Unhappy new year – The Economist

Jan 10th 2013

JANUARY is often a fraught month in the Araucanía, the lush, green region of southern Chile which for centuries has been home to the Mapuches, the country’s largest indigenous minority. In the first month of 2008 a young Mapuche man, Matías Catrileo, was shot dead by police while trespassing on private land he claimed had historically belonged to his ancestors. He has become something of a martyr for indigenous rights activists. Four years later, seven firefighters died while trying to extinguish a forest fire. The government said the blaze was started deliberately, possibly by the Coordinadora Arauco-Malleco, a radical group dedicated to taking back what they regard as traditional Mapuche lands.

This New Year has proved just as tragic. In the early hours of January 4th, a group of around 20 masked attackers surrounded the rural home of Werner Luchsinger, a well-known landowner and farmer, and set it alight. Mr Luchsinger, 74, and his wife were burned alive.

Sebastián Piñera, the president, responded by clearing his diary to visit the Araucanía. He said his government would set up an anti-terrorism unit in the region and draft more police officers. Such incremental measures might help a bit. But they are unlikely to bring an end to the conflict, which dates from the late 19th century, when the Chilean state finally tamed the Araucanía—something Spanish colonists had failed to do in over 200 years)—rounded up the Mapuches, and sold off their land to European settlers.

Read more: http://www.economist.com/blogs/americasview/2013/01/indigenous-rights-chile