Why the Chilean military has decided to decree the “red alert” in La Araucanía

A series of violent episodes, which included the armed attack on the home of an elected member of the Constitutional Council, has led the Chilean military to declare a red alert in the region of the araucanialocated about 700 km south of the capital, Santiago.

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This new peak of violence began on Tuesday and lasted until early yesterday, registering incendiary and firearm attacks against a police station, a house, five trucks, a van and a neighborhood office. In total, seven consecutive attacks that left 12 injured, according to police reports.

The Army’s reaction is part of the state of emergency that has governed the region since May 17, 2022. On that occasion, the government of Gabriel Boric adopted the measure “to allow the free movement of people and supplies” after a new peak of violence.

Since then, the measure has been extended 23 times.

Since 1997, La Araucanía has been the recurring scene of confrontations due to a complex problem that involves Mapuche communities that claim sovereignty over their ancestral lands, the central government, the forestry companies that operate there and, in recent years, an increase in their presence. of criminal groups.

“These events are recorded in what is known as the Southern Macrozone, which covers from Biobío to a certain part of the X Region. In it, drug traffickers, groups that are dedicated to arms trafficking and others that are dedicated to theft of wood are behind the violent acts. Lately, the bulk of these violent acts have happened in the region of La Araucanía, the most conflictive area at present, ”he explains to Trade Francisco Vicencio, political scientist from the Catholic University of Chile and professor at the Alberto Hurtado University.

The acts of violence in La Araucanía led the Chilean army to issue a “red alert” in the region. (Emol / GDA/)

A NEW PEAK OF VIOLENCE

Raising the situation to red alert implies that the military will deploy an additional 50% of the security contingent, in addition to two helicopters, “to comply with the control and inspection tasks” in which they support the Carabineros, specified the Undersecretary of the Interior of Chile, Manuel Monsalve.

One of the events that triggered this measure was the armed attack against the house of the constitutional adviser, Héctor Urbán.

Urbán is part of the Republican Party, chaired by the right-wing José Antonio Kast, clear winner of the elections held last Sunday in the southern country.

The attack against Urbán’s home occurred in the town of Ercilla. Despite the fact that the politician’s house has armored windows, some projectiles managed to pass through them, for which the authorities assure that high-calibre ammunition was used.

Shortly before the attack, Urbán’s father was the target of a shooting while driving his truck on a nearby road. No one was injured in both attacks.

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Undersecretary Monsalve, with whom Urbán met the following day, condemned the violence against the politician and assured that “there is a protection measure issued around the family (of Urbán) and, therefore, there are police officers who are complying with the protection measure.

In the same commune of Ercilla, the attack against the police station was recorded and a poster was found calling for the release of Mapuche “political prisoners”. The authorities, however, have assured that the inmates who are currently serving a sentence do so for having committed a crime.

EFFECT OF THE STATE OF EXCEPTION

Vicencio explains that “it is difficult to attribute this new peak to a particular reason”; however, the expert considers that it could be seen “as a reaction to the latest electoral results since the radicalized groups are providing a certain response.”

“Especially because of the attack against the elected conventional,” he comments.

However, it is impossible to ignore that this type of upsurge in violence in the area has been a constant despite the military deployment that is about to complete a year.

In this sense, Vicencio explains that “if we compare year-on-year, acts of violence have decreased in the area. In that sense it has had a positive effect. But if we look at the data for April and the beginning of May, we will notice that the acts of violence were on the increase.”

However, the expert points out that this deployment “in no way” solves the underlying problem in the region. The state of exception, he explains, “seeks to give a certain degree of tranquility to the population, mitigate these violent acts and gives you some control, but the original problem, which is incompatibility, remains.”

During his campaign, Boric advocated for dialogue before the use of military force in the Mapuche conflict, considering that his predecessor, Sebastián Piñera, had been harshly criticized for his decisions on La Araucanía and the episodes of violence registered in the southern Macrozone during its management.

Although Boric has maintained some interest in maintaining dialogue with the Mapuche people, which includes the creation of a special commission to determine the status of their ancestral lands, which is expected to reach conclusions by 2026, the security problem in the area seems to be harder to contain.

“For the left it has always been difficult to talk about security issues. Boric defined himself as a pro-indigenous leader, but it is important to understand that this is not directly related to the Mapuche people. I would say that it is a mixture of conflicts, from the Mapuche cause to different types of crime, mainly organized crime, and that they have been increasing”, comments the expert.

Source: Elcomercio