Weichán Auka Mapu (WAM) () is a
Mapuche
The Mapuche ( , ) also known as Araucanians are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging e ...
armed and revolutionary organization that operates mainly in
southern Chile
Southern Chile is an informal geographic term for any place south of the capital city, Santiago, or south of Biobío River, the mouth of which is Concepción, about {{convert, 200, mi, km, sigfig=1, order=flip south of Santiago. Generally citie ...
, being a supporter of armed struggle through arson attacks, sabotage actions and clashes with firearms against police officers, in order to achieve full autonomy for the Mapuche people.
The WAM was founded in 2011, as a splinter group from the
Coordinadora Arauco Malleco. It committed its first action on 17 December 2013, with an arson attack on a management house in
Vilcún
Vilcún (Mapudungun for "lizard") is a Chilean List of towns in Chile, town and Communes of Chile, commune in Cautín Province, Araucanía Region. The town is an important gateway for tourists visiting Conguillío National Park and Llaima volcano. ...
.
In May 2022, the
Chamber of Deputies of Chile
The Chamber of Deputies () is the lower house of Chile's Bicameralism, bicameral National Congress of Chile, Congress. Its organisation and its powers and duties are defined in articles 42 to 59 of Chile's current Chilean Constitution of 1980, ...
declared the
Coordinadora Arauco-Malleco
(CAM) is a radical, militant indigenist organization engaged in political violence in pursuit of attaining an autonomous Mapuche state in the territory they describe as " Wallmapu".
Founded in 1998 in Tranaquepe, Chile, CAM arose from the re ...
,
Resistencia Mapuche Malleco
Resistencia may refer to:
* Resistencia, Chaco, a city in Argentina
* Resistencia International Airport (RES), an airport in Chaco Province, Argentina
* Resistencia Civil, a libertarian political movement in Venezuela
* La Resistencia (Venezuela), ...
,
Resistencia Mapuche Lafkenche, and Weichán Auka Mapu as "illegal terrorist organizations."
As of December 2024 Weichán Auka Mapu rejects
drug trafficking
A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, ...
but admits that it had been the practice of some of its members in the past.
History
Origins
In 2010, a dissident faction formed inside the Coordinadora Arauco Malleco (CAM). They disagreed with the possibility of engaging in dialogue between Mapuche representatives and the Chilean Government, since they considered that negotiations would interfere with the project of Mapuche National Liberation. Following the course taken by the CAM, the dissatisfied former militants chose to found their own organization in order to continue their violent actions.
In their first statement released on 20 April 2016 where they explain the reason for their "armed resistance" and the meaning of their
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
. The
cultrun represents "the totality of our Wallmapu and the 4 parts of the spiritual basis of existence as a People-Nation". The
spear
A spear is a polearm consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with Fire hardening, fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable materia ...
symbolizes their ancestral resistance and the
shotgun
A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, peppergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which discharges numerous small ...
symbolizes their present resistance, calling it "rudimentary but worthy." In addition to the way in which the spear and shotgun were placed, the statement "states that said weapons are not invasive, but are an integral part of our Mapuche Nation People."
Arson attacks
;2013
On 4 January 2013 Werner Luchsinger and Vivianne Mackay, a couple of wealthy farmers, were murdered in an arson fire in their country house located in
Vilcún
Vilcún (Mapudungun for "lizard") is a Chilean List of towns in Chile, town and Communes of Chile, commune in Cautín Province, Araucanía Region. The town is an important gateway for tourists visiting Conguillío National Park and Llaima volcano. ...
, in 2013. In September 2017, the prosecutor of La Araucanía, Roberto Garrido, confirmed that there was a connection between members of the Weichán Auka Mapu and the
Luchsinger-Mackay case. This was due to ongoing investigations showing the involvement of at least 25 individuals in the attack. The prosecutor confirmed that the investigations were still ongoing.
;2017
On 17 June 2017, a truck with a hopper and several machines were destroyed in
Puerto Saavedra, in a new arson attack in the area that affected the construction company CIAL Ltd. Carabineros said that five people participated in the event, and that they had attacked two guards.
On 26 July of the same year, Chilean authorities said that an
evangelical church
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
was set on fire in a southern region that the Mapuche indigenous group claim as their ancestral territory.
On 19 August, an arson attack affected 18 trucks belonging to the
Calafquén
Calafquén is a Chilean hamlet (Spanish: caserío) in Panguipulli commune, of Los Ríos Region. Located on the southern shores of Calafquén Lake
Calafquén Lake (Mapudungun: Lake like a sea) is a lake of Chile, which straddles the border betwe ...
transportation company, located at kilometer 686 of Route 5 south of
Temuco
Temuco () is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune, capital (political), capital of the Cautín Province and of the Araucanía Region in southern Chile. The city is located south of Santiago de Chile, Santiago. The cit ...
. A brochure was found on the site that attributed the incident to the Mapuche group.
On 26 August, at least 29 trucks were burned in
San José de la Mariquina
Mariquina is a commune in southern Chile, Valdivia Province, Los Ríos Region. It is located about 40 km northeast of Valdivia, close to Cruces River. The capital is the city of San José de la Mariquina. The commune's main economic activ ...
. In place, they left a brochure where the Weichan Auka Mapu group took responsibility for the attack. On 10 August 2018, a group of Mapuche militants burned an evangelical church in the municipality of Budimallín. At the site of the attack, canvases related to the Mapuche cause were found.
;2018
On 11 August 2018, six WAM militants were indicted for their participation in an attack on a farm in Cuyinpahué, owned by Forestal Arauco.
;2019
On 12 September 2019, members of the WAM set fire to two sheds in the Santa Adela farm, located in the
Nueva Imperial
Nueva Imperial (New Imperial, in English) is a city and commune in the south of Chile. It is located in Cautín Province in the Araucanía Region. Nueva Imperial lies about to the west of Temuco, the regional capital.
Geography
Nueva Imperial i ...
district, leaving behind leaflets belonging to the group. Later the government confirmed a complaint for a terrorist arson after the attack was reported.
;2020
A fire caused to the San Fidel major seminary was reported in
Padre Las Casas, with no casualties reported in the attack. The attack occurred at approximately 3:30 a.m., partially destroying the facilities and leaving a canvas.
See also
*
Mapuche conflict
The Mapuche conflict () involves indigenous Mapuche communities, known by the foreigners as the Araucanians, located in Araucanía and nearby regions of Chile and Argentina.
The first attack, marking the beginning of the period of violence i ...
*
Anarchism in Chile
References
{{Mapuche
2011 establishments in Chile
Anarchist militant groups
Anarchist organisations in Chile
Anti-fascist organizations
Guerrilla movements in Latin America
Indigenous organisations in Chile
Indigenous rights organizations in South America
Left-wing militant groups in Chile
Mapuche conflict
Mapuche organizations
Terrorism in Chile
Organizations established in 2011