Article

Critique of Anthropology
2014, Vol. 34(3) 346–366
Between conflict and ! The Author(s) 2014
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DOI: 10.1177/0308275X14531836

construction of Chilean coa.sagepub.com

indigenous policy in the

Araucanı́a region
Francisca de la Maza
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile-ICIIS Bernardo O’Higgins,
Villarrica, Chile

Abstract
Since 1990, differentiated policies have been formulated to address the needs of the
indigenous population in Chile. These policies pay particular attention to the Araucanı́a
Region, a portion of the Mapuche indigenous people’s historical territory. The various
programmes created as a part of indigenous policy have generated spaces for recogni-
tion at the local level. They favour a ‘culturalist’ vision of Mapuche society and consider
any aspect of ‘being Mapuche’ a value in itself, as well as a source of regional identity and
development. Simultaneously, the media has described the Araucanı́a Region as the
‘Mapuche conflict’ zone because of tensions generated by demands for land, as well
as the presence of mega-projects that affect Mapuche communities. This article dis-
cusses and analyses the two apparently contradictory factors that constitute a type of
complementary policy that has become more entrenched during President Piñera’s
administration. This policy sets the tone and pace for intercultural relations in the
Araucanı́a Region.

Keywords
Chile, indigenous policy, recognition, ethnic conflict, Mapuche

Introduction
In Chile, differentiated policies focused on the indigenous population have been
developed since 1990. Policy has been developed in a Latin American context that
includes indigenous demands and mobilisation, as well as the government’s recog-
nition of indigenous rights. Nevertheless, the country continues to withhold

Corresponding author:
Francisca de la Maza, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile-ICIIS Bernardo O’Higgins 501, Villarrica, Chile.
Email: fcadelamaza@uc.cl
Maza 347

political recognition of its indigenous peoples in its constitution. Indigenous policy

is based in substance on Indigenous Law 19.253 of 1993, which was passed after the
restoration of democracy in 1990.
The Araucanı́a Region, located in southern central Chile, constitutes part of the
historical territory of the Mapuche indigenous people. Chilean indigenous policy
has been most forcefully implemented in this Region. In addition, this Region is
part of the zone in which a significant part of the country’s ‘Mapuche conflict’ or
‘ethnic conflict’ is concentrated.
In this context, this article provides an analysis and discussion of the apparent
contradiction that exists between a public policy that recognises cultural differences
and orients some of its actions towards valuing that culture, and a vision that tends
to aggravate the conflict. In this dichotomy between ‘recognition’ (from the angles
of both the indigenous people and public policy) and ‘conflict’, the negotiation and
construction of indigenous policy by the actors involved exert significant influences
at the national, regional and municipality levels.1
Based on the results of an ethnographic study conducted during the first years of
President Piñera’s administration (2010–2014), we demonstrate how both aspects
of this policy (i.e. recognition and conflict) combine to become political acts that
contribute to the social practices of both the State and indigenous organisations.
These acts exert impacts on everyday relations, as well as on intercultural coexist-
ence in the Region. They also highlight a continuing course that will inhibit the
discovery of any other political solutions.

Analytical framework
The analytical perspective examines the concept of ethnicity and its relationship to
the theme of ‘recognition’. To address cultural diversity, the construction and
notion of the ‘other’ in theoretical terms borrowed from the social sciences per-
spective, and, in particular, the anthropological perspective, we must focus our
attention on the concept of ethnicity. The various perspectives involved range
between a primordialist and a constructivist conception. The primordialist perspec-
tive, also known as the essentialist perspective, states that the construction of
otherness depends on cultural factors that are constituent, primordial, or natural
parts of the subject’s formation.
However, this vision has been extensively criticised based on Barth’s contribu-
tion (1976: 17) which states that the ethnic boundary defines the group, rather than
the cultural content that it encloses. Social contact with others allows groups to
define the differences that exist between ‘us’ and ‘them’ (Malešević, 2004: 3) and to
incorporate the relational aspect into the formation of ethnicity. This might be
considered an intersubjective phenomenon that affects social relations and prac-
tices. However, it is also a strategy. In other words, ethnicity serves as a polit-
ical, social and cultural resource in the context of different interest groups
(Restrepo, 2004: 4).
348 Critique of Anthropology 34(3)

Thus, ethnicity is a social and historical construction of otherness that is trans-

formed in non-arbitrary ways in and through processes of building cultural hegem-
ony (Briones, 1998). Ethnicity causes repercussions that affect everyday
relationships between subjects, as well as affecting other actors who define them-
selves as problems, such as academics and public or private institutions.
The primordialist, essentialist perspective of discourse analyses the practices of
the different actors involved in the construction of ethnicity. On occasion, this has
been considered a political strategy to attempt to overcome historical conditions of
domination. These views must be understood within a particular political and
historical context. For example, many of the demands of Mapuche organisations
take their ancestral link with the territory and their cultural traditions as the basis
both for their disputes and political negotiations with public and private sectors,
and for the construction of a political and ethnic project, which in some cases
incorporates demands for autonomy and self-determination. Their range of
action in the construction of ethnicity must be analysed. The complexity of the
phenomenon must therefore include the levels of subjectivity and intersubjectivity
displayed by the primordialist.
In this article, the term ‘recognition’ refers to State actions that address cultural
diversity. Among these actions, constitutional recognition of indigenous peoples,
Afro-descendant communities and other diversities is one of the most important.
This type of recognition occurs in a Latin American context that includes demands
for indigenous rights and the validity of international legal instruments to promote
these actions, such as the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and
ILO Convention 169.
This Convention, adopted by ILO in 198, was only ratified in Chile in 2008.
Since then, it has assumed an important role in the public debate on the need to
regulate indigenous consultation and the participation of indigenous peoples in
actions that affect them. Furthermore, the Convention recognises the concept of
‘peoples’, representing an improvement over the Chilean indigenous law which
merely recognises ‘indigenous ethnic groups’.
Recognition policies attempt to remedy situations that cause the denial/exclu-
sion of individuals or groups considered different or subordinate in society, as is the
case of the Mapuche indigenous people, as well as situations affecting individuals
who have been denied, ignored and assimilated by a dominant or majority identity
(Taylor, 1992). These distinctions also maintain a dialogical relationship with
‘fights for recognition’ that form a part of excluded subjects’ demands. The
ethnic claims of Mapuche organisations arose from the Latin American context
linked to the commemoration of the 500th anniversary of Columbus’ arrival. In
Chile, the anniversary coincided with the restoration of democracy and the re-
emergence, beginning in the mid-1980s, of organisations that possessed a particu-
larly ethnic character. Since that time, the concept of autonomy has been adopted
by some Mapuche organisations (Marimán, 2012: 125).
Based on this line of argument, indigenous policy during periods of ‘recognition’
can be considered a method by which governments define or construct
Maza 349

relationships with indigenous peoples who are perceived as groups denied by

the dominant society or groups victimised by integrationist or assimilationist
policies. In Latin America, this action has been commonly called ‘indigenism’,
and has taken a variety of forms. In Chile, in generic terms, this action is
called indigenous policy; it is defined as state actions in different spheres ori-
ented towards the indigenous population, arising from the indigenous law of
1993. Prior to this, Chilean indigenous policy in Araucanı́a was expressed
through a process of ‘Chilenization’ of the Mapuche indigenous people, and
their economic integration through dispossession and fragmentation of their
land, among other actions.
The design and definition of current indigenous policy contribute to this tension
between the neoliberal national state model and the recognition of cultural differ-
ences and multiculturalism in a context of ethnic vindication.
Based on the conceptual framework described above, we will analyse indigenous
policy in action, based on the perspectives and methodologies of the anthropology
of the state. This perspective lends importance to the ethnographic study of every-
day state activities. For example, Sharma and Gupta (2006) emphasised the study
of state routines and interactions in particular contexts based on the conception of
the state as a cultural construction process imposed by the processes of political
domination.
In this regard, there is an important body of work linked to development stu-
dies, for example Ferguson (1996) and Mosse (2004). Based on a study carried out
in Lesotho, Ferguson notes that the ‘development’ apparatus ‘is not a machine for
eliminating poverty that is incidentally involved with the state bureaucracy’, but
rather ‘it is a machine for reinforcing and expanding the exercise of bureaucratic
state power’ (Ferguson, 1996: 255).
Meanwhile, Mosse points to the need to pay attention to the complex relation-
ship between political models and political practices, considering both institutional
effects (maintaining power relations) and ideological effects (depoliticisation)
(Mosse, 2004: 643). Like Ferguson, Mosse shows that these cannot be imposed,
but require collaboration and commitment. This perspective is consistent with the
ethnography of public policy, in particular indigenous policy, and the hegemonic
project of the nation state.

Methodology
This article developed as part of an ethnographic investigation conducted in three
municipalities located in Cautı́n Province, in the southern part of the Araucanı́a
Region. This is the area furthest removed from the ‘Mapuche conflict’, which is
generally associated with Malleco Province in the north of the Region. However,
these municipalities are not free either of tensions linked to demands for land or of
private investment projects.
Each of the three municipalities contains less than 30,000 inhabitants, with an
indigenous proportion varying between 21% and 51% of the total; over 60% of
350 Critique of Anthropology 34(3)

the population resident in rural sectors is indigenous (Instituto Nacional

De Estadı́sticas & Programa Orı́genes, 2005). Between 20% and 32% of the inhab-
itants of these municipalities live below the poverty line.
The fieldwork conducted for this article included the performance of participa-
tive observations and the conduct of in-depth interviews focused on social and
other programmes intended to benefit the population. Fieldwork was conducted
without ethnic distinction over a period of 15 months.
Due to the rural condition and poverty of the municipalities, a significant per-
centage of the population are recipients of social programmes and are involved in
frequent interaction with the local state. The presence of the state and its public
policies, as implemented through social programmes, are therefore important in the
local context. The municipality occupies a central position in local political dynam-
ics, acting as a channel for national programmes and as a point of reference for the
population. Participant observation focused on the implementation of state indi-
genous policy and on other programmes that include the entire population of the
local space. These were identified initially by consultation with the local authorities,
then with the programme coordinators and finally with the official responsible for
each programme.
Depending on the interest and availability of state agents, the early stages of the
fieldwork were conducted in the office. Subsequently, we gradually came to par-
ticipate in all the official activities of these agents, both in the office and in their field
visits, and the radius of observation was then extended to other state and municipal
activities.
Research fieldwork was carried out approximately for 180 days in different areas
of state action: office, community centre, field visits and public events. We also
participated in the routine of the municipality, particularly in different events or
public appearances involving the participation of municipal employees and local
authorities such as traditional celebrations, anniversary of the municipality,
national holidays, Women’s day and Indigenous Women’s day, programme
launching and closing, training, etc. We also attended events related with indigen-
ous policy at the regional and national level, in which municipality or state repre-
sentatives participated.
Simultaneously, the indigenous problem was monitored through reviews of art-
icles that appeared in the national and regional press, as well as in related public
actions and documents such as reports of activities, pamphlets, social media
announcements, invitations to public activities, etc.
In-depth interviews were conducted with municipal employees and programme
staff, and regional and national officials (34 in total); and with programme users,
both indigenous and non-indigenous (20 in total).
After completion of fieldwork, we continued to attend some events in each
municipality in order to complete two or three observations of such events
during the research period, as well as to maintain contacts. Two workshops were
also held to allow participants, i.e. staff and programme users, to give feedback
about the results of the research.
Maza 351

Indigenous Chilean policy in the context of ‘recognition’

The situation of the Mapuche people who reside in southern Chile is the product of
a history that has left its mark on social relations and the construction of ethnicity.
The Mapuche are the largest group of indigenous people in Chile. The 2012
Census, the figures for which have not yet been ratified, revealed that 1,508,722
persons identified themselves as Mapuche. In total, the indigenous element
accounts for 11.08% of Chile’s population, and 82% of that population segment
declared themselves Mapuche. According to the 2012 Census, the Araucanı́a
Region, part of the historical Mapuche territory, contains only 18.9% of the coun-
try’s total Mapuche population. A further 37.4% live in the Metropolitan Region
of Santiago, Chile’s capital. Most of the rest of the Mapuche population reside in
neighbouring regions to Araucanı́a, while a smaller number live in other regions of
the country. Various reasons explain the migration to cities and the national cap-
ital. In the 1920s, migration occurred mainly for economic reasons as people left to
look for jobs (Chihualaf, 2006); this situation was exacerbated over the years by the
reduction in the amount of land available.
Currently, the Araucanı́a Region is home to the largest number of Mapuche
communities. These communities were formed as a result of the re-settlement pro-
cess that occurred between 1884 and 1929. Indigenous re-settlement was initiated
after Chilean military occupation became effective in the late 19th century. This
process included the granting of land to most Mapuche people through ‘tı´tulos de
merced’ (community held land titles), amounting to approximately 500,000 hec-
tares. This amount represented only 5% of the land controlled by the Mapuche
people prior to the Chilean occupation (Bengoa, 1985, 1990). The remaining land,
located in rural sectors, was distributed among Chilean and foreign colonists who
began the foundation and development of towns and villages. These differences in
land distribution demonstrate the continuing history of land-related conflicts in the
Araucanı́a Region that have exerted impacts on social relations and coexistence in
the Region on a number of different planes.
For this reason, Araucanı́a has become the space with the largest indigenous
population and the symbol of the ethnic conflict in Chile in the national imaginary.
Over recent years, there has been an increase in the number of violent incidents in
Araucanı́a linked to the ‘Mapuche conflict’, generally associated with land disputes
between Mapuche communities and private owners, as will be detailed later. Yet at
the same time – in other contexts and in parallel with this situation – the Mapuche
indigenous culture has been highlighted as a regional value to be cultivated and
encouraged. It is seen both as an element of regional identity and as a potential for
economic development that might enable the Mapuche people to overcome their
vulnerable situation, considering that Araucanı́a has the lowest socio-economic
indicators in Chile.
It was in this context of poverty that the new democratic government, when it
came into power in 1990, began to invest significant economic resources through
the provision of development programmes for the entire population of the Region,
352 Critique of Anthropology 34(3)

and, in particular, for the rural indigenous population. In 2011, the most recent
information revealed that Araucanı́a is still the poorest region in the country,
although the poverty level had fallen to 22.9% (Ministerio de Desarrollo Social,
2011).
Although the new government adhered to the neoliberal economic model intro-
duced by the military dictatorship of Pinochet, it agreed to provide indigenous
organisations with a voice during the drafting of a new Indigenous Law. This
law was finally passed in 1993; however, it did not incorporate all the issues the
government had agreed to with indigenous organisations, such as constitutional
recognition for indigenous peoples and ratification of ILO Convention 169.
The law followed its course and defined the State’s new posture – to undertake
actions to ‘recognise’ indigenous people, including the provision of differentiated
programmes geared towards the needs of the indigenous population. These pro-
grammes were oriented towards the improvement of the indigenous population’s
economic conditions through cultural affirmation, rather than through more inte-
grated political actions. Some of the principal actions were the Intercultural
Education Programme, which began its pilot phase in 1996; the Intercultural
Health Programme, initiated in 1992, directed at the Mapuche population resident
in the Araucanı́a Region; and the ‘Programa Orı´genes’ (Origins Programme), which
was initiated in 2001 and supported by the IDB with the object of contributing to
the integrated development of indigenous peoples. Other actions focused on the
needs of the indigenous population, including competitive funding for land pur-
chase, study grants, special housing subsidies and programmes for indigenous
women. These actions were soon incorporated into and adapted to different
areas of public policy.
In brief, for more than 20 years actions based on indigenous policy have invested
significant amounts of resources in the indigenous population, and in particular in
the Mapuche people who reside in the Araucanı́a Region. This policy is apparent in
discourses, programmes and concrete actions. It has also served as a formative
influence in new local scenarios.

From discourse to practice in indigenous policy

Discourses and programmes vary based on government policies during the post-
dictatorship period. However, all discourses and programmes coincide with what
Hale (2002) calls ‘neoliberal multiculturalism’ (i.e. policies oriented towards indi-
genous peoples). These actions operate in Chile without constitutional recognition;
they do not necessarily imply redistribution of resources or power within countries.
During the government of President Lagos (2000–2006), the governmental dis-
course of the previous decade – focusing on the need for a more integrated policy
towards indigenous peoples – was propelled forward with the formulation of the
Origins Programme mentioned earlier.
The Origins Programme was implemented from September 2001 by the National
Corporation for Indigenous Development (CONADI) and other national
Maza 353

institutions (Ministry of Planning, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Education

and Ministry of Health), and financed by the IDB (Inter-American Development
Bank). The programme was executed using a multiphase method aimed at deepen-
ing initiatives to strengthen the areas of indigenous rights, development with iden-
tity, and the adaptation of public institutions to indigenous demands. It was
implemented in two phases and finalised during the government of Presdent
Piñera. The Loan Contract signed with the IDB resulted in total funds of 109 mil-
lion dollars (60% provided by the Chilean State and the remaining 40% by IDB).
This programme proposes the integrated development of indigenous peoples, as
well as the implementation of culturally relevant policies, implying the introduction
of interculturality into the practices of state institutions (Orı́genes, 2004: 4). In
practice, however, its interpretation has been limited to dictating public policy
which has cultural relevance, while barely addressing the relationships of inequality
or power, a key component in the definition of multiculturalism. Although the
incorporation of interculturality into this programme has been questioned by a
number of studies (e.g. Bello, 2007; Boccara and Bolados, 2010), it has without
doubt had an impact on public policy. In particular, it has had an effect on insti-
tutions that never previously considered the ethnicity variable in their operations,
such as the National Institute for Agricultural and Livestock Development
(Instituto Nacional de Desarrollo Agropecuario – INDAP), a branch of the
Agriculture Ministry that plays an important role in indigenous communities.
The next government, under President Bachelet (2006–2010), proposed a ‘Pact
for Multiculturalism’ that included aspects such as: ‘in the political field, to assume
the indigenous problem in terms of recognition, representation and participation’;
and ‘in the construction of multiculturalism, in terms of the acceptance and inclu-
sion of indigenous peoples into Chilean society’ (Gobierno De Chile, 2008: 11).
President Piñera’s government (2010–1014) proposed, on a regional level, Plan
Araucanı́a, which aimed to increase the Region’s competitiveness. This Plan stres-
ses the value of recognising the multicultural reality of the Araucanı́a Region. It
proposes actions such as ‘re-establishing understanding with the Mapuche people,
recovering trust and valuing their culture’. It also proposes other actions oriented
towards ‘increasing the productivity of farms and the community’ (Gobierno De
Chile, 2010: 27–29).
Under this centre-right government, neoliberal ideology is apparent in every
State discourse and practice, becoming more firmly entrenched than it was under
the ‘Concertación’ (the previous governments of the centre-left).
The preferred perspectives in these policies consist of differentiated actions cre-
ated to favour the indigenous population. These actions define the population by
its historical condition of subordination (economic and social) and place value on
its culture. Ethnicity is constructed on the basis of an economic situation associated
with poverty and social vulnerability, as well as cultural elements. As a result,
central elements of policies and programmes oriented towards the indigenous
population consist of actions aimed at overcoming the economic situation gener-
ated by historical conditions, and at valuing culture and cultural expressions
354 Critique of Anthropology 34(3)

considered authentically indigenous, such as the actions of the PDTI (Indigenous

Territorial Development Programme, dependent on INDAP) explained further.
This State view of the ‘indigenous other’ is similar to the view described by
Dervin with respect to intercultural policies. These policies generally reduce the
‘other’ to cultural elements through a process of simplification and reduction. They
help confine indigenous people to spaces and times associated with the interests of
the dominant society (Dervin et al., 2011: 8). This critical view of intercultural or
interculturality policies directed towards the indigenous population is shared by
other authors who operate in Latin American contexts (e.g. Walsh (2009) in
Ecuador; Tubino (2005) in Peru; Dietz and Mateos (2011) in Mexico; and
Boccara (2012) in Chile). Interculturalism is conceived as a process and as a
social, political, ethical, and epistemic project, incorporating social and political
transformation and the transformation of thinking structures (Walsh, 2009).
Ethnographic research has reported the effects of the use of concepts of recog-
nition and interculturalism on indigenous policy both in discourse and in practice.
At the regional and local levels, authorities’ discourses maintain this logic that
considers the Mapuche people to be a cultural value of the region or municipality,
or, in economic terms, as a potential or a need to be developed. Regional autho-
rities encourage social programmes that place value on the Mapuche culture and
make it a tourist attraction (i.e. a potential economic development), but are also a
source of identity and regional differentiation.
The range of action of both the municipalities and indigenous organisations is
shown in diverse programs, defined nationally, directed exclusively towards the
indigenous population.
The National Corporation for Indigenous Development, CONADI, was created
by the Indigenous Law.2 Its function is to coordinate indigenous policy. However,
the majority of its programmes oriented towards the indigenous population depend
on other Ministries in accordance with their focus, the most important being the
Agriculture, Housing, Education and Health Ministries. In practice, observation
suggests that the function of CONADI is more oriented towards (a) providing
responses to consultation (for example questions about applying for projects or
grants); (b) acting as an official channel of the formation or renewal of organisa-
tions, associations and indigenous status;3 (c) provision of assistance during the
drafting of projects (e.g. development projects financed by other organisms such as
the National Women’s Service, INDAP and the National Tourism Service) and (d)
coordination of the design of, and applications for, projects with other public
institutions (e.g. setting up agreements and working groups with other public
institutions).
One of the most important programmes executed during the study period was
the Indigenous Territorial Development Programme (Programa de Desarrollo
Territorial Indı´gena – PDTI), which is run by INDAP and operates in coordination
with the municipalities. The pilot phase of this programme began to operate in
2009 during the Bachelet administration. It was oriented towards the development
of production by the indigenous population and the pilot was implemented in the
Maza 355

three municipalities studied. Producers are selected, in accordance with pro-

gramme requirements,4 to develop productive businesses such as sheep farming,
vegetable production, raspberry production and tourism. The programme consists
of hiring a professional or technical consultant (agronomist, veterinary surgeon
and/or agricultural technician) to support and advise a group of Mapuche produ-
cers for the development of productive areas. During the pilot, care was taken to
select the professional and technical consultant with the participation of the muni-
cipality and indigenous organisations. Valuation of culture and language was
encouraged during the installation stage. In several interactions, it was noted
that the professional selected was himself Mapuche, who conducted his activities
using the Mapuche language (mapuzungun) and promoting Mapuche cultural
aspects.
It was implemented extensively at both the regional and national levels begin-
ning in 2010. Due to haste to install the programme in municipalities, the consult-
ants were not selected under the participative process used before, nor was priority
given to choosing a consultant of Mapuche origin, or to maintaining the original
territorial focus of the programme, i.e. that the users should be from a single
territorial area or community.
The regional PDTI coordinator for Araucania says:

The pilot had 2,400 users scattered over different municipalities throughout the
region; only nine municipalities did not have a pilot experiment. 2011 was an out-
standing year for the PDTI, when we went from 2,400 users to 18,500 users in the
Araucanı́a Region (nationally we had 24,000 users).

In 2011, INDAP financed, through us, about 140 tractors in the region; and we as
PDTI provided over 300 tractors and over 300 cultivators. A cultivator is a machine
that does the same job as an ox but lets you easily work 4.5 to 10 hectares; in other
words they make oxen redundant. This is basically a view of the future, of where are
we going; in which areas we want to make agriculture more efficient, more consistent
with the times we live in, more competitive.

The implementation of this type of programme oriented exclusively towards the

indigenous population generates a positive perception of self-identification as
Mapuche because ‘you can get a better programme’ and ‘there are more resources’
that are not available to non-Mapuche.
Municipalities or local governments have a similar perception of this situation:
access to these differentiated central government programmes means that munici-
palities generate more resources locally. This implies the possibility of greater gov-
ernment presence in the communities, and, in particular, in rural sectors. At
election time, they have the potential to win more supporters (‘more votes’) in
elections for mayors, senators, deputies and the president, as has been noted in
similar programmes in which local authorities increase their presence and partici-
pation in the regular activities of these programmes.
356 Critique of Anthropology 34(3)

These programmes have gradually incorporated a more participative approach,

which comes especially from the Origins Programme. This focus permits the cre-
ation of institutionalised spaces for participation and local representation. In muni-
cipalities with large indigenous populations, these spaces are habitually occupied
by Mapuche leaders. These leaders also belong to other organisations, such as
indigenous communities or associations, and they are empowered by official pos-
itions that generate important opportunities for representation and negotiation at
local levels. They tend to adopt the rhythms of local party politics and to incorp-
orate the ethnic variable into these processes.
For instance, in the PDTI of one of the municipalities, the territorial coordin-
ation committee was entirely composed of leaders from indigenous organisations,
with a traditional Mapuche leader who was responsible for the social control of the
programme.
Furthermore, state interactions and practices generate other types of situations
that allow this indigenous policy to become more apparent (e.g. a face-to-face
interaction that occurs between a public employee who implements the policy
and the ‘user’5 who benefits from it). In general, officials’ capacity for empathy is
the key factor in state interactions. Officials are mediators who can access the
social, psychological and technical tools at their disposal to achieve results and
satisfy users. In addition to their ability to implement policy (very often indigenous
policy), officials of indigenous origin can mediate between the discourse and policy
design with indigenous users and serve as intercultural intermediaries.
In the case of local CONADI offices, in each of the three selected municipalities,
the public employee we observed was a Mapuche whose principal function was to
guide people when they applied for benefits offered by indigenous policy. This
public employee simultaneously executed a political function, in that each time
he/she interacted with an indigenous citizen (e.g. to answer a particular query or
perform a particular formality), he/she promoted each individual’s responsibility to
the Mapuche people by helping the citizen to access benefits offered exclusively to
indigenous applicants.
For instance, in an application process for competitive funding for indigenous
women entrepreneurs, besides encouraging the women and supporting their appli-
cations, the official also included various ethnic elements to make the project more
competitive, thus educating the Mapuche women: ‘you must rescue our customs,
value what is ours’.
An investigation of these employees’ life stories among those interviewed
revealed that the majority of the Mapuche public employees who administered
these programmes linked to indigenous policy were raised in indigenous commu-
nities in which they experienced difficult childhoods, suffering poverty and discrim-
ination. Most had achieved technical college level education, and several had
attended university. Many of these employees were the first individuals in their
families to complete secondary school. In their teenage and young adult years, they
participated actively in social and political organisations that were not necessar-
ily ethnic. However, they were imbued with a strong sense of social justice.
Maza 357

Their experiences helped to explain why they believed that their jobs required more
than the simple application of policies.
One example is the career of a woman official in a local CONADI office:

She was born in Malleco Province. She had a hard up-bringing and then lived as a
single mother in Santiago without the support of her family, trying to make her own
way like so many other Mapuche men and women of her own and earlier generations.
She became involved in citizen organizations very early and began working politically
for the return of democracy after the military dictatorship. She is critical of her current
job because her political beliefs convince her that treating the poor with hand-outs is
not the way forward. She encourages beneficiaries to be active in making decisions,
and to have the courage to seek and work for themselves. She also teaches and trans-
mits her people’s values through her dealings with others and her personal style,
telling them that if they request a benefit, they must feel themselves to be Mapuche,
and they have a duty to return that benefit to the community somehow.

The interaction between a public employee and a Mapuche user appeared to be a

type of containment, a construction of indigenous policy from the bottom up,
because it generated individual and possibly collective processes based on the
value of each individual’s self-identification as a Mapuche. It also promoted
changes in the history of State discrimination and denial.
However, as other studies in this line suggest (for example Mosse and
Ferguson), it is also a way of adjusting and negotiating the policy to make political
control more effective, in this case, of ethnic claims.
Another important aspect involves the incorporation of ethnic elements into
municipality routines. This was apparent at different levels. For example, it
appeared in the support and promotion of Mapuche cultural spaces by the muni-
cipality through the efforts of Mapuche authorities and public employees. The
creation of a Mapuche cultural centre or centre for intercultural encounter may
be promoted by the participation of Mapuche organisations but is often co-opted
by the municipality. This is evident, for example, where a mayor hires a Mapuche
organisation leader to take charge of the cultural centre, empowering him within
the municipal offices and giving him a regular salary. In return, he is responsible for
supporting the management of the cultural centre and therefore the municipality,
and very often leaves behind his more political activities.
However, some of the most evident spaces were those related to activities that
placed value on Mapuche festivities or indigenous culture in general. For example,
the wetripantü or celebration of the ‘Mapuche New Year’ is held on or around
24 June each year in public spaces, local schools and Mapuche communities.
Indigenous Women’s day, an institutionalised event in the selected municipalities,
is generally celebrated with a public ceremony that honours the role of indigenous
women at local levels.
Tourism initiatives have also been created that include Mapuche identity, such
as the inclusion of Mapuche cultural expressions as tourist attractions, and so on.
358 Critique of Anthropology 34(3)

These elements clearly contribute to the recognition and valuing of ethnic elements
at municipality and regional levels. This often strengthens identity, but it may also
turn culture and heritage into marketable objects, producing an unstable balance
between the exotic and the banal, and requiring indigenous people to represent
themselves in a way that is understandable to the ‘consumer of otherness’
(Comaroff and Comaroff, 2011). This generates different views of this type of
tourism, ranging from rejection to the acceptance of tourism as an opportunity
for development and the strengthening of organisations and identity.
In concrete terms, it may be said that various programmes implemented under
indigenous policy have generated spaces for recognition at local levels within the
framework of a ‘neoliberal multiculturalism’ which favours a ‘culturalist’ and ‘nat-
uralised’ vision of Mapuche culture. Thus, Mapuche culture is considered a value, a
source of identity and an inspiration for local and regional development. However,
it hardly promotes the generation of political rights and greater specific opportu-
nities for indigenous participation. Discourse and practice are based on a primor-
dial view of ethnicity that configures interethnic relations without threatening the
political and economic basis of the Chilean model of the State.
As pointed out by Du Monceau, more and more indigenous people are being
co-opted by the state’s development bureaucracy, and indigenous community
members have said they benefit only in limited ways. ‘The essence of these cri-
tiques is that discourses have a coercive power that encourages subjects to accept
the legitimacy of the state’s institutions and strategies’ (Du Monceau, 2008: 184–
185), and political alliances and negotiations have become part of survival
strategies.

The ‘Mapuche conflict’

In parallel with the situation analysed above, the media describes the Araucanı́a
Region as an ‘ethnic conflict’ zone because tensions and hotspots of violence are
linked to certain sectors of Mapuche communities. This ‘conflict’ is presented to the
public as a series of violent acts (principally related to attacks on property that
occur in the context of land disputes between Mapuche community members and
private individuals), in which the State’s strategy has been the recurrent application
of the Anti-Terrorist Law.
The Anti-Terrorist Law is based on Law N 18.314 of 1984, passed during the
military regime. It defines terrorist acts, and assigns corresponding penalties. This
law was partially reformed after the restoration of democracy by Law N 19.027 of
1991, to make it compatible with human rights. The law describes terrorist acts
simply as very serious violent crimes against persons, conceived as ‘offending
against the life, physical integrity or liberty of persons by means which produce
or might produce indiscriminate damage, with the object of causing terror to a part
or all of the population’ (Aylwin, 2010:3). This law is applied to those presumed
guilty of offences linked to the ‘Mapuche conflict’, and allows the application of a
different type of ‘justice’ to Mapuche citizens allegedly involved in such acts.
Maza 359

It must also be understood that the so-called ‘Mapuche conflict’ is not a single
phenomenon, but is linked to a variety of factors. As noted above, the issue of land
is central, due to the prevailing situation in which the lands owned by Mapuche
communities have been subject to loss and progressive deterioration.
But in addition to this situation, Mapuche communities suffer a direct or indir-
ect negative impact from the presence of resource extraction companies, as well as
public and private megaprojects, on the land that surrounds them: exotic forestry
plantations, power plants, fish farms, highways, dumping sites, etc. Mapuche
organisations act in different ways to face threats to their way of life and their
scarce land, which is also affected by environmental degradation. Theses strategic
differences share common elements with the claim for constitutional recognition as
a distinct group and the return of their traditional territories, as Du Monceau
points out (2008).
Conflicts are more intense in provinces where there are extensive exotic forest
plantations. In Araucanı́a, the conflict is focused in the northern part of the
Region, in Malleco Province, because there are stronger local organisations
which resist these situations. For example, the Coordinadora Aruko Malleko
seeks to establish ‘territorial control’ to ‘reconstruct the Mapuche nation’
(Richards, 2013: 81), which means the permanent occupation of disputed land.
This author says that the radicalisation of the Mapuche movement has occurred
in part because of the spaces opened by the return of democracy and the emergence
of indigenous rights as a transnational struggle, and in part because the situation
faced by Mapuche communities is extreme, given the invasion of global capital into
their territory (Richards, 2013: 82–83). These confrontations have led to repressive
actions by national authorities, including the use of the Anti-Terrorist Law and the
militarisation of some sectors.
The use of this strategy generates reactions from various economic and political
sectors. For example, a media report that described a study conducted by a busi-
nessmen’s organisation stated:

According to the latest barometer of the conflict published by ‘Multigremial de La

Araucanı́a’, the first quarter of 2013 has been the most violent first quarter in the last
four years for acts linked to the Mapuche conflict in the Region. The report states that
85 violent acts were recorded during the first three months of this year: 36 were fires,
13 were threats and 12 were acts that caused damages. During the same period in
2012, 59 criminal acts were recorded (soychile.cl, 2013).

When violent acts occur, the national authorities react rapidly, as may be observed
in the following news item:

At a citizen security council meeting conducted with community leaders in the

Carabineros’ [Uniformed Police] School, President Sebastián Piñera described the
current situation in the Araucanı́a Region as ‘brutal, merciless terrorism’.
The President declared that the aim of the Anti-Terrorist Law is not to persecute
360 Critique of Anthropology 34(3)

the Mapuche people, but to punish terrorists of whatever ethnic group, colour, or
Region. Piñera also established that the Government is concentrating on three prin-
cipal areas in the Araucanı́a Region. He stated that the government would attempt to
improve the situation by focusing on three fronts: economic development, the valuing
and promotion of Mapuche culture and the battle against a ‘minority of criminals and
terrorists’. The President stated, ‘the only way to win the fight against terrorism and
crime is for the country to unite in the struggle’ (Cnnchile.Com, 2013).

The government’s political strategies to manage the Mapuche conflict swing from
one extreme to the other. On the one hand, the government employs a strategy that
includes repression, police control and rejection of acts of violence that affect the
‘peace’ of the Region. On the other hand, as noted above, the government attempts
to increase the number of programmes and the amount of resources reserved for
the indigenous population.
The concept of ‘Peace in the Araucanı́a Region’ appears habitually in declar-
ations made by the central and regional authorities of Piñera’s administration. This
concept also appears, symbolised by a green ribbon, as part of the image of a
campaign that has apparently been organised and supported by businessmen in
the Region, and emerged in the first half of 2013 in the context of the death of two
descendants of Swiss settlers in an arson attack on their house. The case is still
under investigation and the sole detainee is a machi (Mapuche spiritual authority).
This campaign posts its symbol and slogan on signs put up along the main streets
of towns throughout the Region, on bumper stickers, and occasionally in social
networks. The concept is associated with the idea that the Mapuche conflict hinders
the Region’s economic development, as well as its political and social stability. The
conflict threatens the tranquillity of the political and economic elite in the Region
(e.g. truck company owners, farmers and businesspeople). Central and regional
governments are also aware of the threat. They attempt to address it in a variety
of ways, by performing concrete actions such as the creation of new programmes,
or by increasing the resources made available to Mapuche communities in sectors
in which tension is greatest. For example, the President announced that support
would be increased in several areas, such as education, health and the economy. In
particular, among other initiatives, the President announced the implementation of
a multicultural technical excellence college in Ercilla,6 an increase in the number of
scholarships allotted to Mapuche students (18,000), the construction of five new
hospitals, the implementation of a ‘Mapuche AUGE’7 that incorporates traditional
medical treatments and increased promotion of the tourism industry in the zone
(Cooperativa, 2012). As pointed out by Del Valle, public construction of the
‘Mapuche conflict’ from press coverage and press treatment emphasises that its
political nature has made the ethnic, social and cultural nature of indigenous claims
and grievances invisible (Del Valle, 2005).
The media’s role is essential to the construction of this conception of the
Mapuche in Araucanı́a. The media are allied with the government in the reinforce-
ment of positive and negative imaginaries (i.e. differentiating the ‘permitted’ or
Maza 361

‘good’ Mapuche from the ‘terrorists’ or ‘bad’ Mapuche) based on the concept of
the ‘permitted Indian’ suggested by Hale (2004) and Boccara (2012: 21). In this
context, it should be noted that in Chile most of the press is under the control of
two economic groups: the Edwards Group and Copesa S.A.
The latent conflict apparent in this situation reveals that the Mapuche conflict is
a good pretext for the State to position its high-level employees, such as ministers
or senators. This context allows the government to place its stamp on its actions
through a new approach to indigenous policy that differentiates it from previous
governments.
In line with Du Monceau’s findings, the state has responded to its conflict with
the Mapuche by systematically injecting the police into the daily life of commu-
nities and by treating Mapuche protests as criminal rather than political acts
(Du Monceau, 2008: 217).
In addition, some Mapuche sectors have sought support from other actors, such
as other Mapuche organisations, NGOs connected with human and indigenous
rights, and local actors including mayors and municipal councillors. These would
include a range of political acts that might not be linked to the ‘conflict’ discussed
above. However, the concept of a ‘movement’ is symbolically important because it
functions as a part of the ethnic strategy of claiming political rights. It also func-
tions as a negotiating tool. Some pro-Mapuche sectors appeal or allude to this
concept of a ‘movement’ to represent the unity of the people and their support of
political ends and ethnic claims. For example, when protests are organised against
a Project – those observed in the field include by-pass hydroelectricity plants,
power lines across a community or the construction of an airport – it is common
to hear leaders talk, or see placards proclaim, a ‘Mapuche movement’ with its
struggles and resistance. This concept has also been installed in the imaginary of
some indigenous and non-indigenous sectors. It serves as an additional element
that can be used to create conditions for negotiation in the face of ethnic claims and
demands at various levels.
However, these demands do not necessarily reflect the everyday situations in
these communities. In his ethnographic work focused on a coastal sector of the
Araucanı́a Region, Course described the enormous gaps that exist between the
worlds of indigenous rights activists in Santiago and Temuco – encompassing
Mapuche intellectuals and external researchers – on the one hand, and the world
of the rural Mapuche on the other (Course, 2011: 7). These gaps are apparent to
some degree in the three selected municipalities, because the creation of Mapuche
organisations, and the discourse and demands for rights generally associated with
the implementation of ILO Convention 169, continue to be adopted. There is also a
strong presence of public bodies, which promote spaces for participation and state
instruments.
The latent conflict and the symbolic movement also generate local effects that
offer interesting subjects for analysis focused on the political view of ethnicity.
They create divisions and exaggerate positions within indigenous communities
and organisations, non-indigenous organisations and local governments.
362 Critique of Anthropology 34(3)

During our ethnographic work, it was apparent that many respondents agreed with
claims voiced by certain sectors. However, they did not agree with the use of more
violent forms of expression.
The positions of local officials and authorities do not necessarily coincide with
regional or national actions, because these individuals have a closer relationship
with the communities and their leaders, who are also users of the social pro-
grammes; in some cases, they also take part in protests or become involved in
acts of violence. This creates a distance between the construction of ethnicity at
local levels and the actions of regional and national governments.
Ultimately, the ‘Mapuche conflict’ is a part of everyday life in Araucanı́a. The
conflict erupts occasionally, then relapses into silence only to erupt once again.
The ‘Mapuche conflict’ occurs within in a dynamic strengthened by the mass media
and within the political and economic contexts of the region.

Conclusions
Based on the findings described above, it may be said that the combination of the
policies of ‘recognition’ and ‘conflict’ sets the pace of indigenous policy in the
Araucanı́a Region, as well as the pace of political and economic negotiations
that occur between national and local authorities, political parties, businessmen
and representatives of various indigenous organisations. Latent conflict and the
relative success of government programmes encourage individuals or organisations
to negotiate and form alliances. The policy’s open fields generate containment
mechanisms during both the design and implementation stages. Each side takes
advantage of these mechanisms. The State, headed by ministers, secretaries, mayors
and so on, generates new positions and programmes. The indigenous population
and public employees strengthen identification and organisational processes. These
efforts frequently widen the margins to allow greater negotiation for policies and
spaces for recognition as well as political control, allowing the replication of state
hegemony.
Indigenous policy is continually constructed and re-constructed during the tug-
of-war between negotiation and conflict (real or potential) and between the value
and threat represented by the ethnic element. Ethnographic research clarifies that
these processes should not be seen as contradictory. Rather, they should be con-
sidered strategies for containment and political control based on the neoliberal
model, in which the indigenous element is positioned, resources are made available
exclusively to the indigenous population, and local and regional state actors occupy
key roles.
Ethnicity, as a concept that lingers on the fringes of indigenous policy in
President Piñera’s administration, can be considered as action oriented towards
the ‘other’, defined by his/her cultural and economic characteristics. The cultural
element is a value to be recognised; the economic situation is a problem to be
improved. State actors and indigenous subjects recognise the value of the cultural
element: they incorporate it into their discourse and practice, adapt it to the context
Maza 363

of dispute or conflict and, simultaneously, generate and strengthen conditions for

negotiation. Recognition policies are focused primarily on social investment aimed
at turning the Mapuche into entrepreneurs inserted into the market.
Ultimately, it may be concluded that state policy has been and continues to be
constructed in the midst of this dispute between recognition and conflict. It
becomes entrenched in State routines and practices. It hinders the formation of
relationships based on rights and dignity – of both Mapuche and non-Mapuche –
that might clear the path to a more positive paradigm of intercultural coexistence in
the Region in future. The current demands of Chilean society – which include the
Mapuche claims for recognition, respect and dignity – are the central social
demands which are not really and profoundly incorporated into the ‘politics of
recognition’.
The neoliberal model is reproduced and adapted by state policy, and takes eth-
nicity as a minor element which allows the process to develop within a framework
of political control and state hegemony, where various social subjects join the
model and contribute to it.

Funding
This work was supported by Interdisciplinary Centre for Intercultural and Indigenous
Studies-ICIIS, GRANT: CONICYT/FONDAP/15110006 and Fondecyt de Iniciación
N 11090320.

Acknowledgements
I extend my sincere thanks to the municipal employees in the three Municipal offices where I
conducted my fieldwork. They welcomed me on a weekly basis over a long period. I offer
particular thanks to anthropologist Estefanı́a Miranda who provided assistance during vari-
ous stages of this research and the reviewers of this article.

Notes
1. Chile is divided into Regions, Provinces and ‘Comunas’ or municipalities. The munici-
pality is the smallest territorial/administrative unit. It is administered by municipal
offices, staffed by civil servants and governed by democratically elected councils com-
prised of mayors and councillors.
2. CONADI’s principal mission is the promotion, coordination and execution of State
actions that encourage the integrated development of indigenous persons and commu-
nities, based on Indigenous Law 19.253.
3. Aspects defined in Indigenous Law 19.253 (1993) that allow access to and participation in
various programmes oriented towards the indigenous population.
4. One of the requirements for access to INDAP programs (e.g. PDTI) is possession of a
piece of farmland of limited area (under any type of holding) and employment in farming
and/or forestry production.
364 Critique of Anthropology 34(3)

5. ‘User’ is the name defined in the social programmes for persons who participate in these
programmes and receive benefits.
6. Ercilla is a municipality located in the northern part of the Araucanı́a Region.
This municipality has been one of the focal points of the Mapuche conflict. For
more information, see Oyarce et al. (2012), Correa et al (2005) and Mella and Correa
(2010).
7. The AUGE health plan (Plan for Universal Access with Explicit Guarantees) is a policy
introduced by the Health Ministry to guarantee access to actions for health promotion,
protection and recovery, and, especially, for the treatment of certain diseases.

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Author Biography
Francisca de la Maza completed her PhD in Social Anthropology from Center for
Research and Advanced Studies, Mexico. She completed her Master’s degree from
the same institution and earned the professional title of anthropologist from the
University of Chile. From 1999 to date, she has been teaching at the Villarrica
Campus of the Catholic University of Chile. She served as Deputy Director of
Research from 2006 until January 2013. She has also conducted several research
projects with internal funds of the university as well Fondecyt Initiation (2009–
2012) in the areas of public policy, interculturalism, ethnography of the state,
education, rurality and local development. Currently, she is Deputy Director and
Principal Investigator of the Interdisciplinary Center for Intercultural Studies and
Indigenous funded FONDAP -CONICYT (2012–2017).