Asserting Autonomy: Mapuche Political Prisoners Embark on a Dry Hunger Strike
The history of the Mapuche people is a tapestry woven with resistance against European colonization and, subsequently, Chilean hegemony.
by taller ahuehuete
✎ 6 minutes
The history of the Mapuche people is a tapestry woven with resistance against European colonization and, subsequently, Chilean hegemony. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the originary group endured land dispossession, displacement, and violence, fueling their relentless quest for autonomy.
A protracted period of violence and marginalization began with the arrival of European colonizers in the 16th century. Forced labor and loss of autonomy impacted the community and set the foundation for current tribulations; their fight for sovereignty and their commitment to self-determination within the contemporary nation-state of Chile stands as one of these ongoing challenges.
The Original Source of All Wealth
During the expansion of the Inca Empire, historical records indicate that Inca troops confronted the Mapuche residents near the Maule and Itata Rivers. Scholars dispute the precise southern boundary of the empire in Chile, with various viewpoints proposing locations such as the Maipo or the Bío Bío River. Conflicting accounts pertaining to the degree of Inca control were issued by Spanish chroniclers and historians, adding to the uncertainty.
Chilean nation-building efforts, driven by the desire to consolidate a unified and centralized state, clashed with the Mapuche traditional self-governance and territorial autonomy. Nation-states encircling the groups conducted periods of repression and military intervention against the indigenous residents. The strength of the then-emergent polity and capitalist expansion in South America sowed the seeds of the originary group’s struggle.
By the late 19th century, the Mapuche were forced into reservations, surrendering a substantial portion—over 90%—of their ancestral homeland to the encroachment of white colonization1. The Chilean government implemented policies to subsume their territories into the consolidated nation through coercive measures, legal mechanisms, and military invasions.
Land and resource extraction have remained central to the Mapuche struggle. Along with the subsequent spread of logging and mining, State intrusion rendered it increasingly difficult for the Mapuche communities to access resources for subsistence. As Chile augmented its participation in the capitalist process, extractive industries further invaded Mapuche grounds, exacerbating socio-economic disparities. Under the regime of Augusto Pinochet (1973 to 1990), a significant stimulus program subsidized up to 75% of the investment costs for establishing new plantations. By 1976, 17,950 hectares of plantation forests covered the Araucanía region, the core of the Mapuche historical territory. By 2018, the same area harbored a staggering 493,013 hectares of plantation forest, a remarkable 2,654% increase from the extent observed in 19762.
The militarized response of the Chilean State, particularly the Special Police Operations Group (GOPE), continues to exacerbate the marginalization of the originary residents. Frequent reports detail military and police agents intervening on behalf of global capital, often through intimidation and violence against women and minors. In sum, the expansion of extractive industries, facilitated by state measures, has deepened the issues faced by the communities.
Empty Plates Against Capital's Vampiric Thirst
Foreign corporations, such as Exxon, TotalEnergies, and Pan American Energy, have engaged in oil exploitation and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) within Mapuche territory, resulting in environmental degradation and the contamination of local resources, with a notable impact on the town of Añelo. In response, the Mapuche indigenous community initiated legal procedures to address the improper disposal of hazardous waste, particularly the oily sludge residue generated from fracking operations.
In July 2013, a significant wave of protests emerged in response to a major agreement between YPF (Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales), an Argentine state-owned oil company, and Chevron, the multinational energy corporation. This deal, valued at US$16 billion, aimed to exploit the oil-rich3 area known as Loma Campana.
As oil extraction using fracking techniques requires substantial water consumption, each oil well at Loma Campana required a staggering volume of water, equivalent to approximately nine Olympic-size swimming pools, over the course of its operational lifespan. This elevated water usage had significant repercussions, particularly in regions already grappling with water scarcity.
Angol Prison
The Cárcel de Angol, a prison in Chile, became a poignant backdrop for broader struggles related to the Mapuche community and their cultural preservation. A significant event occurred on July 20, 20224, when twenty-three Mapuche political prisoners publicly announced their decision to undertake a prolonged and indefinite hunger strike. Their primary demands included the recognition of their identities, territories, and cultural practices.
On August 10, 2023, these political prisoners issued a public statement, urging traditional leaders within the Mapuche community to rally behind their ongoing hunger strike. Their message highlighted the consistent neglect they face from the Chilean State, its bureaucratic machinery, and prison authorities, emphasizing the urgent nature of their situation and shedding light on the deplorable conditions they endure. The prisoners described measures by the apparatus aimed at intimidating their families and subjecting their children to degrading treatment.
The social fabric of Mapuche society has been strained by systemic discrimination, structural marginalization, and cultural suppression5. The prisoners' plea for the freedom to engage in cultural ceremonies and activities within the confines of the Cárcel de Angol underscores their unwavering resolve to safeguard their cultural heritage, even in the restrictive environment of incarceration. Furthermore, their demand for the exclusion of prejudiced plaintiffs, referred to as querellantes, from their legal proceedings highlights their skepticism towards an evidently biased judicial system.
The prisoners described the extreme measures they have taken during their 94-day hunger strike. One of the prisoners, Simón Huenchullan, has been on a hunger strike for over 158 days. As of August 15th, 2023, the political prisoners have been 19 hours without food and water.
In solidarity, we have translated6 into English the “PUBLIC COMMUNIQUÉ BY THE MAPUCHE POLITICAL PRISONERS FROM ANGOL JAIL”, released on August 10th, 2023.
Public Statement by Mapuche Political Prisoners,
Angol Prison, Chile,
August 10, 2023.
The Mapuche political prisoners of the Angol jail make a call to the traditional Mapuche leaders — who have supported them in this long and painful hunger strike — to come to the prison since we have observed that there is no political will to resolve our demands on the part of the government and the penitentiary institution.
Those entrenched in racism have delayed a settlement, thus pushing us to the extreme risks of our bodily health conditions. In the face of this humiliating attitude, they [the agents of the State apparatus] seek to intimidate our families, subjecting our children to degrading treatment, all with the ultimate intention of making us give up our political and human liberties.
We, the Mapuche political prisoners, owe ourselves to the joint and collective observance indicated by our traditional Mapuche order. That is why we make this call, to our Mapuche leadership, to announce in front of our communities and relatives the difficult decision to carry out in the next hours a DRY STRIKE7, to impel that the government addresses our demands.
Our resolution comes after a 94-day hunger strike. Simón Huenchullan, the peñi8, has been on strike for more than 158 days, aware that we have no other way than to face our destiny with dignity. We will discuss this decision today with our representatives of the mobilization.
Finally, to our Mapuche people, we urge you not to give up. Remember, no law can deny our political and territorial sovereignty, nor our cultural and spiritual values.
Mapuche political prisoners in Angol prison
Wallmapu, August 10, 2023, CDP-Angol,
Mapuche Political Prison Module.
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