Chile 2008
In southern Chile, despite social and political isolation, the Mapuche continue to resist to recover their territory. They consider that the millions of hectares which are today exploited by logging multinationals and which have been gradually stolen from them since the independence of Chile, are part of the wallamapu, the country of the Mapuches, and they are fighting to regain their land and preserve their traditions. In Chile, each year, logging increases by 50,000 hectares. Faced with the inevitable threat of soil impoverishment and forced expropriation, the Mapuche continue to fight for the autonomy of their territory, and the creation of an independent parliament that would respect the will of their people. The government remaining deaf to their demands, the struggle of the most radical organization, the CAM (Coordinadora Aranco Malleco) now involves direct action. The state, supported by the media which demonize their cause, responds to the opposition with heavy police surveillance, mass arrests, the imprisonment of resistance leaders, and constant repression of the Mapuche people, who often swell the ranks of underpaid urban workers.
This series brings together some images taken in the Lleu-Lleu lake region and bears witness to the rudimentary life of an autonomous community surrounded by logging companies. Except for Yvan Llanquileo, one of the leaders of the CAM and leader of the community, the fear of reprisals encourages the people encountered to testify with their faces covered and under another name. Opposite the busy tourist banks of the Lleu-Lleu, Rukañanko, on reclaimed land, is under permanent surveillance by the police, who control most of the access points to the village. Through these few images, I wanted to show the gap that separates multinationals with considerable profits and the inhabitants of one of the poorest regions of Chile, engaged in a disproportionate struggle.
This series is called Operation Patience, because this term officially defines the heavy action of the government against the Mapuche people with oversized means. In their own way, they are taking the opposite view of this long-term oppression. For them, Operation Patience represents the hope that one day the land will return to their people.