The Mapuches, Chile's largest Indigenous group, have faced centuries of struggle against various conquerors, including the Incas and the Spanish, and have continued to resist as the Chilean state annexed their territories. Their hardships intensified during the military dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet, which led to the termination of collective property rights, allowing forestry companies to confiscate and sell Mapuche lands. Now, as Chile prepares to elect its next president on Sunday, there are fears among the Mapuches of a resurgence in violence, particularly with the far-right candidate, José Antonio Kast, leading the polls.
Karen Rivas Catalán, a Mapuche political scientist aged 37, expressed her concerns to the Associated Press, stating, “It will get much worse with a far-right government.” Kast, who is an ultra-conservative former lawmaker, has made promises to deport hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants and grant expanded powers to military and police forces in fighting crime. His opponent, Jeannette Jara, a communist candidate from the governing coalition, is also adopting a law-and-order stance to attract voters.
The recent history of the Mapuches took a notable turn during the 2019 social uprising in Chile, which brought attention to their cause as protesters embraced the Mapuche flag. Left-wing President Gabriel Boric came to power with promises to withdraw military forces from Mapuche territories and to replace the dictatorship-era constitution with one that recognizes their rights. However, Boric's administration eventually redeployed military forces, leading to a prolonged state of emergency in response to attacks by armed Mapuche groups on security personnel.
The present conflict in the Araucanía region, home to many Mapuches, remains one of the pressing issues for the next Chilean president. However, this electoral campaign has largely ignored the root causes of the unrest, focusing instead on crime and illegal immigration, with a proposed crackdown on Mapuche militants coming to the forefront. Kast's campaign emphasized a militarized response, pledging to “use all constitutional, legal and administrative tools” to eliminate what he termed terrorism in the region. He delivered this message in a rally held in Temuco, a city regarded as the capital of the Mapuche people, promising to suppress the militant factions attacking state forces and forestry companies.
Years of heavy police presence in the region have fostered a deep mistrust among the Mapuche people toward the state, exacerbated by incidents of civilian killings and oppressive policing methods. In a significant case, investigations have revealed police involvement in fabricating evidence to falsely accuse Mapuches of terrorism. Angelina Cayuqueo, a 58-year-old Mapuche language teacher, articulated her existential fears regarding the upcoming election, suggesting that a Kast government could bring back the atrocities experienced during the Pinochet dictatorship. She stated, “We’re already afraid that things could happen as they did under Pinochet, because that’s what they intend.”
Kast has also been critical of land restitution laws established post-1990 that allow Mapuches to reclaim ancestral territories, arguing that these laws are unfair and contribute to land expropriation efforts. While some land previously seized during the dictatorship was returned in recent decades, the situation for many Mapuches remains one of marginalization and poverty. Cayuqueo summed up the frustrations of her community by saying, “They wish the Mapuche people didn’t exist in history.”
