MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

A different perspective on the Mapuche situation in the south of Chile

If Things Are Ever To Improve, Chile Must Follow New Zealand’s Example -

By Eugenio Tironi

(Ed. Note: The centuries-long standoff between Mapuche indigenous populations and the government is flaring strongly once again in southern Chile. A young Mapuche activist was recently shot in the back and killed by a Carabinero (uniformed police), a sad incident which has provoked a series of clashes in recent days.

Conservative politicians are pressuring the government to do whatever it takes to bring order to the situation, and earlier this week a UDI deputy insulted Interior Minister Edmundo Perez Yoma in a Congressional meeting.

President Michelle Bachelet called a special ministerial meeting to review the findings of envoys she has sent to the southern region.

Below, the reader will find a very astute reading of the seriousness of the Mapuche situation and a suggestion on how it might best be addressed.

It is written by sociologist and political advisor Eugenio Tironi, a close advisor to presidential candidate Eduardo Frei.)

It is the second Mapuche death in 18 months. How many more will come in the future? The confrontations with the Carabineros are already a part of the landscape in la Araucanía, south Chile.

We are getting accustomed to images of riot police impotently throwing tear bombs at gangs of local youths. We stand at a crossroads. Are we going to keep facing up to the indigenous question with nothing more than mitigation measures and talk about public order, crossing our fingers that we won’t see more deaths like that of Jaime Mendoza Collío?

There are those who believe that the indigenous protests will be extinguished once modern lifestyles are more available to the indigenous, something that will result with greater education for their people.

But those who think this way are entirely mistaken. All you have to do is see who it is that are confronting the Carabineros. It is not the poor or marginalized indigenous people, but exactly the opposite: the young, educated indigenous people who come primarily from the cities.

Why are they, the most integrated of all the Mapuche, also the most rebellious and violent? Because most sociological literature demonstrates that violent rebellions are always born from the most intelligent minorities.

And there are two reasons why this is so. First, because it is the educated who have a greater capacity for organization, and second, because those who are educated are more aware of their own marginalization, even if they endure it in a more mitigated guise.

A survey conducted by Cieplan in 2007 (www.ecosocialsurvey.org) confirms that the higher the education of the persons polled, the greater is their feeling of discrimination “for the color of their skin, their race, or their ethnicity”.

The conclusion is: the more educated and modern the person, the more rebellious. The violence in la Araucanía, for the same reason, is not destined to extinguish with progress made in education, but, to the contrary, likely to expand.

What do we do in the face of this phenomenon? I believe that there is only one alternative: we must completely change the manner in which Chilean society is confronting this issue.

I suggest, therefore, that we examine the case of New Zealand.

Prior to the threat of a rise in ethnic tensions, halfway through the 1980s the government handed over the use of large land extensions to a Maori community, including areas located around the port of Wellington. This allowed representatives of the indigenous community to participate in administering the area.

The government also modified the electoral system to ensure an indigenous representation in Parliament.

But the most important contribution the government made was cultural: Maori culture and history were introduced into the education system. Maori programs were funded for television and radio was broadcast in the indigenous language, also incorporating Maori customs and official protocol.

The design and architecture of the public buildings integrated native elements, and the State built national history museums intended to illustrate the Maori culture, showing a culture that could be shared by all New Zealanders. In short, the indigenous culture was deliberately made a part of the daily lives of every New Zealander.

What was done in New Zealand has not resolved every conflict.

But it has permitted the country to maintain a multicultural society, transforming this societal feature into a comparative window for the world at large.

Why don’t we do something similar in Chile? Mapudungún has been utilized extensively for the branding of many premium wines.

Okay; but we can do something more. It’s not expensive, but we have to have the guts. So long as we don’t do it, we keep on lamenting the violence en la Araucanía and missing opportunities for globalization.

Source: El Mercurio

Translated by Thomas Derricott (editor@santiagotimes.cl)