Chile: New Wave of Violence; Right-wing Groups Attack Mapuche Protestors

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In the Araucanía region of southern Chile, city halls occupied by the Mapuche indigenous people were attacked and evacuated by violent groups during the night. Two of the four municipal councils were set on fire. According to media reports, the police stood by and then arrested the Mapuche.

Mariella Santana, an attorney for the human rights organization CODEPU, cautioned that unless these groups were restrained, “we will return to the violence levels seen in the 1980s when right-wing extremist groups spread terror in a lawless area.”

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH) has also sharply condemned the racist attacks in a statement. The recent protests support the hunger strike of several imprisoned Mapuche, including the spiritual leader and healer (machi) Celestino Córdova.

For almost a year now, Chile has been experiencing a wave of protests that only the coronavirus pandemic managed to contain. Despite this “time-out”, hardly any social reforms have been implemented.

Meanwhile, right-wing groups and the government are arming themselves. Political scientist Sebastían Monsalve sees a growing trend for the government of President Sebastián Piñera to intensify conflicts: “Rather than curbing them through social programs, the government continues to rely on police measures and the involvement of the military in internal security.”

For Monsalve, the recent appointment of the hardliner Víctor Peréz as Minister of the Interior is further evidence of this. Peréz comes from southern Chile and was Mayor of the city of Los Angeles under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. He is also said to have close ties to Colonia Dignidad (Dignity Colony), an isolated colony of Germans and Chileans established in post-World War II Chile by emigrant Germans which became infamous for the internment, torture, and murder of dissidents during the Pinochet regime.

Left-wing organizations and the Mapuche now accuse him of complicity in last weekend’s violence. Peréz was still in Araucanía on Friday and called on the Mayors concerned to take action. They apparently refused to call for police eviction until further notice. Violence broke out on Sunday night. After almost a week of occupation in support of the hunger strike of the imprisoned Mapuche, the radical right-wing group Apra Araucanía called for the “exemption” of the local authorities.

Although the carabineros were aware of this, during the night-time curfew, several hundred people met outside the buildings with batons, chanted racist slogans, burned Mapuche symbols, and persecuted individuals who were trying to escape. Sections of the government and right-wing politicians argued that the events were unpleasant but legitimate forms of self-defense. Broad sectors of the opposition strongly condemned the action.

In an interview, Santana voiced her concern about the events: “Since October 18th, we have witnessed an empowerment of radical right-wing groups that were formerly active mainly on social media.” Now, they buy weapons and turn their speeches into actions. It is precisely here that a dangerous interplay between violent groups, who have little or no reason to expect police persecution, and a government that relies primarily on police repression begins.

For the Mapuche and human rights activist Vicente Painel, the Araucanía represents a kind of laboratory: “Any political repression that we see today at national level was first committed here. In the meantime, an apartheid regime is ruling our region. Right-wing extremist settlers can exercise violence freely, while we live under constant police surveillance and control.”

Monsalve, who is part of the Defence Policy and Armed Forces Analysis Group, known for its criticism of President Piñera’s security policy, is also alarmed. “The incidents in the south have all the ingredients for the emergence of a fascist movement.” It would fuel a racist conflict, which would also revive the ghost of an internal enemy.

Finally, there is the discourse of incompetent politicians and ordinary citizens who are forced to engage in illegal and violent actions together with the police. “A charismatic leader is needed. The coming weeks will tell if this kind of politics will prevail in the government.”