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.
History of the Communist Party USA of which that are still part of Communist Party politics today. In 2000, after the death of Gus Hall, Sam Webb became the chairman of the National Committee. Under his leadership, the party's top priority became supporting the Democratic Party in elections in order to defeat the "ultra right". Webb issued a thesis on how he saw the party's position in American politics and its role, rejecting Marxism–Leninism as "too rigid and formulaic" and putting forward the idea of "moving beyond Communist Parties" which was widely criticized both within the party and internationally as anti-communist and a move towards liquidation.