Chile: arson after the death of a Mapuche activist

Trucks and agricultural machinery belonging to logging companies were set on fire on Monday in the Araucanía region in southern Chile, three days after the death of a Mapuche activist in clashes with the police.

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Five trucks and agricultural machinery were burned by unidentified people who erected and set fire to barricades and fired shots to frighten drivers on a road near the town of Ercilla, some 600 km south of Santiago, said Pablo Urquizar, regional coordinator for public security.

he said. At the scene of the fires, banners and brochures were discovered, emanating from groups of radical Mapuche activists, according to the same source.

The latter are protesting against the death of Pablo Marchant, a Mapuche Indian who was shot and killed on Friday during a clash between demonstrators and the police who were monitoring a forestry company in the town of Carahue, in the region of Auracania. These clashes also left workers seriously injured. Other attacks were recorded during the weekend after the death of the activist, who was part of the Coordination Arauco Malleco (CAM). This radical collective which claims sabotage against forestry companies and private facilities, demands the restitution of ancestral lands. It is considered a radical

by the government.

Mapuche activists have increased this type of attack and arson in southern Chile in recent years. After the arrival of the Spaniards in Chile in 1541 and following conflicts with successive governments, the territory of the Mapuche was considerably reduced. Today, they only own 5% of their old land. The Mapuche represent 700,000 people out of the 18 million inhabitants of Chile. On July 5, a Mapuche Indian was elected president of the Constituent Assembly responsible for drafting a new Constitution. Seventeen of the 155 seats in this Assembly have been reserved for representatives of the original peoples.