Land tenure practices in western Nicaragua (1950- 1979)

Abstract

Land has been the engine of the national economy, from before the Conquest by the Europeans to the present day, therefore its possession and dominion is associated with wealth and power. Conflicts over land ownership or tenure is one of the most complex and even violent in the entire Latin American region, and Nicaragua has not been the exception. In Nicaragua, before 1979, the most prominent land conflicts, due to the dynamism with which they developed, were those that occurred in the western and central region. These left a legacy of dispossession, violence and death that is still present in the memory of the inhabitants of the area.