Mapuche conflict

Mapuche conflict (Armed Clashes)
Date1990 – present
Location
Araucanía region of Chile & Argentina
Status ongoing
Belligerents

 Chile

 Argentina

Armed civilians

Armed Mapuche Indigenist Insurgents and Allies

Commanders and leaders
Gabriel Boric
Javier Milei		 Héctor Llaitul
Facundo Jones Huala
Casualties and losses
Unknown[needs update] Unknown[needs update]

The Mapuche conflict (Spanish: conflicto mapuche) involves indigenous Mapuche communities, also known as the Araucanians,[1] located in Araucanía (Spanish name given to the historic region that the Mapuche inhabited in Chile) and nearby regions of Chile and Argentina. The conflict itself is related to the land ownership disputes between the State of Argentina and Chile since the 19th Century[1] as well as corporations such as big forestry companies[2] and their contractors. In the past decade of the conflict, Chilean police and some non-indigenous landowners have been confronted by indigenist militant Mapuche organizations and local Mapuche communities in the context of the conflict. Some scholars argue the conflict is an indigenous self-determination conflict;[3] others like Francisco Huenchumilla see it as the expression of a wider political conflict that affects all of Chile given the existence of other indigenous groups.[4]

Mapuche indigenist activists demand greater autonomy, recognition of rights, and the return of what they consider "historical ancestral lands", which some families have documents prove their ownership of specific lands with the "Títulos de Merced"[5] and others apply it as a broader concept, not having family ties to the land. The Mapuche conflict intensified following the return of democracy in the 1990s, with indigenist activists seeking to rectify the loss of what they call "ancestral territory" during the Occupation of the Araucanía and the Conquest of the Desert.[6] The Mapuche Indigenists lack a central organization. Individuals and communities carry out their struggle independently by different means. Some groups, such as the Coordinadora Arauco-Malleco (CAM), have used violent tactics since 1998, while other groups have preferred non-violent tactics and institutional negotiations.[3][7] Violent activists have been scrutinized for their finances and international links, with some being accused of large-scale theft of wood, either by performing the theft themselves or taking possession of stolen wood.[8] Others have been linked to drug trafficking.[8][9] Personnel of Coordinadora Arauco-Malleco have been in Venezuela meeting high-ranking officials of the Nicolás Maduro government.[10][A]

The handling of the conflict by Chilean authorities has been the subject of controversy and political debate. The label of "terrorism" by authorities has been controversial as well as the killing of unarmed Mapuches by police followed by failed cover-ups. Another point of contest is the "militarization of Araucanía", yet the use of military-grade long guns against police vehicles has been cited as explaining the need for armoured vehicles. There are recurrent claims of Mapuche "political prisoners".[12][13][14][B]

The conflict has received the attention of international human rights organizations such as Amnesty International, which have criticized the Chilean government's treatment of the Mapuche.[19] Many activists have been killed.[20] Mapuche police and Mapuche contractors have also been killed by violent activists.[21][22][23] Recently, the MACEDA database has compiled more than 2,600 events related to this conflict (1990-2016).

The area where the conflict has been most violent is known as "Zona Roja" (lit. Red Zone) and lies in the provinces of Arauco and Malleco.[24][25][26]

The official 2002 Chilean census found 609,000 Chileans identifying as Mapuches.[27] The same survey determined that 35 percent of the nation's Mapuches think the biggest issue for the government to resolve relates to their ancestral properties.[27] The official 2012 Chilean census found the number of Mapuches in Chile to be 1,508,722[28] and the 2017 census a total of 1,745,147, representing around 10% of the population.[29]

  1. ^ a b Boccara, Guillaume (2002). "The Mapuche People in Post-Dictatorship Chile". Études rurales (163/164): 283–303. doi:10.4000/etudesrurales.7984. ISSN 0014-2182. JSTOR 20122946.
  2. ^ Newman, Lucia. "A journey through Chile's conflict with Mapuche rebel groups". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 20 March 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  3. ^ a b Cayul, Pedro; Alejandro Corvalan; Dany Jaimovich; Matteo Pazzona (2022). "Introducing MACEDA: New micro-data on an indigenous self-determination conflict". Journal of Peace Research. 59 (6): 903–912. doi:10.1177/00223433211064778. S2CID 248144192.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Cholakian, Daniel (30 May 2018). ""Comprender la verdadera naturaleza del conflicto mapuche es un imperativo para la clase dirigente"". Nodal Cultura (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  5. ^ "Aplicabilidades, títulos de merced y de comisario: Un glosario para entender" (in Spanish). La Tercera. 28 August 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b Labrín, Sebastián (26 September 2020). "Financiando la violencia rural en territorio mapuche". La Tercera (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  9. ^ Chile, C. N. N. "Operativo antinarcótico en Concepción: Detienen a Emilio Berkhoff, ex líder de la CAM". CNN Chile (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 17 September 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  10. ^ Rivas, Sebastián (14 December 2018). "Canciller venezolano recibe en Caracas a líder de la CAM Héctor Llaitul". La Tercera. Archived from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  11. ^ Carrera, Patricio (19 July 2010). "Ex Farc reconoce a miembros de la CAM y dice que fueron instruidos en Colombia". La Tercera. Archived from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  12. ^ "23 presos políticos Mapuche recluidos en la Cárcel de Angol inician huelga de hambre indefinida". mapuexpress.org (in Spanish). 23 July 2022.
  13. ^ "Mapuches defienden a sus "presos políticos" al inicio de estado de emergencia". Swissinfo (in Spanish). 18 May 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  14. ^ Poblete, Jorge (11 July 2021). "Quiénes son los presos mapuche que la Convención Constituyente pide liberar". Ex-Ante (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  15. ^ Plaza, Francisca (12 December 2020). "Director de Human Rights Watch: "No hay presos políticos en Chile"". Radio Agricultura (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  16. ^ Romo, Samuel (1 June 2021). "Presidente Piñera cierra la puerta: "Nos oponemos a una ley de indulto o amnistía (…) en Chile no hay presos políticos"". El Mostrador (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  17. ^ Mora, Igor (5 June 2021). "Expertos refutan a Piñera: en Chile sí hay presos políticos". Rebelion.org (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  18. ^ Vargas, Felipe (17 March 2022). "Monsalve dice que no hay presos políticos mapuche: "Lo están por delitos tipificados en Código Penal"". Emol (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  19. ^ "Chile: Authorities must stop criminalizing Indigenous Mapuche people under the Anti-Terrorism Law". www.amnesty.org. 5 May 2018. Archived from the original on 8 July 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  20. ^ Vidal, Aldo (27 April 2011). "Lista de Mapuche Muertos post Dictadura en Relación al Llamado "Conflicto" Mapuche". Archived from the original on 17 September 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  21. ^ Martínez, Brenda (30 October 2020). "Quién era Eugenio Nain, el carabinero que murió baleado en Metrenco". El Dínamo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 4 November 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  22. ^ "Tía de cabo Eugenio Nain: "A él no lo mataron por ser carabinero, lo mataron por ser mapuche"". El Mostrador (in Spanish). 1 November 2020. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  23. ^ Miranda, Cristian (26 May 2022). "Santo Reinao, sin pelos en la lengua: "Ningún mapuche que quiera retomar su territorio, lo va a hacer encapuchado"". El Mostrador (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  24. ^ Basadre, Pablo (2 April 2021). "La verdadera zona roja mapuche: Cómo es el lugar donde fue atacado el equipo de TVN". Ex-Ante (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  25. ^ Labrín, Sebastián; Díaz, Sebastián. "El mapa definitivo de la violencia en la Macrozona sur". La Tercera (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  26. ^ Paúl, Fernanda (19 October 2021). ""Mientras no cambie la mentalidad colonialista y discriminatoria del Estado de Chile, el conflicto mapuche tiene muy poca posibilidad de resolverse": José Bengoa, historiador y antropólogo". BBC Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  27. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Stgotimes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  28. ^ "Censo 2017 – Todos Contamos – Este Censo necesita todo tu apoyo para saber cuántos somos, cómo somos y cómo vivimos". www.censo.cl (in European Spanish). Archived from the original on 28 June 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  29. ^ 2017 censusArchived September 29, 2023, at the Wayback Machine


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