Panama

The Second National Meeting of Indian Leaders of Panama and the Fifth Regional Congress of Veraguas were held from February 6 to 8, 1975. The sessions took place in the village of Los Paredones de Canazas, in the province of Veraguas.

Although different in tone-this is more a report than final resolutions-this document corresponds to the analysis made by the Indian groups of the other countries.

PREPARATION, PROCEEDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS OF THE

SECOND NATIONAL MEETING AND OF THE FIFTH REGIONAL

CONGRESS OF VERAGUAS

A. Introduction: The Basis

We wish to explain here to the Panamanian people what the Second National Meeting of the Indian Leaders of Panama and the Fifth Regional Congress of Veraguas were.

We think it is important to inform our readers as much as possible about two major events which are not simply one more episode in the history of our country, but which represent a decisive step toward the future constitution of Indian forces prepared to assert their rights and to claim their place in the development of the country in equality with the other Panamanian citizens.

In the course of the preparatory stage, much work was done within the Indian population of Panama. From meetings with leaders and repeated visits in the communities, to the organization of formation seminars, these different contacts constituted a sort of permanent consultation among the Indian communities.

In bringing about the meeting we had successes, but also critical moments. However, thanks to the perseverance of the organizers who were able to find a solution to each difficulty, the National Meeting and the Regional Congress of Veraguas took place.

The objectives foreseen were not all entirely reached, but the path is open for their future realization. Whether that will be in the near or the far future depends upon the way in which the struggle will be carried on. The objectives which have been reached constitute a veritable spearhead which will inevitably open up to the Indian masses the road toward the reconquest of their lost rights.

Now we give in detail the preparation, the proceedings and the conclusions of the Second National Meeting and the Fifth Regional Congress of Veraguas.

B. Principal Preceding Events

1. The realization of the First National Meeting of the Indian Leaders of Panama on December 3-5, 1971, at the University of Panama.

2. The increasing need to create a central national organization in order to unify the national Indian groups to make a joint struggle possible.

3. The birth of the ANIP (National Indian Association of Panama) as a prototype of this organization, and its necessary recognition or refusal by the Indian people.

4. The necessity for finding a formula for cooperation with the current Panamanian government, such that the interests of the Indian population of the country will not be jeopardized.

5. There are still a certain number of other events too numerous to list here.

C. Description of the Community Selected for the Meeting

During a meeting of the Council of Indian Leaders of Veraguas held in Los Paredones, in the region of Los Valles de Canazas, in the province of Veraguas, this community was chosen as the place for the National Meeting as well as for the Fifth Regional Congress planned for September 19-21, 1974. This date was changed on a majority decision of the leaders and the Indian population, during preliminary consultations.

Los Paredones is a community situated exactly at the foot of the Central Cordilleras, in the province of Veraguas, at the border of Bocas del Toro. The region suffered a serious penetration by large landowners who transformed it into an almost barren zone, through the utilization of reckless work methods based upon the clearing of the forests. The community includes about 300 inhabitants. There is a purchasing cooperative founded and run by the Indians. As for the climate, the days are warm and the nights are cool. The wind almost always blows from the north, and brings sporadic showers called bajareques.

Access to the community is by road or by air. From the Panamerican Highway to Los Paredones the distance is about 75 kilometers, and 50 kilometers between Canazas and Los Paredones. To reach the town, it takes about five hours on foot or else one must come in a vehicle equipped with four-wheel drive, or by airplane. Most of the delegates had to come by foot from Canazas.

D. The Organizers

The Second National Meeting and the Fifth Regional Congress were organized by the ANIP (National Indian Association of Panama) and the Organizing Committee of the Fifth Regional Congress of Veraguas. For this purpose, local committees were created in several more central localities such as David, Bocas del Toro and Santiago de Veraguas. They worked in accord with the directives from the Committee set up in the principal city.

E. Work Accomplished

Preparations lasted more than six months. Nearly forty visits were made to the different Indian communities and into Central America in order to discuss the constitution of a national organization. Other visits were made to various governmental organizations and individuals in order to obtain their cooperation. At first, we broadcast a news program on the radio in Spanish and also in the Indian language of each community, but that has been temporarily suspended.

In the principal city, a Central Committee was set up to arrange the transportation for the delegates from San Blas, Darien, Bayano, and for comrades living in the city of Panama. This committee also coordinated reception and supplies. Two international trips were undertaken to invite Indian comrades to be present at the Meeting and at the Congress, to foster understanding between the native peoples of America and with a view to the future organization of an Indian Meeting for Central America. Formation seminars were organized for the members of the communities on the theme of cooperation, in order to promote the feeling of autonomy within the Indian population, along with a sense of productive effort, and in order to spread the idea of a national organization and of a struggle to be carried out together. The publicity campaign was carried or mostly during the visits. It seemed more important to have a direct and permanent dialogue with the Indian base than to maintain radio programs and official news releases. Each visit became a direct means for a more effective oral publicity.

F. The Objectives Pursued

This National Meeting and the Regional Congress had very concrete objectives, of very great importance for the Indian population. They were carefully set out in their order of importance and priority. Here they are:

1. Analysis of the situation on the reserves. This problem is so old that the Indian population is sometimes weary of it, for it does not receive the attention it deserves. A few definition have been worked out, but they are not respected, which finally comes to be the same as doing nothing to protect the interests of the Indian people.

2. Analysis of the development projects on the reserves. The subject was discussed because of the numerous development and equipment projects begun by the current revolutionary government in collaboration with the private sector. Certain of these projects directly or indirectly concern the Indian population and its interests. Such is the case for the hydroelectric plants of Bayano and of Fortuna, the copper mine of Cerro Colorado, the Darien road and the tourist project of San Blas.

3. Preparation for the Seventh National Congress. Since the Second National Meeting and the Regional Congress took place at a date close to when the National Congress was to occur, it was important and necessary to postpone it or replace it by the National Meetings.

4. Organization on a national scale as a means of unification of the Panamanian Indian forces with a view to a common struggle. For a long time Indian groups have lived isolated from each other and have met together only infrequently on the occasion of Regional Congresses, National Congresses, National Meetings of Leaders or other meetings. This objective was not entirely reached.

5. Establishment of a direct dialogue with the representatives of the State. This dialogue has as its goal the coordination of the efforts on both sides toward the development of native communities and their inclusion in the national project which is being developed. This is a matter of the greatest importance, in particular for the problem of the reserves which touches directly on the cultural, social, political and economic interests of the Indian population.

With this in mind, four commissions were created during the Meeting, which have been charged with carrying out the necessary studies and drawing appropriate conclusions. These are:

-the political commission;
-the economic commission;
-the commission on education and culture;
-the commission on health.

G. Problems Raised

1. There was no lack of problems. We had to take into account the lack of financing for the Meeting and the Congress. Several days before the opening, we had difficulties with the transportation of the delegates from San Blas, Darien, Bocas del Toro and Chiriqui. Food supplies were insufficient. Numerous organizations and institutions had promised their help in this area, but in fact we received nothing. As the Meeting and the Congress had to take place, they had to take place whatever the obstacles might be. They did take place.

2. Here are some of the obstacles which came up in the search for national unity and for the progress of the Indian people:

a) Most of the Indian leaders practice sectarianism, individualism and the cult of the chief. These three negative attitudes must be eliminated if the Indian is to organize himself.

b) The Indian leaders talk very little among themselves, although dialogue is absolutely essential to the elaboration of ideas and to the unity of forces.

c) Numerous young Indian leaders err through dogmatism. The Indian's struggle must take as its point of departure the historical reality of the Indian people as it currently exists. Thus, any perspective on the struggle which does not take into account this basis in the life of the people, errs through bureaucracy, through dogmatism and through theory.

H. Results Obtained

As we have already pointed out, the objectives were not entirely reached. That is due to the hasty manner with which the subjects were treated. Since the whole subject had been insufficiently or superficially prepared, the conditions were not right for a total success.

But the need for an organization on a national scale became evident, as well as the need for clear and precise objectives. Account was taken of the tasks which had been completed and of the struggle of the Panamanian Indian people on an international scale. It was also shown that work at the grassroots level allows much progress without the need to depend so much upon non-native institutions.

The visits had the effect of bringing together the Indian peoples who inhabit remote regions of the country and the young people who study, live and grow up in urban centers. It was shown that communication is possible between these two sectors and that the disinterested transmission of knowledge is useful to those comrades who are not educated. It was proven that existing obstacles are not a serious problem if the leaders have a true sense of the struggle, and likewise that duplicity, when it exists within the leaders, may lead to the betrayal of the true aspirations of the Indian people and of their age-old struggle.

A permanent commission was created with representatives of each Indian group as members. Its task will be to study national unity and to struggle for its achievement.

1. The Presence of International Delegates

Given the importance of the event, the presence of Indian representatives from out of the country, invited as observers, was considered necessary. A certain number of steps were undertaken with this in mind. In order to make the necessary contacts, two trips were made to Central America and Colombia. That is how the Second National Meeting of Panamanian Indian Leaders and the Fifth National Congress of Veraguas benefited from the presence of delegates from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador (a member of the Communal Union of Salvador), Colombia (a member of the National Association of Tenant Farmers), Costa Rica (a representative of the Talamanca region). The only absentee was the delegate from Nicaragua; for obvious reasons, it was impossible for him to leave his country, since participation at such a meeting constitutes a serious attack against the dictatorship of Somoza and his interests.

According to their reports to us, the delegates followed the proceedings of the Meeting and the Congress with great interest. These proceedings represent a new spiritual and moral support to reinforce the struggle in the delegates' countries in this first essential stage, which is the preparation of the people for the Central American Indian Meeting.

Conclusion

We hope that this new experience will constitute the basis for a new form of Indian struggle leading inevitably to the recovery of our lost rights, by the means which are most beneficial for the Indian and also for the other citizens of the Isthmus. These means must be worked out in such a way that they do not lead to decisions with unforeseeable and unexpected results.

The struggle of the Indian people is just, permanent and unquestionable. The efforts and the sacrifices of so many years, with their high cost in human lives, cannot be in vain. It is a struggle which must finish in victory or in total defeat.

Everyone knows that a good part of the underdevelopment of America is related to the enslavement and the violent elimination of the Indian, her true master and trustee of the secrets which lead her to a true development.