81.5 % of inhabitants of the conflictive southern Chile region approve militarization

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – More than 81 % of the inhabitants of the Chilean region of La Araucanía showed themselves in favor this Sunday in a citizen consultation of maintaining the State of exception decreed by the Government to militarize the zone, epicenter of the so-called Mapuche conflict and scenario of multiple episodes of rural violence.

The objective of the consultation was to gather the perception of the population regarding the eventual extension of the constitutional state of exception that currently governs the provinces of Malleco and Cautín in La Araucanía and Arauco in Biobío until November 11, a debate that will take place in Congress at the beginning of next week, at the latest on Tuesday.

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The non-binding vote, which was completed in the afternoon, was attended by almost 145,000 people living in the 32 municipalities involved in the process.

The consultation, which was carried out electronically, was promoted by Governor Luciano Rivas, a militant of the right-wing Evópoli party, and the Association of Municipalities of La Araucanía (AMRA).

We ask the politicians, especially all the deputies and senators of Chile, to listen to our voice, not to turn a deaf ear”, said Rivas once the results were published.

Rivas also said that from his position, he seeks to promote a ‘national pact’ that considers extending the State of emergency in the area to guarantee security and establishes dialogues with ‘all those who want it, without weapons or guns on the table’.

The Chilean president, the right-wing Sebastián Piñera, decreed in mid-October last year a constitutional state of emergency in the territory, which implies the use of the Armed Forces in public order tasks.

During the last few weeks, southern Chile has experienced a wave of violence framed within the Mapuche conflict, which confronts the Chilean State and the country’s leading indigenous group over the lands that the latter have inhabited for centuries and now belong primarily to large agricultural and forestry companies.

The current situation has aroused various reactions, such as that of the South American Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), based in the Chilean capital, which regretted the recent death of a Mapuche community member in a security operation and expressed its concern over the militarization decreed by the Government.

The measure has been criticized from the outset by indigenous organizations and the opposition, who maintain that it further increases tension in the bitter conflict. Several opposition deputies have already announced that they will vote against the extension.