Plebiscite in Chile: with more violence and arrests, the Mapuche conflict dominates the end of the campaign

Under a leaden sky, a little for the clouds and a little for the pollution, in the midst of the daily hustle and bustle of street vendors, office workers, civil servants, workers and students, a stage was being prepared in the middle of Alameda, in the center of Santiago. Another act was being prepared a few blocks away.

The “Approval” and “Refusal” campaigns gather their final events, in the final stretch of this Sunday’s race for the plebiscite, in which the Chileans will express their verdict on the text of the new Constitution. Will it be the end? of a process that began in 2019, after the social revolt that shook the country in a massive and thunderous demand for reforms to put an end to historical inequalities.

The parties organized by the promoters of both sides, with artists and speeches, have however been overshadowed by the latent tension of these days and whose epicenter is an issue that has been worrying for years and has fully entered the political scene: violence in the south of the country due to the Mapuche conflict.

After a new arson on Monday in the province of Arauco, in the south, which left three injured, including one seriously, Thursday the arrest of four suspects. Among them is Ernesto Llaitul, 26, son of Héctor Llaitul, leader of the Mapuche group Coordinadora Arauco Malleco (CAM), who was arrested a week ago.

Authorities reported that Ernesto Llaitul, Ricardo Delgado and Esteban Henríquez were captured in the cities of Tirúa and Quidico, and Eduardo Cornejo was arrested in the Los Angeles district, all of which were at the center of arson attacks on vehicles and property.

The Undersecretary of the Interior, Manuel Monsalve, reported that the arrests take place as part of an investigation “for events that occurred on September 9, 2021 in Los Angeles, where there was arson and the use of firearms on forest trucks “.

More agents

As the country prepares for Sunday’s elections, Interior Minister Izkia Siches announced that it was decided to strengthen security in what they call the Southern Macrozone with the deployment of more forces.

The region has already been militarized for almost a year, since then Conservative President Sebastián Piñera decided, in October 2021, to declare a state of emergency in the south and send the army.

Current center-left president Gabriel Boric rejected this measure in principle, but mounting tension prompted him to extend it. And now he delves into it, after a series of attacks and growing unrest in the population.

Minister Siches explained: “We had some unfortunate events in Contulmo (Monday), which left an elderly man with an amputation. These are very serious facts that we strongly reject.

And he added: “We have tried to strengthen existing coordination and deployment levels, especially in Bío Bío. For the same reason, we have decided to strengthen the deployment of the various forces ”.

hot embers

The Mapuche conflict and the escalation of violence in the area is one of the most complex issues that Boric faces and last week he took the first victim in his cabinet. Jeannette Vega submitted her resignation as minister of social development the day after Llaitul’s arrest, after it was leaked that one of her advisors contacted the Mapuche leader in May.

This show of force by the government does not seem accidental. The Boric Executive, which has strongly promoted the new Constitution and has opted for “I approve” in this campaign, it is clear that this Sunday will be difficult to celebrate.

All polls predict a broad rejection of the proposal for a new Magna Carta, which should replace that of 1980, a legacy of Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship which, despite a series of reforms after the return to democracy, failed to transform its essence.

In this context, the arrests and military reinforcements appear in the south of the country a signal to the center-right and the center-right that this government is facing a conflict that worries them.

“The Mapuche conflict is getting tougher, with severe arson. And so far no government has really taken the lead, “he explained Clarione the analyst Marta Lagos, of the consultants Mori and Latinobarómetro.

“No government has worked to dismantle these groups, which have thus become stronger. And it’s up to Boric to take charge, in this historic moment of the plebiscite “, he added.

The tension was also seen this Thursday in Santiago, with a series of marches by students and social groups. There were fights and races, and the president’s own brother, Simón Boric, was attacked in front of the Presidential Palace of La Moneda. At night, however, supporters and detractors of the new draft Constitution went out to celebrate. There are some days of intrigue and anticipation.

Santiago, special correspondent