The article tackles the concept of "self-determination until separation" for the Afro-descendants as "oppressed nationality" in Latin America. The theme is studied on the base of the documents of the Communist International, demonstrating how a thesis developed in Europe and Asia collided with Latin American realities. Then a more recent concept of "plurinationality" in the region and the unique case of autonomies in Nicaragua are discussed. The hypothesis is that some elements of the approach proposed by the Communist International and later rejected by it were not permanently lost, but have been reborn in the countries with significant Afro-descendant populations.