Latin-American Historical Almanac

This article analyzes the experience of the opposition of the indigenous population of Nicaragua to the Sandinista National Liberation Front during the Central American conflict in the 1980s. The reasons that prompted the Miskito Indians to oppose the central government, as well as the general situation in the territories of the traditional settlement of indigenous inhabitants during the described period, are investigated. The topic of the "Indian question" before and after the victory of the Sandinista Revolution in 1979 is discussed separately. The experience of countering the hegemony of the state by Miskito, etc. When developing their own strategy, the Indian groups were based on the history of local conflicts in the last third of the last century. According to the author of the study, this case study can be attributed to the successful manifestation of the so-called "grassroots geopolitics", which was formed within the framework of the critical trend in the 80s-90s of the XX century. In particular, the approaches developed by Bernard Nietschmann and Paul Routledge are being studied to understand this phenomenon. In the course of the analysis, the author comes to the conclusion that despite the successful experience of opposing the state and obtaining the long-awaited autonomy, as the indigenous population became involved in the political process, they could not ensure the stable development of their territories. This was due to both external factors and internal contradictions. This can be confirmed by the alliance with the Sandinistas, which ultimately did not have a positive impact on the political representation of the indigenous population at the national level. The authoritarian style of government of Daniel Ortega's administration made it impossible for Indians to cooperate with the presidential government. Nevertheless, the "Indian question" still remains in politics.

Keywords:

Indigenous people, conflict, miskitos, guerrilla, Indianism, hegemony, theories of geopolitics, regional development

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