Temucuicui Community Responds Strongly to Kast’s Proposed Indigenous Law Reform, Declaring War on Mapuche People

El Ciudadano

Original article: “Kast hoy declara la guerra al pueblo mapuche”: dura respuesta de Temucuicui a reforma de Ley Indígena que abriría tierras al mercado

The Temucuicui Autonomous Community has issued a strong rebuttal to announcements made by President José Antonio Kast during his State of the Nation address, where he proposed a reform to Indigenous Law 19.253 and alterations to the land system. For the Mapuche territory, this proposal is not merely a legal modernization or another administrative measure; they perceive it as a direct offensive against the collective protection of their lands.

In a statement dated June 2, 2026, the historic Temucuicui territory asserted that the presidential announcement aligns with a long-sought ambition from business sectors: to free up Mapuche lands for the market. They argue that the reform aims to enable mechanisms such as alienation, taxes, and leasing, which, according to the community, could undermine the safeguards currently in place that prevent these lands from being treated as any commercial property.

The Hidden Details of the Mapuche Land Conflict

The Indigenous Law protects indigenous lands to prevent them from being sold, mortgaged, seized, or easily transferred to the market. This protection exists because these territories are not viewed solely as private property, but as integral to the collective, cultural, and historical life of indigenous peoples.

What does Kast propose?
The government announced changes to make the use of these lands more flexible, allowing for mechanisms such as leasing, mortgages, and individual rights of use and enjoyment. The official rationale is to provide more “freedom” and economic tools to the communities.

Why does Temucuicui reject this?
For the historic territory of Temucuicui, such “freedom” could lead to a new form of dispossession: allowing Mapuche lands to enter market dynamics, potentially ending up in the hands of companies, banks, or individuals through debts, contracts, or economic pressures.

In simple terms:
The conflict is not just about whether a community can lease or mortgage its land. The core issue is whether land protected by its collective character can start to operate like any commercial good.

Indigenous Law Reform: Why Temucuicui Claims It Poses a Territorial Threat

Simply put, the conflict is not limited to whether a community can better utilize its land, lease it, or access state benefits. The fundamental issue is whether the state will open the door for territories protected by their historical, collective, and cultural nature to enter a market logic.

For the government, the argument is about providing more “freedom” and development tools. However, for Temucuicui, this freedom might turn into a new form of dispossession. The difference is significant: one thing is recognizing collective territorial rights, and another entirely allowing these lands to be mortgaged, taxed, or leased under the same rules that apply to individual private property.

The community warns that this path has painful precedents for the Mapuche people. In their statement, they recall that during the military dictatorship, the Decree Law 2.568 was enacted, which they argue repealed Indigenous Law 17.129, the first legal norm that provided protection for Mapuche lands.

The community links this process to a long history of territorial dispossession. They state that Mapuche lands have been subjected, since the “Mapuche genocide in 1881”, to “usurpations, deception, theft, and the notorious 99-year leases, which stripped us of our territory and condemned us to poverty”.

From this historical perspective, the reform to Indigenous Law announced by Kast is not seen as an isolated change but rather as a return to a familiar formula: weakening collective protection to facilitate the entry of Mapuche lands into the market.

“Kast Declares War on the Mapuche People Today”

Temucuicui’s declaration raises the political tone, accusing the government of understanding that territories currently engaged in defense and territorial recovery efforts will resist the reform. In this context, the community stated: “Kast declares war on the Mapuche people today”.

The statement adds that territories like Temucuicui, which have historically upheld the rights of the Mapuche people, will not accept a legal modification that they believe aims to deepen territorial loss.

“WE WILL OPPOSE AND FIGHT TO PREVENT THIS NEW GENOCIDE,” they affirmed, accusing the measure of aiming for “forced assimilation” and keeping the Mapuche people in conditions of exploitation, poverty, and discrimination.

The community emphasizes that the underlying issue of the reform is not merely land as property, but control over the territory and the life that exists there. They challenge the state and business perspective on itxofil mogen, a Mapuche concept related to the diversity of life, which, according to the statement, is reduced to what is called “natural resources” from a capitalist viewpoint.

Jorge Huenchullan, werken of Temucuicui, during a demonstration for Mapuche autonomy. The Temucuicui Autonomous Community responded firmly to the Indigenous Law reform proposed by José Kast.

Temucuicui Links Reform to the Arrest of Jorge Huenchullan

The historic territory also associated Kast’s announcements with the arrest of werken Jorge Huenchullan, which they interpret as part of a political and police message directed at mobilized communities.

According to the statement, “The arrest of Werken Jorge Huenchullan, along with the military and journalistic spectacle, aimed to convey a message of state violence towards the Mapuche communities and organizations fighting for our lands and ancient usurped territory”.

For Temucuicui, this operation anticipates the nature of the current government’s Indigenous agenda. In their words, this agenda would operate “by means of weapons and state terrorism”.

Towards the end of the statement, the community urged the Mapuche people to remember the effects of land division during the dictatorship and the family conflicts that, they say, this process provoked. They also honored those they consider champions of territorial defense, referencing Alex Lemun and Camilo Catrillanca.

“The defense of our land is etched in fire,” the historic territory asserted, adding that the Mapuche people possess “collective rights such as self-determination” and therefore, “we must not take a step back”.

The statement concludes with a direct demand: “Freedom for werken JORGE HUENCHULLAN”.

Thus, Temucuicui’s response opens a new front for La Moneda following the State of the Nation address. While Kast presents the reform as a means to grant greater «freedom» in land usage, the Mapuche territory views it as a threat of commercialization and loss of collective protection. Ultimately, the dispute transcends legal issues; it is historical, territorial, and political.