While writing my short essay on Mapuche militarization as a response to the Chilean State and Chilean society ignoring the day-to-day reality of the Mapuche in Chile I learned of the pervasiveness that the neoliberal policies had on them. As a result I decided to change my project topic from the Catholic Church in Chile’s relationship with the Mapuche to the Chilean State’s subjugation of the Mapuche through their neoliberal policies and their weak and ironic ‘Growth with Equity’ policy. Through my research it became clear that these policies are at the heart of the ‘Mapuche conflict’ and has what kept the Chilean government from ever truly helping the Mapuche and listening to their demands.
The radical neoliberal policies in Chile not only commodify all natural resources but also individuals. Alejandro Foxley, the chief architect of the ‘Growth with Equity’ campaign during the Concertacion years, famously reflected on the neoliberal policies, ‘we have already paid the social costs of these neoliberal policies, so we might as well enjoy the economic benefits.’ This quote is what drove me to change my project topic. For the Minister of Finance to admit that the neoliberal policies cause great social costs that benefit only a few was jarring. One of the greatest reasons Mapuche demands are not being met is because of the Chilean State’s economic interests in the south of Chile— the forestry estates. Moreover, the individualism that neoliberalism breeds leaves the Mapuche to ‘help themselves’ and leaves them with the option to either become a capitalistic ‘credit-card citizen’ like the rest of the country or in their current repressed and ignored state. The option is to assimilate or continue in their current state of ‘invisibility.’
This project will also greatly aid me as I look to write my dissertation next year. I will be (hopefully) writing about neocolonialism in Chile through the mining industry and will be focusing on economic history. By delving into some of the material now I hope it will help in contextualizing and understanding the topic further.