Chile - May 2025

On 6 May, the Commission for Peace and Understanding delivered its final report to President Gabriel Boric. This marked a milestone in institutional efforts to address the long-standing territorial conflict in Chile’s ‘Southern Macrozone’. The region has been militarised and under a state of exception since 2021 due to escalating tensions between the state and Mapuche Indigenous communities over their historic demand for their ancestral land and self-determination. The Commission, established in 2023, included Mapuche commissioners (four out of eight in total), and presented 21 recommendations. These include new laws to recognize Indigenous groups, new mechanisms for land restitution, and reparations to victims of the conflict involving the Mapuche. The government announced initial responses, including consultations with Indigenous groups, a new system for assessing and conducting land restitution, enhanced support for conflict victims, and an economic recovery and development plan for the region. 

Sources: El Pais, Presidencia de Chile, Radio Universidad Chile, Ciper