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

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