10/04/2005
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On horseback against racial segregation. Aucàn Huilcamàn, Mapuche leader from
Consejo de todas las terras one of the main indigenous organisations in Chile, and candidate for the presidential
elections on the 11th December. But something went wrong. Even though he presented 39,100 signatures
in support of his candidacy, which is above the 35,171 required by Chilean law
for independent candidates who are not aligned to a political party, his request
was rejected by the Electoral Services. The explanation? Only 1399 signatures
were authenticated by the notary.
A question of class. “The Chilean democratic system is elitist and has a lot of difficulty in opening
itself up and expressing the diversity of its citizens. What has happened to Aucàn
demonstrates this. It’s real injustice,” commented Francisco Estévez, President
of the NGO Fundacion Ideas, which is involved in monitoring and exposing political and social exclusion.
“The requirements imposed are almost impossible for an independent candidate to
follow. I believe that it’s too much to require signatories to get the approval
of notaries. Imposing free consignment of signatures would be better given that
established electoral posts are the same as those where voters go.”
All for one. “Together our ride and the respective mobilisation demonstrated the consensus of the people. Repressive
action has increased -continues the Mapuche- from the part of the police against
civilians. There have even been cases of arbitrary detention and also they have
even prevented people from entering into some town squares. But we will not surrender.
We know that to get our right to participate is a challenge for the majority in
this society, and for this Aucàn together with other candidates will continue
to look for concrete solutions. We call to Indigenous organisations all over the
world, to those marginalised, to those excluded in the international community,
to stand with us in solidarity in our fight. Organise demonstrations outside Chilean
embassies, send letters to parliament, the Chilean system must change.”
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The Mapuche reclaim their right to take part in political life
On horseback against racial segregation. Aucàn Huilcamàn, Mapuche leader from
Consejo de todas las terras one of the main indigenous organisations in Chile, and candidate for the presidential
elections on the 11th December. But something went wrong. Even though he presented 39,100 signatures
in support of his candidacy, which is above the 35,171 required by Chilean law
for independent candidates who are not aligned to a political party, his request
was rejected by the Electoral Services. The explanation? Only 1399 signatures
were authenticated by the notary.But Huilcamàn doesn’t accept this. He arrived in front of the Servicio Electoral office on the back of his white horse, dressed in traditional Mapuche dress,
he is very committed in asserting rights for the poorest, the most badly treated
and marginalised, and, for this reason he has called out against the injustice
that has been imposed regarding the authentication of signatures: “The notaries
charge between two and four dollars for each signature, therefore it discriminates
against those that don’t have money.” The Mapuche leader personally got the support
for his candidature. Followed by his faithful supporters, he rode on horseback
from Temuco, the southern capital of Araucania region, to Santiago the capital,
and personally gave papers to whatever citizen that supported him. “I also went
personally to notaries in Temuco, Concepciòn and Rancagua, but they refused to
register my lists.” He also presented four appeals for violation of the right
to participate in elections, which is part of the Constitution.
A question of class. “The Chilean democratic system is elitist and has a lot of difficulty in opening
itself up and expressing the diversity of its citizens. What has happened to Aucàn
demonstrates this. It’s real injustice,” commented Francisco Estévez, President
of the NGO Fundacion Ideas, which is involved in monitoring and exposing political and social exclusion.
“The requirements imposed are almost impossible for an independent candidate to
follow. I believe that it’s too much to require signatories to get the approval
of notaries. Imposing free consignment of signatures would be better given that
established electoral posts are the same as those where voters go.”Various other candidates have also given solidarity to the Mapuche representative.
Micelle Bachelet, the only candidate of the favourite centre left coalition, still
in government, has shown his support for a legal reform that will open doors,
meanwhile the government has said that it is prepared to find a legislative solution.
He also is getting full of support from the other three politicians in the presidential
race: Sebastiàn Piñera and Joaquín Lavín from the right, and Tomàs Hirsch from
Juntos Podemos, (Together We Can), the coalition that brings together the Humanist Party, the
Communists and many other associations and social movements.
The Mapuche’s voice. “We have gathered, following this the umpteenth discriminatory episode, to call
for concrete action against this Chilean socio-political reality that excludes
indigenous peoples and which has damaged their right to participate.” With these
words the Red Indigena y Popular and the Consejo de Todas Las Terras declared point by point what has always made them suffer and their strategy
to change things. “Above all, us indigenous peoples still haven’t found space
within the Constitution, therefore our collective rights have not been officially
recognised. Given the fact that no mechanism exists in law that says that we will
have representation in government, we have decided to start to cut out a space
for ourselves within the Chilean state, starting with the candidacy in the December
elections. Our horse ride from Temuco to the capital had the purpose of bringing
awareness to the country and also to get the required signatures. The binomial
system adopted by the dictatorship excludes and is anti-democratic and still exists
today in this country.”
All for one. “Together our ride and the respective mobilisation demonstrated the consensus of the people. Repressive
action has increased -continues the Mapuche- from the part of the police against
civilians. There have even been cases of arbitrary detention and also they have
even prevented people from entering into some town squares. But we will not surrender.
We know that to get our right to participate is a challenge for the majority in
this society, and for this Aucàn together with other candidates will continue
to look for concrete solutions. We call to Indigenous organisations all over the
world, to those marginalised, to those excluded in the international community,
to stand with us in solidarity in our fight. Organise demonstrations outside Chilean
embassies, send letters to parliament, the Chilean system must change.”Stella Spinelli
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