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| Confederación Mapuche de Chile | |
|---|---|
| Name | Confederación Mapuche de Chile |
| Native name | Confederación Mapuche de Chile |
| Founded | 1990s |
| Headquarters | Temuco, Araucanía Region |
| Region | Araucanía Region, Biobío Region, Los Ríos Region |
| Membership | Mapuche communities, lafkenche, weichafes, pehuenche |
Confederación Mapuche de Chile is a Mapuche indigenous confederation based in southern Chile that coordinates political, cultural, legal, and territorial initiatives among Mapuche communities. It engages with regional institutions in Temuco, participates in national dialogues in Santiago, and connects with international indigenous forums such as the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the Organization of American States, and the International Labour Organization. The Confederation interacts with other Mapuche organizations like Arauco Malleco, Consejo de Todas las Tierras, and Asociación Indígena de Lautaro while addressing conflicts tied to land, identity, and self-determination.
The Confederation emerged amid post-dictatorship mobilization in the 1990s in Araucanía, shaped by events such as the 1991 Indigenous Law discussions and the 1993 Nuevo Imperial protests, drawing on precedents including 19th-century resistance figures like Lautaro, Caupolicán, and contemporary leaders linked to the 1990s indigenous movement in Chile. Its formation was influenced by international instruments and moments such as the 1989 ILO Convention No. 169 negotiations, the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, and indigenous assemblies that paralleled activity from organizations like Consejo de Todos los Pueblos and Confederación Mapuche de Neuquén in Argentina. Key episodes include organizing around the 2001 Mapuche protests in Temuco, involvement in the 2006 student and Mapuche mobilizations that intersected with Movimiento Estudiantil and Concertación debates in Santiago, and responses to confrontations in communities such as Lumaco, Tirúa, Victoria, and Ercilla. The Confederation's trajectory reflects interaction with legal milestones like the 1993 Indigenous Law, Chilean Constitutional reform debates during 2011–2015, and the broader 2019–2022 Chilean social unrest that prompted dialogues involving the presidential administrations of Ricardo Lagos, Michelle Bachelet, Sebastián Piñera, and Gabriel Boric.
The Confederation is organized through local lof assemblies, zonal councils, and a national congress modeled on traditional Mapuche authority structures such as lonko councils, machi circles, and weichafe coordinations. Its leadership includes elected lonkos and appointed spokespersons who liaise with institutions in Temuco, Santiago, and Valparaíso, and coordinate with regional governments of Araucanía and Biobío. Internal governance draws on customary law (az mapu) while interacting with formal bodies including the National Corporation for Indigenous Development (CONADI), the Constitutional Convention delegates representing indigenous peoples, and regional courts such as the Tribunal Constitucional when legal disputes arise. The Confederation maintains thematic committees on land, cultural revitalization, health, and education that engage with universities like Universidad de La Frontera, Universidad Católica de Temuco, and research centers at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and Universidad de Chile.
The Confederation advances objectives including territorial restitution, recognition of Mapuche autonomy, protection of natural resources like forests and rivers in coordination with lafkenmapu and ngen, and promotion of bilingual intercultural education aligned with UNESCO recommendations. Politically, it participates in negotiations and protests addressing legislation such as the Indigenous Law revisions, anti-terrorism statutes applied in Araucanía, and land tenure disputes adjudicated in courts like Corte Suprema. The group has engaged in dialogues with Chilean presidents and ministers, coordinated with political movements including Frente Amplio and Partido Socialista allies on constitutional proposals, and allied with international indigenous networks including the Coordinadora Andina de Organizaciones Indígenas and the Inuit Circumpolar Council on rights frameworks. Campaigns have included coordination with human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Asociación Nacional de Fiscales when documenting arrests in communities like Temuco, Collipulli, and Cañete.
The Confederation sponsors cultural revival initiatives promoting Mapudungun language instruction in collaboration with schools, municipal programs in Temuco and Padre Las Casas, and university extension projects at Universidad de Los Lagos and Universidad Austral de Chile. It organizes festivals celebrating Nguillatun, We Tripantu, and Rovillal ceremonies, and supports artisans in artisan markets frequented by visitors to Pucón and Villarrica. Social programs address traditional medicine through machi networks, seed sovereignty projects with pehuén cultivators, and youth education programs that partner with NGOs and intercultural bilingual education departments at Ministerio de Educación. It collaborates with cultural institutions such as Museo Regional de la Araucanía and Archivo Mapuche to archive oral histories involving figures like Pablo Marimán, Isabel Godoy, and contemporaries in Mapuche literature and arts.
Land restitution and legal defense are central activities; the Confederation files claims related to ancestral territories in Catiray, Renaico, and Padre Las Casas, and engages with litigation in domestic courts and international bodies including the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. It challenges industrial forestry concessions held by companies like Forestal Mininco and transnational corporations operating near Bío Bío and Toltén river basins, advocates against hydroelectric projects such as Pascua Lama–related proposals and contested dams in the Bío Bío basin, and supports territorial mapping initiatives in collaboration with Servicio Agrícola y Ganadero surveys and anthropologists at Universidad Católica. Legal strategies have confronted application of Chilean anti-terrorism laws, police operations by Carabineros, and prosecutorial measures by Ministerio Público, while promoting reforms through CONADI and parliamentary commissions in Congreso Nacional.
Relations span negotiation, contention, and alliance-building: the Confederation negotiates with executive offices in La Moneda, regional intendencias, and ministries including Interior, Indigenous Affairs, and Agriculture, while coordinating with municipal authorities in Temuco, Angol, and Cañete. It forms alliances and sometimes tensions with other Mapuche organizations such as Arauco Malleco, Consejo de Todas las Tierras, and Unión Demócrata Independiente–aligned opponents, and collaborates with international NGOs and academic partners like FLACSO, Oxfam, and the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs. Engagements have included participation in national forums on constitutional recognition alongside indigenous delegates, dialogues mediated by the Human Rights Institute of Chile, and transnational exchanges with Mapuche organizations in Argentina such as Comunidad Mapuche de Neuquén and Asociación de Comunidades Mapuche de Río Negro.
Category:Indigenous organizations in Chile Category:Mapuche