Guna Yala


Guna Yala, also known as Kuna Yala or by its former name San Blas, is a comarca indígena in northeast Panama. Guna Yala is home to the indigenous people known as the Gunas. Its capital is Gaigirgordub. It is bounded on the north by the Caribbean Sea, on the south by the Darién Province and Emberá-Wounaan, on the east by Colombia, and on the west by the province of Colón.
32,016 people lived here in 2023, with over 95% of them being indigenous peoples.

Etymology

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

History

The area was the site of the conquistador stronghold of Acla, where Vasco Núñez de Balboa was tried and beheaded.
When the Spaniards arrived in the 1600s, the Kuna people were living here near the Gulf of Urabá, in what is considered Colombia today. However, contact with the Spaniards resulted in significant violence and limited trade. The Kuna fled towards the Darién region, what is considered Panama today. They initially began to live along the rivers which flowed into the Caribbean, however as early as the mid 1800s they began to relocate out onto islands near the mouths of freshwater rivers. This sheltered them from illnesses, snakes and mosquitos. Living on the islands also connected them to the coastal trade, forest products, coconuts and turtle-shell. It also gave the Kuna access to trade vessels travelling along coastal routes. They lived in this way on the islands, and maintained their farms on the mainland. Until the mid-nineteenth century this region remained relatively peaceful.
In the late 1690s, the Darien scheme in the Kingdom of Scotland attempted to create an overseas colony in the region, hoping to open an overland route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, almost two centuries prior to the opening of the Panama Canal. They founded the town of New Edinburgh on a bay they named the Bay of Caledonia, as the capital of a new colony to be named "Caledonia" after the Latin name for Scotland. A combination of poor planning, famine, tropical disease and collusion between the East India Company and the Kingdom of England to frustrate the scheme led to the failure of the colony and the death of the majority of the colonists. The town finally surrendered to a siege and blockade of the port by forces of the Spanish Empire in March 1700, and the few survivors were evacuated. Of the 2,500 colonists who had left Scotland, barely a few hundred returned. This costly and high-profile failure caused the bankruptcy of the Scottish government and was a major contributory factor in weakening resistance to the loss of Scottish sovereignty to London through the Act of Union less than a decade later.
By the Colombian Act of June 4, 1870 Tulenega Shire was created, which also included the present territory of the Guna Yala district; this comprises some of the communities of the District of Wargandí such as Mordi, and Sogubdi Asnadi; the communities of the region of Madungandi including Tiuarsicuá, and Guna communities of Colombia, such as Tanela and Arquía. The land area of the Tulenega Shire stretched from the province of Colon to the Gulf of Urabá, Colombia. The head of regional government was generally a commissioner appointed by the central government. The law also recognized the Guna as property owners of the Shire.
After separation of Panama in 1903, the Act of 1870 was ignored. The territory of the former region was divided de facto into two parts: the majority remained in the new Republic of Panama, while a small portion remained in Colombia.
The suspension of the region, the incursions of outsiders into Guna villages in search of gold, rubber, and sea turtles, banana concessions, and colonial police abuse caused great discontent among the natives and brought the February 25, 1925 San Blas Rebellion, led by Nele Kantule of the town of Ustupu and Ologintipipilele of Ailigandi. The armed Guna attacked the police on the islands and Ugupseni Tupile, as the police were accused of abuses and suppressing Guna customs in several communities. The Guna proclaimed the independent Republic of Tule, separating from the central government of Panama for a few days.
The subsequent peace treaty established the commitment of the Government of Panama to protecting the customs of the Guna. The Guna, in turn, accepted the development of a formal school system in the islands. The police brigade would be expelled from their territory and all prisoners released. The negotiations that ended the armed conflict constituted a first step towards establishing the autonomous status of the Guna and maintaining the culture that was being suppressed.
Based on Article 5 of the Constitution of 1904, which allows for special political divisions for reasons of administrative convenience or public service, legislation on indigenous territories in Panama established the Guna District of San Blas in 1938 including areas of the provinces of Panamá and Colón. Its boundaries and administration were finalized by Act No. 16 of 1953.
Currently, according to the ruling of the Supreme Court of 23 March 2001, the region has a different political and administrative organization, independent of the Districts and Villages. The counties are governed by special institutions themselves, and by resolution of Division of the Supreme Court, on 6 December 2000, an institution is the consent of indigenous peoples who wish to develop projects in their territories.
The Colombian political activist Jaime Bateman Cayón, founder and leader of the M-19 movement, died in a plane crash in Guna Yala in 1983.
Governor Erick Martelo was removed from office in September 2020 after being found traveling in a car with 75 packages of illegal drugs.

Government and politics

The governmental structure of Guna Yala is defined in Law 16 of 1953. The General Congress Guna is the highest political authority of Guna Yala. It consists of representatives of all communities in Guna Yala, and meets twice a year. Votes are taken by each sahila of the community.

Administrative subdivisions of Guna Yala

Guna Yala is politically subdivided into four corregimientos, with a total of 51 comunidades, most of which are located on islands of the San Blas Archipelago off the mainland coast. They are listed from west to east:
NumberLeader CommunityDistrict
1Carlos LopezArmilaDubwala
2Faustino CastroAswemulluDubwala
3Fabián Morris PérezYansibdiwarDubwala
4Ceferino HernándezGannirdub / GoedubDubwala
5César GuardiaNubadubDubwala
6Milton GutiérrezDubwalaDubwala
7Ricardito MartinezSasardi NuevoDubwala
8Geraldino GreenSasardi MuladubDubwala
9Fidencio PerezDubbagDubwala
10Palacio RamirezNabagandiDubwala
11Luis RinkinMamsuggunDubwala
12Macriano DenisUsdubAgligandi
13Celio De LeónOgobsuggunAgligandi
14Olmedo HerreraMammidubAgligandi
15Olopiñapi LanAssudubAgligandi
16Límber RíosAgligandiAgligandi
17Diego NúñezDadnaggwe DubbirAgligandi
18Luis LayansUggubseniAgligandi
19Deodicio GrimaldoGolebir / IrgandiAgligandi
20Fredy SosaNurmullu / UggubbaAgligandi
21Albertino MartínezIlagandidiwar / AgdirganaAgligandi
22Claudiano IglesiasUbgisuggun /MagebgandiNargana
23Leocadio OrtizNiadubNargana
24Manduliginya Colman F.DigirNargana
25Aldo GonzálezYandub-NarganaNargana
26Heliodoro OsorioAggwanusadubNargana
27Nelio PreciadoUwargandub-GwebdiNargana
28Leoncio Bolívar CeballosNusadubNargana
29Américo TapiaUrgandiNargana
30Leuterio DíazMammardubNargana
31Elías PérezMoraggedubNargana
32Geraldito BarsalloMirya UbgigandubNargana
33Alberto DaviesGardi MuladubNargana
34José DevisGardi Sugdub / Isber YalaNargana
35Vallarino LópezGardi YandubNargana
36Baulino MorrisGardi DubbirNargana
37Aristides BenAggwadubNargana
38Eliseo LópezNarbagandub BibbiNargana
39Valerio MartínezNarbagandub DummadNargana
40Emilio ValdésGangandiNargana
41Elbasio MartínezMandiyalaNargana
42Aquilino FernándezAridubNargana
43Rogeliano MartínezMandi UbgigandubNargana
44Arcelio CamposOrosdubNargana
45Leoncio LópezAglidubNargana
46Franky SmithDadargwanne MammidubNargana
47Romeldo FernándezGorbisgiNargana
48Pawell ChiariNalunegaNargana
49Arcelio GonzálezWissubwalaNargana
50Armali / Puerto ObaldíaPuerto Obaldía
51Assagandi / La MielPuerto Obaldía