Closedness properties of internal relations. V: Linear Mal'tsev conditions (Q2476165)

[For Part IV see J. Homotopy Relat. Struct. 1, No. 1, 219--227 (2006; Zbl 1124.18003).] A linear Mal'tsev condition (see [\textit{J. W. Snow}, Algebra Univers. 42, No. 4, 299--309 (1999; Zbl 0979.08004)]) is a term condition on a variety \(\mathcal{V}\) which states that the algebraic theory of \(\mathcal{V}\) contains a finite set \(P\) of terms (of possibly different arities) such that certain equations are satisfied, each of which is of the form \(p(x_1,\dots,x_i)= p'(x_1',\dots, x_{i'}')\) or the form \(p(x_1,\dots, x_i)=x'\), where \(x_1,\dots,x_i, x_1',\dots,x_{i'}',x'\) are variables and \(p,p'\in P.\) A linear Mal'tsev condition is called elementary, when it involves equations only of the form \(p(x_1,\dots,x_i)=x'\). As \textit{J. W. Snow} showed [loc. cit.], every linear Mal'tsev condition on a variety \(\mathcal{V}\) of universal algebras is equivalent to a relational condition on \(\mathcal{V}\). In this paper, using slightly different relational reformulations of linear Mal'tsev conditions, the author develops a purely categorical approach to these conditions.