An Alternative Mapuche Perspective : Comparing Leaders with the Rural Non-politically Involved

Abstract: Chile is portrayed as a Latin American success story when it comes to democratic transition, development and fiscal growth. However, the largest indigenous group, the Mapuche, have been marginalized by the government and its policies, as a conflict has been present ever since the independence. The complexity of the situation, and the lack of information about different Mapuche groups, has created a research gap where little is known about the rural non-politically involved Mapuche, where emphasis has rather been put on the demands of Mapuche leaders. Through the concepts and theories of Ted Robert Gurr, regarding ethnic groups and group mobilization, this research sets out to investigate the grievances of rural non-politically involved Mapuche, and compare those to the grievances of the Mapuche leaders. By doing that, this study will analyze the level of cohesion within the Mapuche population, and whether or not they are mobilizing successfully. The research takes place in highly Mapuche populated Padre las Casas, Araucanía, where interviews are conducted with rural non-politically involved Mapuche. To investigate the grievances and demands of the Mapuche leaders, this study uses Chilean and international secondary sources. The results of this research indicate that the differences, in terms of grievances and demands, are highly diverse between rural non-politically involved Mapuche and Mapuche leaders.