ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the efforts of the Kuna to claim land and the consequences for their social organization. Four aspects of Kuna social and political patterns were key after resettlement: the fight to demarcate the reserve and the ensuing conflicts with national and regional authorities; the leadership role of the caciques; the use of the General Congress to make decisions; and disputes and factionalism arising within the villages. The accords, especially the Farallon accord, called for the immediate demarcation of new reserve boundaries, something which the Kuna had insisted on from the beginning. From 1974 on, the Kuna began to agitate for the demarcation. The 1972 negotiating team for the Kuna consisted of the three caciques, the two secretaries of the reserve, and a rotating group of village chiefs. Whereas between 1972-1976, the government was represented in the negotiations by top-level officials, including General Torrijos, after 1976, authority to negotiate was delegated exclusively to the Bayano Corporation.
