A statement addressed “to the Mapuche nation people and to national and international public opinion” states that this Saturday, July 30, in the commune of Angol, together with the María Cayulleo community, the Arauco Malleco Coordinator (CAM) has initiated a process of “territorial recovery” in seven estates belonging to forestry companies.
According to the letter signed by the armed Mapuche organization, this “territorial claim”, just days before the approval of a new extension of the State of Exception in the area, would cover approximately 5,000 hectares. And the places taken would be the Chequen and Santa Marina estate of Forestal Mininco, the San José de Trintre estate of Forestal Arauco, the Santa María and Santa Guillermina estates of Forestal Cautín, the El Tesoro estate of Forestal Comaco and the El Porvenir estate of the “wealthy landowner Vásquez “.
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The objective of the CAM, according to the brief, is “to initiate a process of definitive restitution of the defendant properties.” This, according to the group led by Héctor Llaitul, will be carried out through “resistance and territorial control, starting different productive activities and the constant reappropriation of the resources of the lands now in Mapuche hands, as well as self-defense actions – resistance aimed at definitive eviction of forestry companies in the sector”.
The CAM also calls on the Mapuche communities in different parts of the south of the country, and particularly in the conflict zones, “to be attentive and accompany this significant process of territorial recovery and political-cultural reconstruction.”
The radical group’s statement, in line with its political-strategic approaches, states that “the expressions of capitalism and colonialism today continue to reproduce themselves in our lands, and even if they want to disguise them as a ‘sustainable progress’ typical of our pseudo-lefts, we will follow them fighting throughout the territory. And he adds: “an example of this is how, with the State of Exception, forestry exports and extractivism have increased in Wallmapu, as well as media and political repression and criminalization of the Mapuche revolutionary organizations, while the political class and the Convention Constituent Assembly fill their mouths talking about multinationality and other neoliberal inventions”.
“Will we have at least one statement from the Government regarding this statement?” Senator Ximena Rincón (DC) questioned through Twitter, along with the document. Although later, in conversation with The counter, explained why he thinks it would be good for the Government to say something about the CAM letter. And he called to corroborate whether the document is official or not, to communicate if measures have been taken, and to mention what is known.
“I do not summon, I only say that the Government pronounces, period. Because one has to be careful today with the things that are true and those that are not,” said the Christian Democrat parliamentarian, along with maintaining that it is important that La Moneda has a single line against Llaitul, against Pool (see note), and against “all those who believe that they are masters of justice”, since “today I really believe that there are people who go beyond all the limits of the rule of law, that is why I also name Pool and not just Llaitul. This has nothing to do with political color, it has to do with whether or not we respect our rule of law.”
Senator Rincón considered that, on the one hand, it is necessary for the Government to provide certainty about whether these serious things that are circulating are true or not. And on the other hand, what is the Executive going to do if the facts described are true? “I find it very serious that a group of people believe that they can take action on their own without anything happening to them,” she said.
Will we have at least 1 statement from the Government regarding this Declaration? pic.twitter.com/Mxdxg4r3WS
– Ximena Rincón (@ximerincon) July 31, 2022
The former ambassador of Chile in Guatemala (2014-2018) and former director of the National Corporation for Indigenous Development (Conadi), Domingo Namuncura, agreed with Senator Rincón and commented to this medium that “first the statements must be verified due to a matter of rigor communication, given that we are in a world of disinformation, it may be that in this deeply polarized and hateful campaign of the conservative world towards indigenous peoples”.
Second, Namuncura specified, “if it is indeed a formal declaration of the CAM, it is obvious that we have a difference of opinion. Even at the level of indigenous peoples. And there are no single spokespersons in the indigenous peoples.” For the diplomat, “the declarations of groups that come from a more forceful logic are not representative of the entire Mapuche People, which has historically been very open to dialogue with the State”, although he ruled: “statements of this type do not help at this time in as for the country we want to transit”.
Given the events reported by the CAM, the deputy and member of the Chamber’s Citizen Security Commission, Jaime Araya (Independent-PPD), also issued statements asking the Government that “if it considers that the project that is in the Senate being processed usurpation of land is not enough, it has bad legislation or it has bad technique, make a complete substitute indication so that as soon as possible we can have this legal tool that frees the hands of the prosecutors and the police to attend in this matter”. And he added: “on the other hand, to be able to carry out the bill that punishes the theft of wood, in such a way that there are modern instruments of legislation in these cases.”
Deputy Ericka Ñanco (RD) concluded: “Parliamentary work consists of defending and caring for democracy. For this, we must dialogue with all the sectors that have seen how State policies have not been enough to resolve the historical debt with the first nations. This is why, as a parliamentarian from La Araucanía, I invite you to understand the situation that exists beyond Bío Bio, which goes beyond security policies.”
