a central command. Pérez assumed Chairmanship of the CGSB of in 1990.

Death

Pérez died after contracting hepatitis C somewhere in the mountains of the Santander department, Colombia on February 14, 1998.