The self determination of the indigenous people from the pacific, center and north of Nicaragua

Abstract

The indigenous people from the Pacific, center and north of Nicaragua have suffered an arduous and forced process of assimilation to the dominant culture and the plundering of their collective lands starting from the Spanish conquest, going through the colonial period and continuing after the foundation of the National State.  In this paper, through an inventory of the national and international jurisprudence, the author denounces the invisibility from which these indigenous people have suffered as a clear example of the violation of their human rights.  She exhorts the Nicaraguan state to maintain the recognition of their demands, which at this moment are centered on the proposal of the Law for the indigenous peoples of the Pacific, presently at the stage of consultation. In this respect she pleads for the government to pay attention to the observations made to the proposal by the indigenous people and their organizations.