Mapuche Autonomy in Pwelmapu: Confrontation and/or Political Construction?

Abstract

Although the Desert Campaign had similarities with the Pacification of Araucanía, the historical and political processes of Argentina and Chile differ from each other regarding policies for Indigenous peoples in several structural aspects:1) The development of the Welfare State, centered on Peronism.2) The presence of the Catholic Church, with emphasis on the Salesians.3) The mandate of the armed forces and the configuration of the internal enemy.4) Access to free and open universities and social mobilization.5) Alliances with human rights organizations.6) The territorial extension of the Pwelmapu, with a presence in seven provinces.These aspects influence Mapuche political thought in Argentina, influenced by economic constraints, the wage dependence of the Mapuche workforce within the provincial states of Neuquén and Río Negro, the dependence on social policies in the province of Chubut, and the low political mobilization of Mapuche organizations in the provinces of Mendoza, Buenos Aires, and La Pampa.The transition to a Plurinational State has better objective conditions for implementation in Argentina than in Chile, but it is not perceived as such by the leadership, which is determined to reaffirm a discourse of party neutrality typical of the 1990s.