Ngäbe-Buglé

Ngäbe-Buglé

Is a comarca (roughly, "reservation" though signifying a high degree of administrative autonomy) in Panama. After historical fighting it was formed in 1997 with lands from the provinces of Bocas del Toro, Chiriquí, and Veraguas. The capital may be either Buäbidti or Tugri Llano depending on the source.

File:Ngäbe Buglé.png

Location of Ngäbe-Buglé in Panama

The comarca is divided in seven districts.

District (Capital):

1. Besiko (Soloy)

2. Kankintú (Bisira)

3. Kusapín (Kusapín)

4. Mirono (Hato Pilón)

5. Müna (Chichica)

6. Nole Duima (Cerro Iglesias)

7. Ñürüm (Buenos Aires)

History

Starting in 1972, the Panamanian government was required to establish comarcas, demarcated regions in which indigenous groups possess exclusive land rights and considerable administrative autonomy.[1] Within comarcas, people elect a General assembly, governor, and any number of regional and local leaders, although the government still controls public expenditure and tax revenues within the territory.[2] The comarca Ngöbe-Buglé, located in north western Panama, was formed in 1997 both as a latent result of government promise and of considerable political pressure from the Ngäbe-Buglé, united by threats of natural resource exploitation and environmental degradation on their ancestral lands.[1] The territory is made up of land previously belonging to the provinces of Bocas del Toro, Chiriquí, and Veraguas, and divided into seven districts (listed above with capitals); the capital of the entire comarca is Chichica, located in the Müna district. As the Ngäbe-Buglé population tends to identify more with their communities than with an ethnicity and is distributed rather unevenly, the political organization that prompted the formation of their comarca is fairly unusual, but nonetheless demonstrates a powerful capacity to influence government actions.[1]

Guna Yala

Is an indigenous region Panama, inhabited by ethnic Guna. Formerly the region was called San Blas until 1998[2] as Kuna Yala until 2010. Its capital is El Porvenir. Bounded on the north by Caribbean Sea, south of the Darién Province and Embera-Wounaan, east with Colombia and west by the province of Colón.

Yala Guna in Kuna means "Land Guna" or "Guna Mountain". The area was formerly known as San Blas, Kuna Yala and later, but was changed in October 2011 when the Government of Panama recognized the claim of the people Guna in

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