The autonomy dilemma
territoriality and identity in the Miskito-Sandinista conflict
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7146/dl.v19i27.111645Keywords:
Nicaragua, Contra war, Sandinismo, Miskito, autonomy, territorialityAbstract
This paper explores the emergence of conflict between the Miskito and the Nicaraguan Sandinista government in the early years after the overthrow of the Somoza dictatorship. Outlining the polarisation of the debate in the late 1980s between supporters and opponents of the Sandinistas and their views of its revolutionary project and noting the lack of agency attributed to the Miskito themselves in these arguments, the article rejects arguments centred around race or ideology as an explanation for the conflict. Instead, use is made of Kate Crehan’s development of Gramscian analysis to explore the contrasting meanings ascribed to notions of territoriality and autonomy in public statements by Miskito and Sandinista leadership in the early 1980s.
References
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FSLN. 1983a. “National sovereignty attacked by separatism [1980].” In National revolution, edited by Ohland/Schneider, 106-109.
FSLN. 1983b. “Declaration of principles of the sandinist popular revolution with regard to the indigenous communities of the Atlantic coast [1981].” In National revolution, edited by Ohland/Schneider, 178-180.
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Gilroy, Paul. 2013. There ain’t no black in the Union Jack. London: Routledge.
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Jarquín, Mateo C. 2018. “Red Christmases: the Sandinistas, indigenous rebellion, and the origins of the Nicaraguan civil war, 1981-82.” Cold War History 18 (1): 91-107.
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Ramírez, Sergio. 1989. “The kid from Niquinohomo.” Latin American Perspectives 16 (3): 48-82.
Ramírez, William. 1983. “The imperialist threat and the indigenous problem in Nicaragua.” In National revolution, edited by Ohland/Schneider, 218-235.
Rivera, Brooklyn. 1983a. “An Indian Without Land Is Not An Indian [1982].” In National revolution, edited by Ohland/Schneider, 64-67.
Rivera, Brooklyn. 1983b. “‘We are part of this Revolution!’ Interview with Michael Rediske, Managua, April 1, 1981.” In National revolution, edited by Ohland/Schneider, 120-132.
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Skinner, Kiron K.; Anderson, Annelise; Anderson, Martin (eds.). 2004. Reagan: a life in letters, New York: Free Press.
Sklar, Holly. 1988. Washington’s war on Nicaragua, Boston: South End Press.
Smith, Calvin L. 2007. Revolution, revival, and religious conflict in Sandinista Nicaragua. Leiden: Brill.
Sollis, Peter. 1989. “The Atlantic coast of Nicaragua: development and autonomy.” Journal of Latin American Studies 21 (3): 481-520.
Vargas, Oscar René. 1991. Adónde va Nicaragua: perspectivas de una revolución latinoamericana. Managua: Ediciones Nicarao.
Vilas, Carlos M. 1989. State, class, and ethnicity in Nicaragua: capitalist modernization and revolutionary change on the Atlantic coast. Boulder, CO: Lynne Riener Publishers.
White, G. W. 2007. Nation, state, and territory: origins, evolutions, and relationships, Vol. 1. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Barth, Fredrik (ed.). 1969. Ethnic groups and boundaries: the social organization of culture difference. Boston: Little Brown.
Borge, Tomás. 1984. Carlos, the dawn is no longer beyond our reach. Vancouver: New Star Books.
Calderón, Manuel. 1983. “We have the job of forging class consciousness [1981].” In National revolution, edited by Ohland/Schneider, 106-109.
Castillo, Donald. 2017. Gringos, contras y sandinistas: testimonio de la guerra civil en Nicaragua, Vol. 2. Bogotá: Tercer Mundo.
Crehan, Kate A. 2002. Gramsci, culture and anthropology. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002.
Dennis, Philip A. 1993. “The Miskito-Sandinista conflict in Nicaragua in the 1980s.” Latin American Research Review (28) 3: 214-234.
Diskin, Martin, et al. 1986. Peace and autonomy on the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua: a report of the LASA task force on human rights and academic freedom, LASA Forum. Vol. 16.
Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne. 1988. The Miskito Indians of Nicaragua. London: Minority Rights Group.
Envío team. 1989. “From separatism to autonomy: ten years on the Atlantic coast.” Envío - Información sobre Nicaragua y Centroamérica 93, April 1989, accessed 13 December 2018, <http://www.envio.org.ni/
articulo/2693>.
Envío team. 1986. “How to read the Reagan administration: the Miskito case.” Envío - Información sobre Nicaragua y Centroamérica 65, November 1986, accessed 13 December 2018, <http://www.envio.org.ni/
articulo/3245>.
Fagoth Müller, Steadman. 1983. “Unity and Fraternity between MISURASATA and FSLN [1980].” In National revolution, edited by Ohland/Schneider, 73-79.
FSLN. 1983a. “National sovereignty attacked by separatism [1980].” In National revolution, edited by Ohland/Schneider, 106-109.
FSLN. 1983b. “Declaration of principles of the sandinist popular revolution with regard to the indigenous communities of the Atlantic coast [1981].” In National revolution, edited by Ohland/Schneider, 178-180.
García, Claudia. 1996. The making of the Miskitu people of Nicaragua: the social construction of ethnic identity. Uppsala: Universitetet.
Gilroy, Paul. 2013. There ain’t no black in the Union Jack. London: Routledge.
Hale, Charles R. 1996. Resistance and contradiction: Miskitu Indians and the Nicaraguan state, 1894-1987. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1996
Hannum, Hurst. 2011. Autonomy, sovereignty, and self-determination: the accommodation of conflicting rights, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Jarquín, Mateo C. 2018. “Red Christmases: the Sandinistas, indigenous rebellion, and the origins of the Nicaraguan civil war, 1981-82.” Cold War History 18 (1): 91-107.
Jenkins Molieri, Jorge. 1986. El desafío indígena en Nicaragua: el caso de los mískitos, Mexico City: Katún, 1986
Kinloch Tijerino, Frances. 1997. “Conflicto étnico, geopolitica e identidad: el caso de las comunidades Miskitas del Río Coco en Nicaragua.” Estudios Fronterizos 40: 95-114.
Knight, David B. 1982. “Identity and territory: geographical perspectives on nationalism and regionalism.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 72 (4): 514-531.
MISURASATA. 1983a. “General directions [1981].” In National revolution, edited by Ohland/Schneider, 48-63.
MISURASATA. 1983b. “We ask for understanding [1982].” In National revolution, edited by Ohland/Schneider, 68-72.
MISURASATA. 1983c. “Plan of Action 1981.” In National revolution, edited by Ohland/Schneider, 89-95.
MISURASATA. 1983d. “Proposal on land holding in the indigenous and creole communities of the Atlantic coast [1982].” In National revolution, edited by Ohland/Schneider, 163-175.
Moore, John H. 1986. “The Miskitu national question in Nicaragua: background to a misunderstanding.” Science & Society 50 (2): 132-147.
Nietschmann, Bernard Q. 1989. The unknown war: the Miskito nation, Nicaragua, and the United States. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1989.
Núñez Soto, Orlando et al. 1998. La guerra y el campesinado en Nicaragua, Managua: CIPRES.
Offen, Karl H. 2003. “Narrating place and identity, or mapping Miskitu land claims in northeastern Nicaragua.” Human Organization 62 (4): 382-392.
Ohland, Klaudine; Schneider, Robin. 1983. National revolution and indigenous identity: the conflict between sandinists and Miskito Indians on Nicaragua’s Atlantic coast. Copenhagen: International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs.
Pérez Baltodano, Andrés. 2003. Entre el Estado conquistador y el Estado nación: providencialismo, pensamiento político y estructuras de poder en el desarrollo histórico de Nicaragua. Managua: IHNCA; UCA.
Pritchard, Dana. 1996. “The legacy of conflict: refugee repatriation and reintegration in Central America.” In Central America: fragile transition, edited by Rachel Sieder, 103-134. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Ramírez, Sergio. 1982. “Threat to our National Unity and the Integrity of Our State.” Monitor-Dienst Lateinamerika, 20 May 1982.
Ramírez, Sergio. 1983. El alba de oro: la historia viva de Nicaragua, Mexico City: Siglo XXI.
Ramírez, Sergio. 1989. “The kid from Niquinohomo.” Latin American Perspectives 16 (3): 48-82.
Ramírez, William. 1983. “The imperialist threat and the indigenous problem in Nicaragua.” In National revolution, edited by Ohland/Schneider, 218-235.
Rivera, Brooklyn. 1983a. “An Indian Without Land Is Not An Indian [1982].” In National revolution, edited by Ohland/Schneider, 64-67.
Rivera, Brooklyn. 1983b. “‘We are part of this Revolution!’ Interview with Michael Rediske, Managua, April 1, 1981.” In National revolution, edited by Ohland/Schneider, 120-132.
Rivera, Brooklyn. 1983c. “Problems of the Indians with the sandinista revolution” [1981]. In National revolution, edited by Ohland/Schneider, 203-218.
Skinner, Kiron K.; Anderson, Annelise; Anderson, Martin (eds.). 2004. Reagan: a life in letters, New York: Free Press.
Sklar, Holly. 1988. Washington’s war on Nicaragua, Boston: South End Press.
Smith, Calvin L. 2007. Revolution, revival, and religious conflict in Sandinista Nicaragua. Leiden: Brill.
Sollis, Peter. 1989. “The Atlantic coast of Nicaragua: development and autonomy.” Journal of Latin American Studies 21 (3): 481-520.
Vargas, Oscar René. 1991. Adónde va Nicaragua: perspectivas de una revolución latinoamericana. Managua: Ediciones Nicarao.
Vilas, Carlos M. 1989. State, class, and ethnicity in Nicaragua: capitalist modernization and revolutionary change on the Atlantic coast. Boulder, CO: Lynne Riener Publishers.
White, G. W. 2007. Nation, state, and territory: origins, evolutions, and relationships, Vol. 1. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
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Published
2018-12-20
How to Cite
Schubmann, L. (2018). The autonomy dilemma: territoriality and identity in the Miskito-Sandinista conflict. Diálogos Latinoamericanos, 19(27), 67–79. https://doi.org/10.7146/dl.v19i27.111645
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