The Ecuadorian dictatorship is a dark presence to our north and occupies several hundred thousand kilometers of our land. We ask ourselves; do they assume that this is their land? Or do they know that it is stolen land? For over a century, on and off, our people have been divided by artificial borders and now those that are north of that border don’t even deserve the privilege of democracy? The Ecuadorian dictatorship will not stop on our Northern border. They have fantasies of flying their flag in Lima, in Cusco, in La Paz, in El Alto. We must hold the line against a potential Ecuadorian incursion.

Presidente Eguiguren, signed into law a motion passed by the Confederation Senate, authorizing incentives for the recruitment of up to 35,000 new soldiers, to be organized into three infantry divisions which will be stationed and trained in the military installations in southern Bolivia. While these divisions are being trained, three divisions will be relocated from Bolivia to the garrisons in northern Peru, one of which being divided into two mountaineer divisions and given climate training and mountaineering training. This will bring the total number of divisions on the northern border to four infantry divisions and two mountaineer divisions. The law expects the training for the two new Bolivian mountaineer divisions to be completed within two months.

At the same time, defensive fortifications will be constructed along the southern coast of the Marañón River, the river that divides Peru from what is its rightful clay. These fortifications will include artillery and machine gun nests, watchtowers, and bunkers. In addition, there will be trench lines dug at significant positions where crossings could occur.

Eguiguren has lobbied various groups in the government to determine what international actors are the best option to procure armaments from, though rumors suggest that he seeks to acquire light tanks, artillery, and even some aircraft. It is clear that Eguiguren expects war with Ecuador, despite what portions of the public desires, though it seems that Eguiguren expects Ecuador to attack rather than the other way around. This has garnered support from many skeptics, including José Carlos Mariategui who, since the publication of the recent edition of Amauta, has quickly emerged as a leading opposition figure, though APRA (the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance) remains banned under Eguiguren’s government. Mariategui stated to supporters:

Though what Presidente Eguiguren is attempting to do is clearly a war of conquest, I cannot condemn his preparations for a similar maneuver from the dictatorship in Ecuador. It is contemptible for the people to support wars of aggression, but it is utterly morally bankrupt for them to allow the authoritarian militarists in Ecuador to wash over the Andes and indigenous people just as the Spanish colonizers did…