El Ciudadano
Original article: Werken Ernesto Llaitul y Caso Lautaro: «Como movimiento mapuche, resistimos para seguir existiendo»
Interview with Werken Ernesto Llaitul
By Andrés Figueroa Cornejo
Ernesto Llaitul serves as a werken for the Arauco Malleco Coordinator (CAM) and spokesperson for the five young Mapuche community members implicated in the so-called Lautaro Case, which saw its first hearing on May 11 after nearly four years of pretrial detention in Temuco prison. Among the accused are Pelentaro Llaitul Pezoa, son of historical CAM leader Héctor Llaitul, as well as Luis Menares Chañilao, Jorge Caniupil Coña, Juan Mardones Sáez, all active in the original resistance, along with Luis Fuenzalida Eneros.
The defense attorneys for each accused party argue that prosecutors lack concrete evidence tying their clients to the events that initiated the legal action, which occurred in 2022 on the San Luis estate in the Lautaro commune, in the La Araucanía region. More egregious and incomprehensible is the Public Ministry’s demand for prison sentences ranging from 59 to 71 years for each of the young men.
«This trial constitutes political persecution,» asserts Ernesto Llaitul, emphasizing that it forms part of a state’s strategy against certain sectors of the Mapuche movement. «We do not deny that we are members of an organization. In fact, that very militancy makes us political targets of the Chilean State.»
– How is the political siege against the Mapuche resistance verified?
«Through the establishment of a high-complexity prosecutor’s office; special task forces from local police and the PDI; military presence; states of emergency; and repressive laws. We cannot forget that this policy is a legacy of Boric’s administration. Moreover, it was during his government that the prosecutor’s office requested a 100-year sentence for my brother Pelentaro in this case.»
– There is supposed to be a legality that should limit the arbitrary actions of the Public Ministry…
«But the state sometimes adheres to legality and other times it doesn’t, depending on its convenience. In this case, the prosecutor claims that ‘there is no persecution against the Mapuche movement’ and that on any given day, police received a supposed call from someone reporting events in the rural area of Lautaro, and at that very moment, the pursuit began in a specific area of the communities, under the figure of ‘crime in flagrante’ (i.e., when a crime is being committed). According to law enforcement and military, until that moment, they were not familiar with Luis Menares or Pelentaro Llaitul.»
– Where were Luis M and Pelentaro arrested?
«About 50 kilometers from the scene of the events, supposedly because of the presence of one of the vehicles that had been taken from the location. However, we maintain that there is a persecution against those arrested, predating the events of that day.»
– How so?
«The police already knew who our peñi were. They were aware of the territorial recovery processes in which they were involved. They were arrested within a community undergoing recovery, not even near where the alleged events took place. When Luis Menares (who had been imprisoned alongside my father in the notorious case involving prosecutor Mario Elgueta) and Pelentaro Llaitul were detained, the case ended for the police, and the investigation stopped. The other peñi were arrested hours later.
The state’s military and judicial force did not seek any other angle on the case, nor any other line of investigation to incriminate or dismiss. Those arrests were sufficient for them to initiate the trial.»
– Many analysts claim that for decades, the Mapuche people have been experiencing a second «Pacification of La Araucanía» (an attempt at indigenous genocide for colonial purposes by the Chilean state during the latter half of the 19th century)…
«Today, one can see that colonial continuity against the Mapuche movement in the anti-usurpation laws, trigger-happy policies, anti-terrorist regulations, intelligence laws, etc.»
– What characterizes the Mapuche struggle?
«First and foremost, it is a struggle for resistance to continue existing as the Mapuche nation. Of course, we have an autonomist project and a territorial recovery agenda aimed at self-governance, living according to our history, and being free. We were a sovereign people with our own language, culture, and philosophy. But we must continue battling against a system that seeks only to subjugate us.»
– The Mapuche resistance predates the European invasion…
«Today, we resist the Chilean state; long before we resisted the Spanish and prior to the Inca, in all cases opposing dominion over other peoples. As Mapuche, we are an original composition that has historically sought to forge political and territorial ties among pewuenche, lavkenche, huilliche, tewuelche, each in equality and respect. When the Spaniards arrived, we referred to them as winka or new Incas. The new invader, ultimately.
We now view the world and see the struggles for freedom of the peoples of Palestine, Western Sahara, Lebanon, and many more.»
– We are all part of humanity while also embracing diversity. However, the dominant ideas in society do not understand why you do not join the so-called ‘progress’ and stop risking your own lives trying to reproduce community historical formations and practices that do not align with modern social relations.
«Behind those perspectives, we see Western denialism. The inability to comprehend that there are other peoples and cultures, and not just one. We do not wish to assimilate into capitalism. We have different ways of organizing ourselves that do not revolve around profit. We observe that capital is driving the world towards a point of no return due to the climate crisis, the destruction of nature, and the production of individualistic, selfish, and inhumane subjectivities.»
– You fight to preserve humanity. Do the ways of life of the Mapuche movement act as a buffer against the destructive forces of production based on the exploitation of people and the plundering of nature, which chase private gain? Are you an alternative, a counter-current process to current capitalist self-destruction?
«As a people, in our struggle to survive, we confront phenomena such as extractivism that directly challenge us. Hydroelectric projects, timber industries, and rare earth mining represent the interests and investments that steal our territory. We rise up against these industries that oppose our worldview and spirituality. Those irreconcilable contradictions have led us to the current situation.»
La entrada Ernesto Llaitul on the Lautaro Case: «As a Mapuche Movement, We Resist to Continue Existing» se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.
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