Today's NYT, however, reminds us that Nicaragua faces an indigenous "insurgency" of its own, for many of the same reasons that Peru's indigenous are protesting:
The Council of Elders of the Miskito people has an extensive list of grievances. For as long local residents can remember, the federal government has allowed outside companies to exploit the raw materials in their jungle territory — everything from lobster to lumber to gold. Little benefit has come to the people who eke out a living here, they say....For Nicaraguan President Ortega, this could lead to some uncomfortable questions domestically. Why is he willing to protect the leader of Peru's indigenous autonomy movement while cracking down on indigenous movements in his own country?
...Two major drilling concessions have been granted off Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast, but officials involved in those efforts said that the separatist movement might scare away future investors.
Certainly the two situations are different; no two situations are ever exactly alike. But there are enough similarities here that Ortega should address why he's sympathetic to an indigenous movement abroad while being hostile to one at home.
