Chile extends state of emergency in four provinces

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Chilean Parliament extended this Wednesday the state of emergency that governs four southern provinces among claims for a greater military deployment in the area, epicenter of the so-called “Mapuche conflict”, which confronts indigenous radicals, large foresters and the State.

By 31 votes in favor, 1 against and 2 abstentions, the Senate gave its approval to the measure, which was approved in the morning in the Lower House, with 100 votes in favor, 19 against and 13 abstentions.

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The state of exception will thus govern for 15 more days, until July 15, in four provinces of the Araucanía and Biobío regions that have suffered an escalation of violence in the last year with constant attacks on machinery, burning of buildings and homes, wood theft and shootouts with fatalities.

The vote in the Lower House was characterized by the unchecking of the right-wing, with parliamentarians who demanded to toughen the measure -a figure that allows the military to be deployed to control public order- with more resources and powers for the Armed Forces.

Despite the fact that he promised that he would not do it and criticized his predecessor, Sebastián Piñera, for maintaining the militarization of the south for six months, the president of Chile, Gabriel Boric, decreed a state of emergency shortly after taking office.
As a novelty, he established it in a “limited” way, militarizing only the main routes.

ATTACKS KEEP HAPPENING

“A state of emergency that only covers some roads does not help us because the attacks continue to happen precisely where the police deployment does not reach. We need to directly attack the problem of terrorism,” said the parliamentarian of the Republican Party (far right), Gloria Naveillan, during the debate.

“We are seeing that, although terrorist actions have been minimized, there is still an absence of real and political will to protect citizens,” added Francisco Undurraga, deputy for Evópoli (center right).

According to the Executive, the measure has managed to reduce the severity and number of rural violence events by 30%, with decreases in the number of trucks set on fire, violent usurpations and events involving firearms.

“When the tools we use to deal with acts of violence work and have results, we hope that they will be accepted by parliamentarians, whatever the sector,” Government spokeswoman Camila Vallejo said during the day.

In La Araucanía and other areas of southern Chile, there has been a territorial dispute for decades between the State, some radical Mapuche communities and forestry companies that exploit lands considered ancestral by the indigenous people.

Both part of the left and the indigenous movements maintain that militarization only puts more tension on the conflict and defend that more transversal and long-term measures are necessary.