Newscriticism: "Condenan en Chile a líder mapuche, defensa recurrirá la sentencia [Mapuche leader condemned in Chile, defense will appeal the sentence]" (Prensa Latina, May 7th, 2024)

[From Prensa Latina's article. Based on translations from the Spanish Original.]

SUMMARY

Lawyer Victoria Bórquez denounced the sentencing of the Coordinadora Arauco Malleco spokesperson, Hector Llaitul, to 15 years in prison for crimes under the State Internal Security Law, including incitement to violence, theft, and attacking authority, stating it lacked evidence. Bórquez criticized the decision as politically and racially motivated persecution against Llaitul, who holds a position of authority within the Mapuche community. The defense plans to appeal the sentence within the legal framework and, if necessary, pursue international legal avenues to challenge what they perceive as an unjust verdict.

The conflict between the Mapuche people and the Chilean state, stemming from historical land dispossession and usurpation, has persisted for over 170 years, leading to ongoing violence in the La Araucanía region. The region has been under a state of emergency due to acts of violence resulting in casualties and property damage. Experts attribute the violence to the historical injustices and land disputes, emphasizing the need for addressing the root causes of the conflict to achieve lasting peace and justice in the region.

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NEWSCRITICISM

The clash and struggle between the Chilean Civilization and the Mapuche Civilization have been at each other's throats since the Arauco War for nearly 600 years have shaped and taken a toll in thier experience of existence of both civilizations; the percieved hegemonial and abusive control of the Chilean Civilization to the Mapuche Civilization is at the core reason on why the Mapuche still fought the Chileans for hundreds of years. This Civilizational clash threatens the assimilation and the eradication of the cherished civilization of the Mapuche, whom persevere against formidable odds to maintain their existence in the world, including the Mapuche's Five Pillars, on which they hold dear: this too, is not just a struggle for identity, but also a struggle for land and autonomy amidst ongoing pressures of modernization and state domination by the Chilean Hegemony. Here, resistance meets suppression; and the supression of another civilization has more repercussions for the continued existence of violence in Southern Chile.

Today, with the arrest of one of the leaders of one of the Mapuche Resistance groups, this is a sign that the struggle will never end in sight; while there is still a chance for peace to bloom in one of the most longest violent conflicts in history, the worsening of inter-civilizational relations with his arrest has become, and is a sign of, escalating the conflict further and may urge the civilizational-social consciounsness of the Mapuche civilization to intensify or even radicalize their resistance against the Chilean hegemony, perpetuating a cycle of violence and oppression that continues to threaten the stability and harmony of the region. Is there a chance for reconcilation between the two civilizations, or will the struggle for sovereignity and autonomy - and if possible, genuine independence - for thier identity, worldview and existence continue?

The watershed and nadir of Chilean-Mapuche civilizational relationships has begun. The Mapuche and its people need to act immediately and decide what to do for thier own future.

Joshua Kyle T. Rovero

Estado Rovero

May 11th 2024