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CHILE
Chilean President Sebastian Pinera declared a state of emergency and sent troops to two southern regions this week where the Mapuche indigenous people have been clashing with security forces over ancestral land issues, Agence France-Presse reported.
Pinera said Tuesday that the regions had experienced “repeated acts of violence linked to drug-trafficking, terrorism and organized crime committed by armed groups,” adding that police and civilians have been killed in the clashes.
The unrest comes as Mapuche leaders are demanding the return of their ancestral lands currently owned by farms and logging companies. The Mapuche predominately live in the country’s south and are Chile’s largest indigenous group, about 1.7 million in a population of 19 million.
The issue of ancestral land has lingered for years and has prompted some groups to launch attacks on trucks and private properties over the past few decades.
On Sunday, one person was killed and 17 others injured when clashes broke out in the capital, Santiago, between authorities and protesters marching for Mapuche autonomy.
Analyst Lucia Dammert criticized Pinera’s decision, which came on the national holiday that marks the “discovery” of the Americas by Christopher Columbus.
The holiday is controversial among Indigenous groups throughout the Americas, who view Columbus’ arrival and subsequent colonization as a disaster.
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