(Estimated Pub Date) the Challenge of Ethnic Conflict to National and International Order in the 1990S: Geographic Perspectives- October 1995

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'lAppr0ved for Release: 2018/06/01 C00123268
Growing Indian Militancy
One response by South American Indians to threats of
territorial invasion has been to organize into political
action groups. Indians have been aided in this efiort
by Roman Catholic missionaries, anthropologists,
environmental organizations, and others. Noteworthy
among these groups is the Federation of Shuar Cen-
ters ( Federacion de Centros.Shuar) in Ecuador; which
was organized in 1964 at a time when development
was first penetrating the locizl Indians’ territory. This
group provides a model that: has been followed by
many other Amazon Indian groups within Ecuador
and elsewhere. The Shuar Federation has allied with
other Indian organizations representing both lowland
and highland groups, and it also works with labor
unions, peasant farmer leagues, and other non-Indian
groups to advance common interests.
The objectives of newly emerging Indian militancy
have begun to extend beyond land, mineral, and biotic
resource-related issues to broader policy areas. In
Ecuador the Indian political action organizations are
working hard to change the govemment policy of
national integration aimed at eliminating ethnic dif-
ferences and creating a unified mestizo national cul-
ture. The policy, grounded the assumption that
eventually all Indian peoples will be brought into the
mestizo-based national culture and that ethnic minori-
ties will cease to exist, is implemented through
Spanish-language education, indoctrinating Indians
in national history, and similar programs. The Indian
organizations—which support the idea of a plurina-
tional or multinational state that would accommodate
the various Indian ethnic groups, Afro-Ecuadorians
from the Pacific Coast, and the dominant mestizo
national culture—-are working toward a plurinational
state that would grant a degree of political and cul-
tural autonomy to Indian groups. Similar agendas
exist in other Andean countries. For example, Peru
recognizes Quechua as an oflicial language, and Indi-
ans in Bolivia are increasing their influence on
national government policy.
In Ecuador and other Andean countries, Indian inter-
ests clash with a number of national goals, both stated
and implicit. Thus far; diflerences over these conflict-
ing interests have generally been headed ofl’ by the
national govemments or resolved peacefully through
the political process. However; as the Indian groups
become more militant, they will demand to have an
increasingly more active role in setting national policy
with respect to land, resource use, and cultural preser-
vation. The militancy of Indian organizations clearly
sets the stage for potential conflict with the non-Indian
groups who perceive that their interests may be under-
mined by granting greater autonomy to Indians.
Mexico’s Indian Populations
Mexico has a history of ethnic conflict that began in
the pre-Columbian past and continues to the present.
Indians have been involved in the great revolutions of
Mexican history. They were_ recruited by Padre
Hidalgo at the beginning of the revolution against
Spain in 1811 and followed Emiliano Zapata during
the Revolution of 1910-17. Indian rebellions include
the Caste Wars of the 19th century in Yucatan and the
Cristero rebellion of 1926 in Michoacan, Jalisco, and
Colima. The land reforms that followed the Revolu-
tion of 1910, along with close control by the ruling
political party, the Institutional Revolutionary Party
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(PR1), have limited Indian protests during the latter
half of the century. However, conflicts continue to
occur on a local level, and some have involved the
national government. Most of these conflicts are in the
southern part of the country or the Yucatan Peninsula,
where most of the traditional Indian communities are
located.
As in South America, ethnic conflicts in Mexico have
their roots in disputes over land, mineral resources,
and cultural preservation policy. Despite the claim of
the PR1 to be a defender of the interests of the people,
Indian concerns consistently take a back seat to
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Approved for Release: 2018/06/01 C00123268