This article discusses the history of relations between the Peruvian Marxist left wing and their radical peasant faction during the years of the military dictatorship (1968-1980). In this context we focus on the social networks and the political ties that defined the options for compromise or for rupture and war. In particular, we follow the political career of Justo Gutierrez Poma, an outstanding leader of the Federación Departamental de Comuneros y Campesinos de Huancavelica (FEDECCH) and the Frente de Defensa del Pueblo (FDP). The search for a revolutionary path on the part of this leader brings together and condenses the various options that the leftist radicalism expressed at the time.