President considers extending militarization in Chile’s south after new violent incidents

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The new events occurred in less than 24 hours, prompting the government of Sebastián Piñera to maintain the military deployed in the Araucanía region.

The State of Emergency will end on November 26 in 4 provinces in southern Chile – Bio Bío and Arauco in the Bio Bío region, as well as Malleco and Cautín in La Araucanía- where a string of acts of violence have been recorded, such as the burning of vehicles, attacks on workers and a school transport vehicle, leading the government to consider extending for the third time the measure handing over public security to the Armed Forces.

The measure must be passed by the National Congress every 15 days, and the government must present an extension request which is currently being analyzed.

La Araucanía Presidential Delegate Víctor Manoli positively assessed the action of the uniformed forces in support of the local police, stating that no violent incidents have been recorded in the provinces of Malleco and Cautín in the past few days. “The government is evaluating the possibility of requesting an extension of the current state of emergency, given the quite positive rates we are seeing today,” said the representative of the executive.

Victoria Mayor Javier Jaramillo criticized that the military presence lacks support measures and therefore cannot solve all the problems in La Araucanía: “it can be a solution, considering that it provides control, but we have been in this emergency situation for over a month now and we do not have a policy to support it.”

Temuco Mayor Roberto Neira was critical of the measure, stating that “the State of Emergency is not the solution for the Southern Macro-zone.”

Araucanía has been under a State of Constitutional Emergency for more than a month, decreed by President Piñera on October 12. The measure has been extended on two occasions, the first directly by the President and the second in consultation with Parliament.

On the other hand, and due to the presidential elections to be held next Sunday, the military deployment in the area will be increased, as reported by National Defense for La Araucanía, General Lionel Curtis. Delegate Manoli explained that this new contingent will enhance security in places where roadblocks have been reported in previous elections.

ACTS OF VIOLENCE

Despite the positive assessment of local officials, a number of violent events have been registered in the area over the past few days. A school transport van was ambushed by hooded men carrying knives in Tirúa, Bio Bío region.

The vehicle’s driver explained that in the attack that occurred on Tuesday, “they forced the children to get off the vehicle and drove away. Thank God we are fine, nothing happened to us, only the scare, the children were a little frightened.” At the time of the attack there were 3 children in the school bus on their way home.

Meanwhile, in Curanilahue, another violent attack by hooded men left 5 workers wounded, two of them in critical condition. The attack with firearms occurred on Monday night in Curanilahue, Arauco province, when 10 unknown armed men allegedly shot at the forestry workers. The attack took place in the Cerro Verde sector of the Curanilahue commune, where the criminals also set fire to two vehicles on the site before fleeing.

On the same day, a summer cottage was completely destroyed by fire in Quidico, in the Bío Bío region. The local Prosecutor’s Office is investigating whether third parties were involved in the fire. It reported that the house was empty at the time it was consumed by the flames.

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