In 2013, landowner Bernard Luchsinger and his wife Vivianne McKay were killed and their bodies burnt in the Araucania region of south-central Chile. The couple had been involved in a land dispute with the local Mapuche indigenous community. The incident was labeled “a terrorist act” by Interior Minister Andres Chadwick, and President Sebastian Pinera personally visited the region to announce the deployment of eighty-four additional police officers to protect local landowners. On October 25, 2017, eleven Mapuches suspected of having carried out the attack were cleared by judges due to insufficient evidence.
Tensions between the 600,000-strong Mapuche and the Chilean government have grown increasingly stressed over the past few years. Mapuche extremists have carried out other attacks on residents and companies who they see as intruding on traditional lands. The killing of Luchsinger and McKay may have been related to the murder of Mapuche activist Matias Catrileo in 2008, who was shot and killed by police while participating in an occupation of land owned by Jorge Luchsinger — a cousin of Bernard Luchsinger.
The article paints modern Latin America as being violent and stuck in the past. It mentions how armed groups have launched other destructive arson attacks on buildings and vehicles, and it links the violence seen today to a Chilean military invasion in the 1800s. The portrayal of Latin America, specifically Chile, is not dissimilar to Iraq.
Throughout Colonial Latin American history, indigenous peoples were constantly oppressed and their land encroached upon by greedy colonists. Many natives resisted Spanish conquest, but all eventually fell under at least nominal Spanish domination. The colonial bureaucracy and judicial system were generally stacked against them. Now, however, it seems as though native peoples are receiving fairer treatment. Even if their land is still preyed upon by landowners and corporations, there are people who recognize their plight and they can turn to the courts for justice. Lingering hostilities have nonetheless erupted into violence, and the Luchsinger murders were not the first or last altercations resulting from this. With any luck, the extremists responsible will be brought to justice and existing grievances can be solved peacefully.