CHILE:
Emerging Party Seeks
Self-Government for
Mapuche People
Interview with Gustavo
Quilaqueo
SANTIAGO, (IPS) -
Wallmapuwen, which means
"people of the Mapuche
land" in the language of
that indigenous group,
aims to formally become
a political party in
July this year in the
southern Chilean regions
of Araucanía, Los Ríos
and Los Lagos. One of
its main goals is to
achieve self-government
for the Mapuche people.
The proposals set forth
by Wallmapuwen can help
bring cohesion to the
various Mapuche
communities and
organisations that
currently follow
different strategies,
the group’s president,
Gustavo Quilaqueo, said
in an interview with IPS
correspondent Daniela
Estrada.
Defining itself as a
nationalistic and
pro-autonomy democratic,
progressive, secular and
pluralistic party,
Wallmapuwen is seeking
to recreate "Mapuche
land" (Wallmapu) in the
ethnic group’s ancestral
territory in southern
Chile and Argentina,
said the 41-year-old
indigenous leader.
Quilaqueo, a history and
geography teacher and
agricultural technician
who holds a graduate
degree in rural
development, works as an
independent consultant,
small farmer and
shopkeeper in Araucanía.
Taking part in Chile’s
October municipal
elections is the first
goal set by the group,
which took on a higher
profile early this year
when several conflicts
broke out involving the
Mapuche people, who
number around one
million in this South
American country of 15.6
million people.
On Jan. 3, police
officers shot and killed
a 22-year-old Mapuche
student, Matías Catrileo,
when he was taking part
in the occupation of
land claimed by his
community.
In addition, there was a
111-day hunger strike by
Patricia Troncoso, an
activist for Mapuche
rights serving a 10-year
sentence on charges of
"terrorist arson," who
called off her fast when
she and several Mapuche
prisoners were granted
concessions, such as
weekend leaves from
prison, after
negotiations brokered by
the Catholic Church.
However, she briefly
renewed her fast this
month to protest the
failure to implement the
agreement.
On Mar. 4, the Chilean
Senate ratified
International Labour
Organisation (ILO)
Convention 169
concerning Indigenous
and Tribal Peoples in
Independent Countries.
But it did so with a
controversial
"interpretative
declaration" on article
35 that the country’s
indigenous groups have
opposed.
IPS: What is your take
on the situation today
for Mapuche people, in
the wake of Catrileo’s
killing, Troncoso’s
hunger strike and the
controversy over
Convention 169?
GUSTAVO QUILAQUEO: We
have reached the point
that the lack of a real
solution to our demand
for respect for our
rights as a people has
been laid bare. However,
there have been some
positive signs since
these events, like the
strong solidarity
expressed by a large
part of Chilean society
and the international
community. That shows us
that our struggle is
just, and that thousands
of people feel
represented by it. We
will continue to need
that support, because
the struggle is a long
one.
IPS: Do you have any
expectations or hopes
regarding the work of
the commissioner for
indigenous affairs,
Rodrigo Egaña, who was
named in January by
President Michelle
Bachelet?
GQ: Before engaging in
any dialogue with
Mapuche organisations,
the government should
put an end to its
repressive policy: stop
the house searches and
raids and other violent
actions against
indigenous communities
and withdraw police
forces from the conflict
zones (where land
disputes are underway).
In addition, the
agreement reached with
Patricia Troncoso must
be fully implemented,
and megaprojects (in
forestry, energy and
infrastructure) that are
violating the
territorial,
environmental, cultural
and economic rights of
our people should be
brought to a halt.
After that, we can
establish an agenda that
takes into account
short, medium and
long-term measures.
IPS: What reception has
Wallmapuwen had among
the Mapuche people and
the rest of society?
GQ: Despite the
colonialist prejudice
held by some that the
Mapuche can’t create
their own political
party, the response from
our people has been very
positive, because they
feel the need for a
political instrument of
their own.
Many local organisations
and communities have
invited us to present
the idea, and we have
offered them the chance
to create an alliance
that would enable them
to run candidates in
municipal elections.
We have received many
email messages from
Mapuche people, but also
from non-Mapuche
individuals who feel
that our project and
ideas are in line with
their own deeply-felt
goals.
IPS: Wallmapuwen hopes
to achieve, first of
all, a statute granting
autonomy to the region
of Araucanía as well as
adjacent municipalities.
What would that mean in
practice?
GQ: An autonomy statute
would mean that, as a
region within the
political-administrative
structure of the Chilean
state, "Mapuche land"
would have the right to
govern itself by means
of its own regional
legislative and
executive bodies, which
would be democratically
elected by all voters in
the region.
The statute would make
it an autonomous Mapuche
region, where Mapuzugun
(the Mapuche tongue)
would be the official
language, and Mapuche
communities would
recover their ancestral
land. In the initial
stage, a simple
decentralisation of the
Araucanía region, with a
regional legislative
assembly and executive
branch with limited
powers, would be a first
step forward.
The Jacobin centralism
of the Chilean state is
archaic. In Chile there
is democracy at the
level of the state and
the municipalities, but
not at the regional
level. The municipal
governments and regional
assembly could serve as
areas for building up
the strength of Mapuche
pro-autonomy forces.
IPS: How can an autonomy
statute be achieved in a
region where the Mapuche
people, although
numerous, do not
comprise a majority?
GQ: Wallmapu is a
territory with a
historically strong
Mapuche population,
which was independent
until the late 19th
century. The invasion
and colonisation by the
Chilean state is a
recent development. And
as you point out, the
Mapuche population in
Wallmapu, although not
representing a majority,
is large.
Most of our people are
still concentrated in
our ancestral territory.
Here Mapuzugun is spoken
and heard, here our
presence can be felt, in
the countryside, towns
and cities, in Temuco,
our regional capital.
Thus we are in a
territory with
significant cultural and
linguistic
particularities that
require special
treatment. It is only in
our ancestral territory
that we can exist as a
nation. But the
contribution from our
brothers and sisters in
the diaspora is also
essential.
At the same time, an
autonomous Wallmapu is
not only a project for
the Mapuche people. We
know what it is to
suffer discrimination,
which means that this is
in no way an initiative
aimed against the local
Chilean population. This
is not a plan based on
exclusion, but an
invitation to build
together. Wallmapu is
the country of all
Mapuche people and of
everyone who was born
there and lives there.
IPS: How do you see the
year ahead, in terms of
indigenous issues?
GQ: If we are talking
about government policy,
given the present
scenario and the
"signals" sent out by
the current
administration, we don't
foresee major changes
and have little hope
that progress will be
made.
With respect to the
Mapuche movement and our
struggle, that is where
our efforts are
concentrated. The
different strategies
must complement each
other, to achieve a
minimal political
foundation from which to
make progress on our
main objectives.
We believe that an
intelligent, concerted
effort based on our
capacity for social
mobilisation and civil
disobedience will help
us build, from here to
2010, favourable
conditions to
successfully confront
the Chilean state. s.
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