The Land Returns · Episode 11 of 14 · 22 min
Chile: CONADI, the Mapuche, and Rapa Nui
The same Chilean state produces both a stalled land-buying fund and a clean handover of a national park. CONADI's fund buys disputed private land for Mapuche communities but is so underfunded that the backlog could take generations, amid militarized conflict in the Araucania and the failed 2022 plurinational constitution. In contrast, Rapa Nui National Park passed to the Ma'u Henua community.
Who's who
- Gabriel Boricpresident who convened the 2023-2025 Commission for Peace and Understanding
- Michelle Bacheletpresident who handed park management to Ma'u Henua in 2017
Where it happens
- Araucania, Chileregion of militarized Mapuche land conflict
- Wallmapu, Chilehistorical Mapuche territory in the south
- Rapa Nui National Park, Easter Islandadministered by Ma'u Henua under a 50-year concession
Timeline
- 1861-1883Pacification of the Araucania incorporates Mapuche territory
- 1993Indigenous Law creates CONADI and the land fund
- March 201850-year concession grants Ma'u Henua sole administration of the park
- Sept 4, 2022voters reject the plurinational draft constitution 61.86% to 38.14%
- May 2025Commission proposes a roughly US$4 billion reparations framework
Still debated
Whether the land fund can be reformed or should be replaced is argued, as is whether buying claimed land reduces or rewards violence. Communities range from those working within CONADI to groups rejecting the state, so there is no single Mapuche position.