1995-10-01a- CIA Conference Report: THE CHALLENGE OF ETHNIC CONFLICT TO NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ORDER IN THE 1990S GEOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVES 01-Oct-95

C00123268
The Ethnic Challenge to National insurgencies of Sendero Luminoso and Tupac Amaru
and International Order in South in Peru, the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua, the
America, Mexico, and the Caribbean civil war in El Salvador, and recent outbreaks of vio-
During the 1990s: Geographical lence in Venezuela are largely nonethnic conflicts.
Perspectives Although these conflicts may involve disaffected
members of nonruling ethnic groups, the root causes
of the violence lie more in nonethnic issues. Fre-
Gary S. Elbow quently, ethnic groups are drawn unwillingly into
Professor of Geography political conflicts or are duped into participation by
Texas Tech University one side or the other, even though there is no explic-
itly "ethnic" agenda in the objectives of the opposing
sides. Thus, the presence of minority ethnic groups on
Introduction one side or the other of a Latin American political or
armed conflict does not necessarily mean that it has its
As in so many other regions of the world, there is origin in ethnic issues.
much ethnic diversity in Latin America and the Carib-
bean. In addition to the well-recognized Amerind, Although Latin America is not an area in which ethnic
African, and Iberian elements, one finds representa- conflict is likely to escalate to a level of international
tives of nearly all major European ethnic groups as importance on a par with, for example, the Middle
well as many Middle Eastern and East and South East, Africa, or the Balkan states, considerable tension
Asian groups. In contrast to many other areas of the does exist among ethnic groups in South America,
world, most of these ethnic populations are immi- Mexico, and the Caribbean. There have been frequent
grants to the region who lack longstanding historic ethnic conflicts in the past, and the potential for future
associations with New World territory but who have conflict, either armed or through political action,
generally been well integrated into the national cul- exists in several parts ofthe region. The most active
tures of the countries in which they reside. As such, conflicts at present, and probably for the remainder
most are not considered ethnic minorities but rather of the decade and longer, are in areas of traditional
members of the national culture whose ancestors came Indian occupation and involve encounters between
from a non-Hispanic area. Two countries, Argentina Indians and the state.'
and Peru, are currently governed by non-Hispanics,
Carlos Satil Menem, a Syrian-Argentine, and Alberto
Fujimori, a Japanese-Peruvian, respectively, and Indian Populations and the State
members of these and other non-Iberian immigrant
groups are locally important in politics, business, or The regional bases-of conflict between the Latin
industry. For example, the Bucaram, Nebot, and Saad American states and their Indian populations may be
families are important in Guayaquil, Ecuador, as are divided conveniently into highland and lowland. In a
various families of Syrian and Lebanese descent in
San Pedro Sula, Honduras, and of Japanese descent in 'Indian is a very complex term as used in Latin America because it
Brazil.refers to cultural identity not biological characteristics. Thus. Indi-
Brazil. ans are people who self-identify as Indians and who retain distinc-
tive characteristics of dress, language, economy, and beliefs that set
In general, Latin America is less prone to ethnic con- them apart from the Hispanicized population of th country in
flict than many other regions of the world. Conflicts which they reside. People who are borm Indians may pass into the
ithi thnemany regionse ofte orld oflts -mestizo majority by learning Spanish, leaving their community of
within the regiori are more often related to class differ- birth, and adopting other Hispanic cultural traits. This process has
ences, declining standards of living, and unequal occurred since earty colonial times and accounts for a large share
distribution of access to resources, employment of the mestizo population in many Latin American countries.
opportunities, or political power than they are to
purely ethnic factors. For example, the guerrilla
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