Published 1 June 2022

Meanwhile, the Mapuche people demand the use of their customary rights, the ownership of ancestral lands threatened by extractive companies, and the recognition of their cultural identity.

On Tuesday, the Chilean Chamber of Deputies approved a draft resolution that declares four organizations of the Mapuche indigenous people as illegal and terrorist organizations.

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The decision directly affects the Indigenous organizations Arauco Malleco Coordinator (CAM), Mapuche Malleco Resistance, Mapuche Lafkenche Resistance, and Weichan Auka Mapu.

The resolution was approved after the lawmakers heard the statements of CAM leader Hector Llaitul, who called on people to organize armed resistance in the country’s Southern Macrozone in response to the declaration of a “State of Exception” by the Government.

The Lower House also asked President Gabriel Boric to criminally prosecute those four Indigenous organizations using anti-terrorist Law 18,314.

The lawmakers, however, did not limit themselves to criminalizing Mapuche militants within Chile. They also want Borik to ask the U.S. State Department and the European Union to declare the four fighting organizations of the Mapuche people as terrorist organizations.

During the legislative session, Interior Minister Izkia Siches and Defense Minister Maya Fernandez explained the actions that the Borik administration has taken to “normalize” the situation in the south of the country.

“We will not limit ourselves to attacking only the symptoms but we will face the root of the problems,” Siches said in what seemed like a threat against the