Chilean President Gabriel Boric with his wife during a private ceremony in La Moneda with some members of the Mapuche ethnic group during his inauguration. For many it was just a simple protocol. Photo: Twitter/@elmostrador.
This is the third time that the State of Exception, which reduces civil liberties to a minimum, has been extended in the Mapuche region of Chile.
The government of Chilean President Gabriel Boric is set to ask Congress to extend the State of Exception that has been in force since May 17 in the South Macrozone, which covers the Mapuche region of La Araucanía and the provinces of La Arauca and BíoBío.
According to joint statements from the Moneda Palace (the seat of the President of Chile) with Minister of Defense Maya Fernández, the Carabineros, the Investigative Police, the Ministry of the Interior, and Vice President Izkia Siches, this decision is intended to reduce crime in the Mapuche region. Yet the crimes they are referring to are the protests of the Mapuche people, who for years have suffered the violation of their most basic human rights.
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During a press conference, Vice President Siches declared that “this State [of Exception] has allowed us to reduce acts of violence by 42%, in their different manifestations. That is why we have decided to suggest to the President to extend this extension.”
Meanwhile President Boric is in Los Angeles, talking about alleged human rights violations in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, while not mentioning the historical struggle of the Mapuche people and their basic human rights, which he promised to defend during his presidential campaign.
Más temprano, la ministra lideró una reunión evaluativa con la ministra de Defensa, @Mayafernandeza, el jefe del Estado Mayor Conjunto, Guillermo Paiva, el general director de @Carabdechile, Ricardo Yáñez, y el director general de @PDI_CHILE, Sergio Muñoz. (2/3) 👇 pic.twitter.com/0QVlK1Zrp6
— Ministerio del Interior Chile (@min_interior) June 9, 2022
On Tuesday, June 7, representatives of the forestry unions and authorities, both from the government and from the general area, met to analyze the effects of the military deployment, which according to the Truck Owners Association have effectively reduced attacks “by 50%.”
RELATED CONTENT: Chile: Boric Militarizes Mapuche Territories
According to the news agency EFE, the representative of the Truck Owners Association in the southern region, Freddy Martínez, stated, “The figures say the same thing that Minister Siches says, that this has dropped by practically 50% or very close to it. This clearly supports our request, which was made during the last mobilization in the southern region.”
If approved, this would be the third extension given to the State of Exception. The last one was granted on May 30 in response to what the oligarchy refers to as acts of violence. However, this is just an attempt to cover up the complex reality of a century of aggression, human rights violations and systemic violence; a historical process which Mapuche organizations have responded to in recent weeks.
The State of Exception –a measure rejected by Boric while he was a presidential candidate– has already claimed the life of one Mapuche worker, on May 24.
(Últimas Noticias) by Ariadna Eljuri, with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/KW
