KUNA IDENTITY and PANAMANIAN NATIONALISM UNDER the TORRIJOS REGIME, 1968-1981 by Sarah Foss Thesi
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AHORA TODOS SOMOS PANAMEÑOS: KUNA IDENTITY AND PANAMANIAN NATIONALISM UNDER THE TORRIJOS REGIME, 1968-1981 By Sarah Foss Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Vanderbilt University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in Latin American Studies August, 2012 Nashville, Tennessee Approved: Professor William F. Robinson Professor Marshall C. Eakin To the indigenous peoples of Latin America, who daily fight against injustice to preserve their lands and cultures. In particular, I dedicate this project to the Bribri people of Costa Rica, who first opened my eyes to the indigenous struggle and to the Kuna people of Panamá, whose tenacity never ceases to inspire me. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project would not have been possible without the funding Vanderbilt's Center for Latin American Studies provided through the Tinker Foundation. With this financial assistance, I was able to spend two memorable months conducting research in Panama. As a young historian, I received much assistance and support from academics in both the United States and in Panama, and without their knowledge, advice, and direction, I never could have located the sources that shaped this project. Deepest thanks to Dr. W. Frank Robinson and Dr. Marshall Eakin for guiding both the research and the writing of this project. Dr. Gloria Rudolf, Dr. James Howe, and Dr. Michael Conniff greatly assisted me in networking with Panamanian historians and anthropologists. At the Universidad de Panamá, Professor Francisco Herrera guided me to the archives at the Congreso General Kuna office, which became my key reference material for this project. Many thanks to the Congreso General Kuna, who permitted me to use their archives and helped me schedule interviews with prominent Kuna leaders. Sr. Eligio Alvarado, former Intendant of San Blas, graciously gave me an interview and helped me to understand the nuances and contexts of the various documents I was reading. Sr. Bernal Castillo Díaz, a Kuna historian, welcomed me to his home and gave me ample time to study the archives from the Intendancy that he had in his possession. Finally, special thanks to Mónica Maury Martínez for providing me with copies of documents she located during her years of fieldwork in Kuna Yala. All of these individuals helped make this research experience fruitful and valuable in terms of this current project and also with respect to my future academic career. iii Finally, a grateful thank you to my husband, Josh, for supporting my research by tirelessly working to provide for us while I attend school and research abroad, for reading numerous early drafts of this project, and for always reminding me of the larger picture. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DEDICATION.................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................ vii LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.............................................................................................ix Chapter I. INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................1 II. THE BEGINNINGS OF PLURIETHNIC NATIONALISM: 1968-1971...................12 Introduction............................................................................................................12 General Torrijos Comes to Power .........................................................................13 Review of Nationalism Theory..............................................................................15 Omar Torrijos' Pluriethnic Nationalism ................................................................17 The San Blas Comarca, 1968-1971 .......................................................................19 Political Changes .......................................................................................22 Economic Changes ....................................................................................24 Sociocultural Changes ...............................................................................28 Conclusion .............................................................................................................32 III. THE EMERGENCE OF INCOMPATIBLE IDENTITIES: 1972-1975...................34 Introduction............................................................................................................34 The 1972 Constitution ...........................................................................................35 Manifestations of Conflicting Identities ................................................................42 Conclusion .............................................................................................................52 IV. CRISIS IN THE COMARCA: 1976-1978.................................................................54 Introduction............................................................................................................54 CGK Split ..............................................................................................................55 Canal Treaty Plebiscite..........................................................................................63 Crisis Resolution....................................................................................................71 Conclusion .............................................................................................................76 v V. BECOMING KUNA-PANAMANIAN: 1979-1981 ..................................................78 Introduction............................................................................................................78 Tourism..................................................................................................................79 Education ...............................................................................................................84 Economic Issues ....................................................................................................86 Governance Consolidation.....................................................................................89 Conclusion .............................................................................................................94 VI. EPILOGUE.................................................................................................................96 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................100 vi LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Distribution of Corregimientos in the 1977 Plebiscite ..............................................66 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Map of Panama............................................................................................................3 2. Map of San Blas...........................................................................................................4 3. Map of San Blas Corregimientos...............................................................................37 4. Parallel Governance Structures in the San Blas Comarca, 1972...............................40 5. Plebiscite Propaganda................................................................................................63 6. Flag-raising in Ailigandí............................................................................................67 7. Urban Kuna woman voting in 1978 elections ...........................................................73 viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Full Name Abbreviation Archivo de la Intendencia AI Bernal Castillo Díaz Collection BCD Congreso General de la Cultura Kuna CGCK Congreso General Kuna CGK Instituto Panameño de Turismo IPAT Instituto para la Formación y Aprovechamiento de Recursos IFARHU Ministerio de Desarollo Agropecuario MIDA Movimiento de la Juventud Kuna MJK Mónica Martínez Maury Collection MMM Partido Revolucionario Democrático PRD Rubén Kantule Collection RK ix CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Panama has a complex and controversial history, and since its inception, Panama has struggled to forge a nationalism that reflects cohesion and autonomy. A US traveler to Panama in 1919 wrote, A Panamanian cart, loaded with English tea biscuit...driven by a Hindu wearing a turban, drove up in front of a Chinese shop. The Jamaican clerk...the San Blas errand boy...a Spanish policeman...that is Panamá every day.1 This quote represents the ethnic diversity of Panamanian citizens, but throughout the first half of the 20th century, the Panamanian government fought this influx of foreigners, believing that only homogenization could unify the nation. The presidencies of the Arias brothers (1932-1936, 1940-1941, 1949-1951, 1968) prioritized the promotion of a unique Panamanian nationalism. Immigration policies varied from forced assimilation, segregation and discrimination, demonstrating how the elite defined "the Panamanian" as an individual with a Hispanic heritage, excluding other races and ethnicities.2 However, these policies shifted after World War II, particularly with the beginning of military rule in 1968, and multiculturalism became a crucial tenet of Panamanian national identity.3 1 Peter