Abstract
This article discusses the development of the indigenous comarca system, a territorial model in place since 1983, but with antecedents in the 19th and 20th centuries, including the Indian reservation system borrowed from the North American experience. The analysis begins in 1977 with a focus on the process that led to the acceptance of the comarca as a territorial unit in the context of a political culture in which clientelism and tolerance were the principal values; continues through the negotiations between the government and indigenous representatives that resulted in the establishment of a legal framework for the five comarcas, and the delaying tactics used by economic interests and the state itself under the military government (1968-1989); and finally, examines the new model of collective lands (tierras colectivas) created for small and geographically dispersed populations.