On Sunday, August 1, 2021, a group of hooded men armed with shotguns managed to intercept the Transantiago bus, route 108 at Departamental and Galo Gonzalez.
After making the passengers and the driver get off the bus, the group set fire to the bus throwing leaflets stating: “Freedom to all political prisoners, anarchists, Mapuche, subversives and of the revolt, without conditions! Luisa Toledo and Pablo Marchant present!”
Source: Noticias de la Guerra Social
On Friday 9 July in Carahue, a 29-year-old former anthropology student who had joined the Mapuche struggle through CAM (Coordinadora Arauco Malleco), Pablo Marchant, was murdered by a carabiniere with a bullet to the head during an attack on vehicles belonging to the Forestal Mininco forestry company. Far from seeking justice from the murderous state, various radical Mapuche groups from different regions (Biobío, La Araucanía and Los Ríos) immediately set out to keep the ideas of ‘Toño’ alive by attacking companies that exploit water or the forest. In less than a week, the authorities had already counted 44 road blockades, 22 gun attacks on carabinieri patrols or security guards, and 11 arson attacks that had destroyed 39 vehicles (trucks and forestry construction equipment).
Today, 1 August, a little less than a month later, all those who had hoped to reduce these vengeful attacks to an inevitable temporary flare-up of rage and anger for a few days were given a cold shower by the traditional official assessment of the Ministry of the Interior. Not only did the Ministry of the Interior report a 94% increase in “violent acts” in the Mapuche zone (Macrozona Sur) in the first half of 2021, but it also counted more than 150 “attacks” following the murder of Pablo Marchant.
Here is the continuation of our chronological overview of the sabotage carried out against companies in the region, which has destroyed an additional 50 pieces of forestry equipment in the last two weeks…
Río Negro, 18 July: three of the seven forestry machines set on fire
Los Lagos region
On the night of 18 July at around 3am in the municipality of Río Negro (Osorno region), a double attack took place which left 7 construction machines and 1 pick-up in ashes. The first attack took place on the El Mirador estate belonging to the Arauco forestry company, and the second on the Popóen estate belonging to the Huempeleo forestry company (1). Continue reading “Chile: Attacks in Mapuche areas continue to grow”
In the south of Chile, a section of the Mapuche population has been waging a fierce struggle for many years against the large landowners (burning down their villas and occupying their land) as well as against agro-forestry operators, large hydro-electric dams and intensive salmon farms. It was in this context that Pablo Marchant Gutiérrez was murdered on Friday 9 July in Carahue during an attack on the vehicles of the company Forestal Mininco (a subsidiary of the cellulose giant CMPC).
The 29-year-old former anthropology student, who later joined the Mapuche struggle through CAM (Coordinadora Arauco Malleco), was participating in the burning of a minibus, a skidder and a tanker at around 5pm on the Santa Ana-Tres Palos estate when he was shot in the head at close range by carabinieri charged with protecting the interests of the loggers. Another saboteur and an employee were also wounded by bullets in the exchange of fire, and the public prosecutor’s office was quick to speculate that the bullet that sent the latter to hospital came from the M16 held by Pablo Marchant.
For its part, the CAM immediately made public the fact that Pablo had been shot by a carabiniere during a sabotage action carried out by one of its local groups (Órgano de Resistencia Territorial, ORT), the one called Lafkenche-Leftraru, thus becoming a Mapuche fighter (weichafe) who had fallen during the struggle. His body was accompanied the next day by 300 people from the Temuco Forensic Institute to the municipality of Lumaco, where a vigil for his body (feretro) will be held until Tuesday 13 July, the day of his burial.
The announcement of the assassination naturally triggered angry demonstrations the following Sunday from Santiago to Antofagasta, as well as numerous roadblocks, gunfire against carabinieri or landowners’ guards, and incendiary attacks by other radical Mapuche groups in several different regions (Biobío, La Araucanía and Los Ríos). Far from seeking justice from the murderous state, the latter immediately set about keeping Pablo Marchant’s ideas alive by attacking companies that exploit water or the forest throughout Mapuche territory.
Continue reading “Chile: Mapuche zone ignites after the murder of Pablo Marchant [update]”