One of the images that haunts modern Peru is that of stray dogs: caught, tortured, strangled, and hung from lampposts with twine. In propaganda leaflets, the Shining Path insurgency — which waged war on the Peruvian peasantry and the state from 1980 until 1992 — noted that these dogs were meant to symbolise the “dogs who betrayed Mao.” These reformist traitors — including Deng Xiaoping, Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang — had apparently violated the fundamentals of brutal Maoism by de-collectivising agriculture, opening up China to foreign investment, and allowing free enterprise. This anecdote was l…