From Santiago
On the second business day of the new progressive government of Gabriel Boric, the first crisis has already happened. And nothing less than in the community of Temucuicui, located in Ercilla in the middle of Wallmapu about 10 hours from Santiago. A militarized zone during the outgoing government of Sebastián Piñera under the name of “Macro Zona Sur”. The plan for the visit of the Minister of the Interior, Izkia Siches, to Temuco, capital of Araucanía, was to meet with Marcelo Catrillanca, father of Camilo CatrillancaMapuche community member brutally murdered from behind in 2018 by this same militarized police in an event that not only shocked the country but, for many, was the fuse that set fire to the discontent that would explode during the Social Outburst of October 19 of the following year.
At about 10:00, the Siches caravan was interrupted by a burning car that cut off the route, along with screams and dozens of shots in the air. that bounced among the thousands of pine trees planted by large forestry companies. Something that forced the minister, who was traveling in a car without armor and without major security deployments (precisely to give a signal opposite to that of the outgoing government), to take refuge in the Ercilla sub-police station.
Although it was not a confrontation or anything similar, it was an act of hostility that, according to Catrillanca, responded to a “very improvised” visit. Although the government tried to manage this crisis from Santiago by appealing to the official’s strength (“Whoever thinks they can intimidate Minister Siches is wrong,” spokeswoman Camila Vallejo would say), before the minister could offer a press point, The video of the “attack” was quickly released, generating all kinds of speculation on social networks, including that this could be an attack by far-right groups in the area coordinated with the police.
In fact, the communist deputy Karol Cariola—Vallejo’s party partner—was one of the first to admit that “here there were obviously situations that were not foreseen.” Those who know the area —including the carabineros themselves— know that going into Mapuche territory is not just arrivings and there are certain protocols that require certain subtleties, such as inviting the community in advance, without notifying it through the media, as happened in this case. Nor is it useful to wave Mapuche flags as if it were an event in Santiago, something that one of the members of the caravan did, trying to make way for them.
“Forest Out”
It was the alternative media, such as Werkén Noticias — a Mapuche electronic newspaper — that showed a canvas where the Temucuicui community rejected the visit of Boric’s representatives to the area. “As long as there are Mapuche political prisoners, there will be no dialogue. For Camilo Katrillanka (sic) and all those who fell in combat in Wallmapu, we will not accept any $bribery from a murderous State. Outside forestry, latifundium. No more militarization. Mapuche resistance”, he prayed. The same media broadcast an image of the CAM (Coordinator Arauco Malleco) where they explained that “We are not going to negotiate or negotiate with the historical enemy.”
Although obviously this refusal to sit down and talk is not a position shared by the entire Mapuche people, it does constitute a harsh reality check against a government that hoped to give a signal of openness to dialogue from its first days of installation. After all, recent center-left governments like Bachelet’s promised a lot and ended up strengthening the extractivist industry that has done so much damage to the area.
At your press point, sure He would tell the media that he did not hear anything, only the crash of the vehicle in which he was traveling when trying to go back. “I felt calm, obviously in a complex context,” she assured. Finally managed to meet with Catrillanca and uploading photos to social networks, trying to lower the profile of the situation. On twitter he wrote that “violence will not stop us”. A position shared by the government but which was also taken advantage of, obviously by the opposition, including the losing candidate of the elections, José Antonio Kast, asking that the the State of Exception that Piñera managed to extend before leaving the government and that will last until March 26.
Although no one was injured, this act is a response to the signal that the government sought to deliver in an area where the extreme right prevails and at the same time, the most radicalized groups of the Mapuche people are trying to recover their ancient, overexploited lands. Siches promised to come back and the government is evaluating how to find peace in the area, because with this type of gesture it seems that it did not work.