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| 1981, Jan. 15 |
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| In the midst of severe and ineffective austerity measures, all of the major labor unions joined in a general strike. | 1 |
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| 1982–83 |
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| Guerrilla attacks by Sendero Luminoso increased precipitously. Pres. Belaúnde dispatched the military to crush the uprising. Although they numbered only about 2,500, Sendero had strong regional peasant support, and over the next ten years this guerrilla organization would come close to overthrowing the government. Strategic acts of terrorism, combined with revenue from the drug trade and the ill effects of government repression, made the movement a critical national force. | 2 |
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| 1983, Nov. 13 |
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| Angry over austerity measures, voters elected leftist Alfonso Barrantes as mayor of Lima. | 3 |
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| 1985, July 28 |
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| Alan García Pérez, APRA candidate, assumed the presidency after Alfonso Barrantes dropped out of a runoff election. García promised to protect the agrarian reform and rejected dealing with the IMF. He restricted debt payments, made efforts to prevent capital flight, and raised wages. | 4 |
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| 1986, June 16–20 |
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| Pres. García sent the military to end riots begun by Sendero Luminoso members in prisons in Lima and Callao. In the operation, 267 prisoners were killed, raising a storm of public protest. | 5 |
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| Oct |
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| In retaliation for the prison killings, Sendero soldiers carried out several attacks, including the murder of Adm. Geronimo Cafferata and several APRA officials. | 6 |
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