ABSTRACT
In Latin America, the potential for regimes of regional autonomy has been thwarted by the socioeconomic and political structures that would be affected by any just and democratic social transformation. On ideological grounds, the project of autonomy has been hindered by a collection of myths, fears, and prejudices that have been nourished for almost two centuries by those in power and their apparatuses. This chapter examines some of these ideas and sentiments to delineate an accurate profile of the autonomous entity. It then offers the examples that are enough to indicate the existence in the area of an idea of a sustained regional identity and a tradition of fighting for autonomy. The chapter also discusses a struggle for autonomy in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. The Isthmus of Tehuantepec went through various political-administrative stages. The chapter further discusses these stages.
