From New York to La Moneda: We Delivered Our Open Letter in person in defense of the Mapuche People
Lidia Arriagada García, President of Images for Inclusion, in front of La Moneda Palace moments before delivering the Open Letter, on Monday, August 18, 2025, in Santiago, Chile. Photo by David Rojas Bórquez.
This unprecedented step for our organization was necessary due to the lack of acknowledgment of the same letter, which was sent by email to other high officials, and in view of the lack of direct electronic access to the President. The in-person trip underscores the urgent need to address a situation that violates the rights of Indigenous Peoples, particularly the Mapuche People.
The document, received on Monday, August 18, 2025, is a request for the revocation of Exempt Resolution No. 244, of June 27, 2025, and accuses the "Prior Consultation on a New Mapuche Land System" process of being "illegitimate, arbitrary, and in bad faith".
Our complaint is based on a series of decisive arguments:
Vices of legality: The consultation is based on the Supreme Decree No. 66 of 2013, which "prevents" the full and effective participation of all Indigenous Peoples, and does not guarantee a mechanism to achieve free, prior, and informed consent, but rather turns it into a substitute for it.
Massive discrimination: The consultation excludes approximately 50% of the Mapuche People and the other legally recognized Indigenous Peoples in Chile.
Ignorance of international law: It "arbitrarily and intentionally" omits the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and distorts the spirit of ILO Convention 169.
Lack of gender perspective: It completely lacks a gender focus, contravening General Recommendation No. 39 of the CEDAW Committee.
We hope that the President Boric will not ignore our Open Letter nor the call of "hundreds of indigenous communities that are rejecting the consultation process," as evidenced by the three legal protection appeals filed, and the demonstrations throughout the Mapuche territory. For a consultation to be legitimate, it must be based on a "good faith process," ensure "genuine participation," and seek "Free, Prior, and Informed Consent" (FPIC).
We can not forget that unrestricted respect for human rights includes unrestricted respect for the rights of Indigenous Peoples, in accordance with international law. Consultation is not Consent.
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