Evo Morales Backs Mapuche Detainees in Chile

Bolivia's President Evo Morales has condemned the persecution and abduction of Indigenous peoples, solidifying himself with the four Mapuche members being detained by the Chilean government, which is accusing them of allegedly burning an evangelical temple in the south of the country.

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Chileans Protest in Santiago in Support for Mapuche Prisoners

Hundreds of Chileans have expressed their support for the four Mapuche villagers who have been on hunger strike for more than 100 days. The four activists, consisting of three brothers and the head of a Mapuche community, Lonko Alfredo Tralcal are accused of being the alleged perpetrators of the burning in 2016 of the temple in the town of Padre Las Casas, located in the region of Araucania, in the south of the country.

"As in colonial times and dictatorships, the persecution and abduction of Indigenous peoples is deplorable."

Supporters are alarmed by Tralcal's health since he is said to have a digestive hemorrhage, and loss of weight.

In Araucania, Indigenous members occupied about 600,000 hectares, which is equivalent to 5 percent of their ancestral lands and one-sixth of what the lumber companies own.

The claims on the lands by the Mapuche people have resulted in decades of struggle, leading to violence and deaths against leaders, as well as women, children and the elderly by the Chilean state.