After vowing to do things differently, the Boric administration has invoked a familiar playbook in Mapuche territory. The difficult of breaking with the status quo speaks to the entrenched power of the Right.
May 31, 2022
Days after Chile released the draft of the new constitution set to replace the one drafted in the dictatorship-era, President Gabriel Boric’s government declared a state of emergency in the so-called conflict zone in Araucanía. Indigenous Mapuche communities that have long resisted the dominance of extractivist multinational forestry companies in the region have increasingly laid claim to ancestral land, including with demands for autonomy.
In his first address to the Chilean people in March, President Boric directly addressed the “problem” in southern Chile. “The conflict…used to be called ‘the pacification of La Araucanía’—what a crude and unfair term! Later, some people referred to it as ‘the Mapuche conflict,’” he said. “No ladies and gentlemen, it’s not ‘the Mapuche conflict.’ It’s the conflict between the Chilean state and a people who have the right to exist. And there, the solution is not and never will be violence.”
Yet, as Mapuche lawyer, human rights activist, and Constitutional Convention member Natividad Llanquilleo Pilquiman tweeted: “President Boric, like [ex-president Sebastián] Piñera, has sent the military against the Mapuche.”
Is this a new era of the pacification of Araucanía? And ultimately, has Boric betrayed his electoral promises?Following the announcement, human rights groups confused by Boric’s U-turn have demanded a coherent explanation. Various Mapuche media outlets echoed Llanquilleo’s dismay, with independent media outlet Werkén calling the measure a “failure” of the Boric government. The move begs key questions. Is this a new era of the pacification of Araucanía? And ultimately, has Boric betrayed his electoral promises?
Betrayal of Trust?
During Boric’s campaign, rallies were awash with the Mapuche flag—Chile’s new symbol of resistance that rose to prominent display during the historic 2019 uprising—and his platform promised a new approach to the centuries old dispute between the Chilean state and the Mapuche. Then, in a positive move for Indigenous rights, the Constitutional Convention approved language for the draft new constitution to declare Chile a Plurinational and Intercultural State.
But since Interior Minister Izkia Siches’ ill-fated visit to Araucania on March 15, relations with community leaders have deteriorated. During that visit, gunshots were fired, forcing the ministerial contingent to retreat. Mapuche representatives claim that they were not consulted about the visit and were alarmed when the ministerial contingent arrived at Temucuicui with a full military entourage, disregarding Indigenous protocol.
Recent Comments