The Yatama fractions and the political situation of the RAAN

Abstract

The Caribbean region of Nicaragua, commonly known as the Atlantic Coast, has been the scene of frequent socio-political conflicts in the last two years, following the election of autonomous governments in 1990.  However, although these conflicts have occasionally gained national notoriety, essential aspects of them remain relatively unknown and mysterious to the rest of Nicaraguan society. This lack of knowledge is largely due to the fact that these problems are covered in the media only on an occasional basis, when some particularly relevant event occurs. On the other hand, with a few exceptions, the journalists in charge of chronicling events are themselves ignorant of the history and internal dynamics of the region. This paper is an effort to provide an insider's view, specifically Miskito, of the socio-political situation in the North Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN). Without intending to deny the indissoluble unity of the two regions of the Nicaraguan Caribbean, since both share problems of the same nature, I have focused my study on the RAAN.  I consider that the factors that exist there have their own complexities and dynamics and therefore deserve to be analyzed in their specific dimensions.