It analyzes the surge, the fall, and the attempts to reconstruct the Peruvian left over the last decades. During the 1980s, Izquierda Unida (IU) became the second most important political force in the country. The source of its success resided in the confluence of strong popular organizations, disciplined parties, and a charismatic leader (Alfonso Barrantes). Yet this very confluence generated particular dynamics: the organizations pulled towards radicalism, the parties towards ideology, and the leader towards moderation. As a result of this tension, IU split in 1989 in the middle of the crisis that led to the collapse of the party system and led Alberto Fujimori directly to power.