Shining Path allowed elections for the first time in a dozen years in 1980, the Shining Path was one of the few leftist political groups that declined to take part. It chose to begin guerrilla war in the highlands of the Ayacucho Region. On May 17, 1980, on the eve of the presidential elections, it burned ballot boxes in the town of Chuschi. It was the first "act of war" by the Shining Path. The perpetrators were quickly caught and additional ballots were shipped to Chuschi. The elections proceeded without further problems, and the incident received little attention in the Peruvian press.
First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba The First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba () is the highest office within the Communist Party of Cuba and is ranked first in the Politburo, the highest decision-making body in Cuba, which makes the office holder the most powerful person in Cuban government. In Communist states the First or General Secretary of the Communist Party is typically the "de facto" leader of the country and a more powerful position than state offices such as President (head of state) or Prime Minister (head of government), when those