The Mapuche conflict involves indigenous Mapuche communities,also known as the Araucanians,located in Araucanía and nearby regions of Chile and Argentina. It is often referred to as a conflict between the Mapuche and the Chilean government or state,despite the fact that there have been a variety of other actors participating in the conflict such as the Spanish Empire as well as corporations such as big forestry companies and their contractors. In the past decade of the conflict,Chilean police and some non-indigenous landowners have been confronted by militant Mapuche organizations and local Mapuche communities in the context of the conflict. Some scholars argue the conflict is an indigenous self-determination conflict;others like Francisco Huenchumilla see it as the expression of a wider political conflict that affects all of Chile given the existence of other indigenous groups.
An election for the members of the Constitutional Convention was held in Chile between 15 and 16 May 2021. This election was called after 78% of voters in the 2020 national plebiscite voted to write a new Constitution through this method.
The Constitutional Convention was the constituent body of the Republic of Chile in charge of drafting a new Political Constitution of the Republic after the approval of the national plebiscite held in October 2020. Its creation and regulation were carried out through Law No. 21,200,published on 24 December 2019,which amended the Political Constitution of the Republic to include the process of drafting a new constitution. The body met for the first time on 4 July 2021. Chilean President Sebastian Piñera said,"This Constitutional Convention must,within a period of 9 months,extendable for an additional 3 months,draft and approve a new constitution for Chile,which must be ratified by the citizens through a plebiscite." It ended its functions and declared itself dissolved on 4 July 2022.
Francisca Linconao Huircapán,also known as Machi Linconao,is a machi and human rights activist in Chile. She became the first Indigenous rights defender in Chile to successfully invoke the 1989 Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention when she sued to stop a company from logging a forest adjacent to her community. In 2021,she was elected as a representative of the Mapuche people to the Chilean Constitutional Convention election.
Elisa Loncón Antileo is a Mapuche linguist and indigenous rights activist in Chile. In 2021,Loncón was elected as one of the representatives of the Mapuche people for the Chilean Constitutional Convention. Following in the inauguration of the body,Loncón was elected President of the Constitutional Convention. This role,along with her academic career,has placed her at the center of public attention and controversy. In particular,her formal education became a subject of public scrutiny when the Council for Transparency (CPLT) demanded the release of her academic records,igniting a debate about the intersection of race,class,and public transparency in Chile.
The prisoners of the 2019–2021 Chilean protests,dubbed by some groups as Prisoners of the Revolt,are people who have been held in custody in the context of the social unrest in Chile whose circumstances of detention have been subject of severe criticism including the claim they are political prisoners. A movement supported by representatives of the Congress of Chile and the Constitutional Convention calls for their release. The Government of Chile and Human Rights Watch reject the notion there would be political prisoners in Chile.
Natividad Llanquileo Pilquimán is a Mapuche lawyer and human rights activist. Llanquileo was noted for her role as a spokesperson during the 2010 Mapuche hunger strike. She was a member of the Constitutional Convention during its existence from 2021 to 2022.
Adolfo Millabur Ñancuil is a Mapuche politician in Chile. Millabur served as Mayor of Tirúa from 1994 to 2011,holding the distinction of being the first Mapuche mayor in Chilean history.
Isabel Selena Godoy Monárdez is a Qulla activist and politician in Chile. A former political prisoner during the Chilean military dictatorship,Godoy was elected in 2021 to represent the Qulla people at the Constitutional Convention.
Tiare Maeva Carolina Aguilera Hey is a Rapa Nui attorney and politician. In 2021,she was elected to represent the Rapa Nui people in the Chilean Constitutional Convention.
Margarita Virginia Vargas López is a Chilean politician of Kawésqar origin. In 2021,she was elected to serve as the so-called Kawésqar nation's representative in the Constitutional Convention. Outside of politics,Vargas is a social activist and academic who has written for El Mostrador.
Teresa Margarita Natalia Marinovic Vial is a Chilean,columnist and politician of conservative-libertarian ideology who serves as member of the Constitutional Convention. She is known for her outspoken personality and confrontational approach to politics.
Lidia Cristina González Calderón is a Yaghan politician in Chile. González is a former city council member in Cabo de Hornos and previously served at the helm of the National Corporation for Indigenous Development (CONADI) in Antártica Chilena Province. In 2021,González was elected to represent the Yaghan nation in the Chilean Constitutional Convention,which grants the indigenous nation a reserved seat.
Alexis Reinaldo Caiguan Ancapan is a Mapuche-Huilliche educator,musician,and politician in Chile. In 2021,Caiguan was elected to serve as a member of the Constitutional Convention of Chile to represent the Mapuche people in the Los Lagos Region.
Victorino Ernesto Antilef Ñanco is a Mapuche educator and politician in Chile. In 2021,Antilef was elected to the Chilean Constitutional Convention to represent the Mapuche people,who are entitled to seven reserved seats on the newly formed body.
Isabella Brunilda Mamani Mamani is an Aymara attorney and politician in Chile. In 2021,she was elected to represent the Aymara people in a reserved seat on the Chilean Constitutional Convention.
Rodrigo Ernesto Rojas Vade is a Chilean former political activist who was elected in 2021 as a member of the Chilean Constitutional Convention. He became an icon of the 2019 Chilean protests falsely claiming to have leukaemia and alleging to be a victim of the healthcare system and using a discourse against high medical costs in Chile. Later it was revealed that he actually had syphilis.
Tania Isabel Madriaga Flores is a Chilean politician,sociologist and former member of the Chilean Constitutional Convention.
Pollyana Duendy Alejandra Rivera Bigas is a Chilean journalist who was elected as a member of the Chilean Constitutional Convention.
