The Lost Autonomy of the Mapuche Peoples

Written by: Summer Lake

After decades of war, assimilation tactics, and terrorism towards the Mapuche peoples of South America, they have finally been able to take legal action against the governments of Chile and Argentina. About 1.5 million Mapuches live in Chile, and 200,000 in Argentina (Youkee. 2019). This year, representatives of the “Mapuche people have petitioned the international criminal court (ICC) to take action against the governments of Chile and Argentina for acts of genocide and crimes against humanity” (Youkee. 2019). The representative leading the discussion, Lonko Juana Calfunao, was quoted saying “the Chilean army with the complicity of the Catholic church, invaded our territory, burned our [homes], killing our people and drowning babies in the rivers” (Youkee. 2019). This is a very serious issue, and even a quick Google search of “Mapuche Chile Conflict” immediately shows headlines of police brutality, injured citizens, and legal battles. 

The Mapuche tribes remained autonomous through colonization, and it was only after the 19^th century that Chile “took control of the Mapuche and their territory” (Meer. 2019). From that point on, the Mapuche people have evidence of being severely mistreated, with their basic human rights of autonomy, equal representation, and protection ignored and their culture slowly disappearing. The issue of autonomy and territory rights stems from Chile transitioning away from a military dictatorship in 1989 (Meer. 2019). When much of the Mapuche land was sold or given to settlers from Chile, their descendants had the properties passed down. Now, a lot of the Mapuches’ sacred lands are being used for agriculture and industrial plants (Meer. 2019). There is a lot of dispute about who is in the wrong here, as revoking property gained “rightfully” would not be legal, but the Mapuche were undermined and ignored originally.

With all of this conflict, there has been a huge increase of chronic stress on the Mapuche peoples. Their villages and towns are being monitored by heavy machinery and military from both sides of the issue, and there have been multiple protests and riots in the past two years (Meer. 2019). One of the most devastating hot topics was the accidental shooting of Camilo Catrillanca in November 2018 (Meer. 2019). She was a 24-year-old Mapuche leader and activist, and Chilean Special Forces accidentally shot her in the head when she was near the scene of an armed robbery police chase (Meer.2019). The government has not yet taken legal action to right that wrong. Groups such as the Coordinadora de Comunidades Mapuche en Conflicto Arauco – Malleco (CAM) are supporting the Mapuche, but are doing so via military grade weapons, tanks, intimidating tactics, and sabotaging agribusiness to recover territory (Meer.2019). This causes further conflict because the Chilean government has implemented an “anti-terrorism law” that allows the government police forces to attack, protect, and arrest Mapuche people without fair trial (Meer. 2019). Other groups are going a more diplomatic route, such as the Kingdom of Araucania and Patagonia whose primary “objective is to fight for the recognition of Mapuche culture, language and religion and one day […] an autonomous Mapuche state” (Meer. 2019).

This is still a current issue, and if anything tensions are rising more. The Chilean government is attempting to keep the peace by “providing social, cultural, and educational programs,” but they are also using police force to prevent the Mapuche supporters’ efforts of sabotaging business and land owners (Meer. 2019). With the Mapuche people making up almost ten percent of the Chilean population, they are still considered a minority. Argentina has even fewer indigenous Mapuches. Even so, their culture and territories far outdate Chile’s rule over that part of South America. With all of the warfare and shootings, it is easily definable as a genocide, as the Representatives of the Mapuche are declaring. The governments of Chile and Argentina are trying to protect its citizens’ and business owners’ land rights, as well as begin to treat the Mapuche fairly, but there is a huge lack of cultural relativism. The organizations aiding the Mapuche are trying to represent the fact that their culture has significance, needs protected by their government, and are trying to persuade the government to consider how this is affecting the lives of millions. The Mapuche are having their culture disintegrate due to losing their sacred lands, which provide the basis of their lifeways. These lands cannot be replaced because most of it has been irreversibly damaged by massive logging, mining, and farming companies (Meer. 2019). Although fighting fire with fire is not the best course of action, it is what many indigenous people have resorted to doing in order to protect their homeland. This also causes the Mapuches to infringe on their own morals and cultural beliefs, because they generally condemn the use of violence (Meer.2019). Now that this issue has been getting more international attention, and many agencies are working with the Mapuche, hopefully a more peaceful approach can be adopted by the Chilean and Argentina governments.

Sources

Meer, Jakob. 2019. How the Chilean government deals with the Mapuche conflict. [blog] Peace Research Institute Frankfurt. Available at: https://blog.prif.org/2019/04/16/how-the-chilean-government-deals-with-the-mapuche-conflict/. [Accessed 20 April 2019]

Youkee, Mat. 2019. 'We are hostages': indigenous Mapuche accuse Chile and Argentina of genocide. [online] The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/12/indigenous-mapuche-accuse-chile-brazil-genocide. [Accessed 19 April 2019]