- A special commission in Chile delivered a historic final report to President Gabriel Boric this month, listing 21 policy recommendations to address land disputes and Indigenous rights in the regions of Biobío, Araucanía, Los Ríos and Los Lagos.
- Since the late 1990s, some Mapuche activists have attacked logging trucks and construction projects while calling for the creation of an autonomous Indigenous state.
- At the same time, the Chilean government has militarized Mapuche areas and used antiterrorism laws to target activists.
- The commission’s recommendations range from the creation of new public agencies to recognizing collective Indigenous rights in the constitution. But the policies may take years for the government to implement or never come to fruition at all, critics say.
A special commission tasked with addressing land disputes and Indigenous rights in Chile delivered a historic final report to the president earlier this month, making a series of recommendations meant to overhaul state policies and calm violent clashes over land rights.
The Presidential Commission for Peace and Understanding sent President Gabriel Boric a list of 21 policy recommendations for strengthening the rights of Indigenous Mapuche. However, the policies may take years to implement or never come to fruition at all, critics say.
“It ultimately lacks the essential elements needed to bring true peace to the southern macro-region,” María José Gatica, an opposition senator, said of the report when it was delivered earlier this month.
President Boric ordered the creation of the commission in June 2023 to address violent land disputes in southern Chile, including in the Biobío, Araucanía, Los Ríos and Los Lagos regions, where many Mapuche communities are frustrated by a slow land titling process and an influx of logging.
Since the late 1990s, some Mapuche activists have attacked logging trucks and construction projects while calling for the creation of an autonomous Indigenous state, often referred to as “Wallmapu.”
In April, armed men burned around 50 vehicles and construction equipment at the Rucalhue hydroelectric plant, one of many energy projects constructed on important rivers passing through Mapuche territory. Activists there told Mongabay the projects disrespect their culture and failed to adequately consult with residents about their concerns before starting construction.
Over 22 months, the commission held more than 150 public hearings with more than 500 residents, community leaders, local officials and victims of violence, according to the report. There were also 11 intercultural dialogues with nearly 1,000 participants.
The resulting 21 recommendations range from creating new public agencies to recognizing collective Indigenous rights in the constitution. But it will be up to the government to determine whether to implement them, and how.
“These measures must be backed by broad consensus and legitimacy, as set forth in [the commission’s] founding document, in order to ensure their viability and sustainability over time,” the report said.
Chile’s Indigenous land titling system falls under the National Corporation for Indigenous Development (CONADI), an agency that has been criticized for being slow and inefficient, taking on average between 20 and 25 years to process a land claim. The commission estimated that it would take between 80 and 162 years to process all the claims currently backlogged in CONADI’s system.
Land reparations could cost around $4 billion, the commission’s report estimated.
It recommended creating a decentralized reparations agency and an arbitration process for resolving land disputes. It also highlighted the importance of supporting communities beyond land rights, including the need for infrastructure, education, agriculture, tourism and employment programs.
“It’s not only about transferring land, but about ensuring that it can be used effectively and autonomously,” the commission’s report said.
Victims of rural violence should also receive financial reparations, the commission said. This could include non-Indigenous people who were attacked by Indigenous activists, as well as Mapuche who were targeted by the state.
Oversight of the reparations should move away from CONADI in favor of a new agency tasked with all financial and social reparations for victims.
The last several decades have seen the Chilean government increase its law enforcement presence in Mapuche areas, sometimes turning peaceful protests into violent clashes. For years, officials relied on a 1984 antiterrorism law created during the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship that gave law enforcement broad reach to persecute Indigenous people, weaponizing extended pretrial detentions and harsh sentences denounced by human rights watchdogs and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
Although the antiterrorism law was replaced this year, there has still been a near-continuous state of emergency in place since 2021, giving law enforcement increased authority to act against Indigenous people.
“We can’t normalize a region by living in a permanent state of emergency,” Manuel José Ossandón, the Senate president, said in a statement. “Nor can we think that the armed forces are the solution to a historic and complex problem.”
Critics of the report questioned the state’s willingness and ability to carry out such a significant overhaul of its land rights policies, noting that it failed to uphold similar long-term promises to Indigenous communities relocated by dam projects.
Coordinadora Arauco-Malleco, one of the Mapuche groups advocating for an autonomous Indigenous state, questioned the commission’s process, given that forestry companies continue to work in Indigenous areas and many Mapuche activists are still in jail.
“As long as there is militarization and Mapuche political prisoners, it’s not even possible to begin dialogues that could lead to agreements,” the group said in a statement. “Let’s be clear: this commission does not represent the political objectives of our organization or of the autonomist Mapuche movement that is active in the territorial recovery processes.”
The commission recommended creating an office dedicated to implementing the changes and introducing legislation to Congress. Officials haven’t said which policies they will address first.
Once the changes have been formalized, they will have to be presented and approved through a formal consultation process with Indigenous communities.
“I believe this report represents a moment of hope,” Ossandón said in a statement. “It’s a starting point. It’s not a magic bullet that solves everything, but rather a roadmap with clear guidelines. For the first time, there is sincere recognition of the victims on both sides and a serious effort to seek institutional solutions, not through violence.”
Banner image: The commission delivering its report to President Gabriel Boric. Photo courtesy of Senado de Chile.
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