Indigenous Nicaragua

During the Sandinista Revolution, there was open hostility between the FSLN and the Miskito peoples who lived on the Atlantic Coast. This was emblematic of how a lot of Marxist groups felt about native peoples, who largely just wanted to be left alone and had no interest in the modernization projects pushed by Marxist ideology. This conflict led to a lot of depredations and it was pretty bad. In fact, a lot of Miskitos joined the Contras as a way to resist the Sandinista incursions on their lands. Today, Daniel Ortega claims to be an ally of the Miskitos and maybe he is on some level. But in a nation as poor and rural as Nicaragua, it’s not too surprising that settlers are moving onto Miskito lands, that a lot of really bad things are happening, and that the Miskitos are losing out and having their lands stolen, as has happened to indigenous peoples in the Americas for over 500 years.