The Land Returns · Episode 6 of 14 · 19 min
Central America's Contradictions
Neighbors with similar colonial histories land in very different places on Native land. The episode sets four cases side by side: Guatemala's community forest concessions with near-zero deforestation, Costa Rica's Plan RTI buying out illegal occupants, Honduras titling over a million hectares in the Mosquitia without clearing settlers, and El Salvador barely recognizing Indigenous peoples at all.
Who's who
- Sergio Rojas OrtizBribri leader assassinated in March 2019
- Jehry RiveraBroran leader killed in February 2020
Where it happens
- Maya Biosphere Reserve, Peten, Guatemalacommunity forest concessions with near-zero deforestation
- La Mosquitia, HondurasMiskito territory titled over a million hectares
- Salitre, Costa RicaBribri territory where Rojas was killed
- Terraba, Costa RicaBroran territory where Rivera was killed
Timeline
- 1990Maya Biosphere Reserve established
- 2014El Salvador amends Article 63 to recognize Indigenous peoples
- 2016Costa Rica launches Plan RTI
- March 2019Sergio Rojas assassinated
- February 2020Jehry Rivera killed
- 2024Plan RTI records its largest annual advance since 2016
Still debated
What explains the divergence is debated, with courts and legal frameworks, forests as leverage, state capacity and violence, and national identity myths each offered as drivers, none sufficient alone.
