The Politics of Forests and Forestry on Chile’s Southern Frontier, 1880s-1940s

Abstract

During the Chilean autumn of 2002, the Santiago newspaper El Mercurio published a two-page advertisement sponsored by logging companies listing hundreds of “acts of terrorism” allegedly committed by militant organizations of indigenous Mapuches.1 Aside from the transparent attempt to appropriate the discourse of the U.S. government’s “global war on terror,” the advertisement’s alarmist rhetoric invoked the many histories of peasant struggle against forest management and commercial logging around the globe. The accusations that Mapuche groups had set fire to trucks, destroyed fences, sabotaged roads, stolen wood, and, more generally, engaged in a low-intensity war of harassment against the logging companies recalled not so much terrorist cells as they did the activities of the nineteenth-century French peasant desmoiselles of the Ariège who attacked forest guards to protest new state regulations on the extraction of forest products or Himalayan peasants who opposed forest management introduced under the British Raj.2 Today, hundreds of Mapuche activists are in jail for acts of civil disobedience and protest directed against logging companies, and the Mapuche movement to reclaim land lost during the last century poses a major political challenge to the center-left governments (the Concertación de Partidos por la Democracia, or coalition of parties for democracy) that have ruled Chile during the transition to democracy following the infamous dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973 – 90). Logging and forestation experienced a boom under the radical free-market economic model favored by the Pinochet dictatorship. During the 1970s and 1980s, the forestry sector grew at double the annual rate of national economic growth, making forest products the third-most-important source of export revenues, behind mining and industry.3 After the 1990 transition to democracy, the coalition governments of the Concertación maintained the military regime’s model of export-oriented development.4 Today the expansion of monocultural plantations of North American pine throughout southern Chile and exports of forest products, including logs, wood chips, and cellulose, are a signature of Chile’s much-vaunted free-market model.The consequences of this forestry development have been dire for and Mapuche as as for the forest they have for and to been at and plantations have in many The have been in to logging by groups and peasant organizations by the of Chile’s and the of monocultural plantations of pine and groups are the of pine by commercial many peasants have the and and and by and southern Mapuche and peasant have been to or land to forestry this the of Chile’s forestry boom by on the of Chile’s southern during the and the development of forest management and forestry on the of plantations of pine and of and of forestry development the expansion of the forestry sector during the 1970s and to the Pinochet regime’s free-market that forestry development the of state and in plantations and and by governments been on Chile’s a on the of and in Chile the have to the of and in this to to this by the of on the of and to and political the of Chile’s to the and and state much on state as and on national to the the in national and the by and on forestry and forestation as for the state to much of that had been by and companies and and that forest management during the century as a in the and peasants for of land on the southern plantations and commercial forestry as a to political in to the at a they the of and the political of land and plantations and forestry a to the of Mapuche and they and did the of who to forestation by the the of peasants forestry as a to the for land that the of forest and the of monocultural plantations to to and by and peasants and southern of of the did not of national the military of the Mapuche during the The state set to the by the Mapuche on of land to and the of or the of to the in to Chile and many of and a of Chilean peasants land and to Chilean during the and the state hundreds of of of by to and companies a to they of of of forest to and to the they had been by the of the and the of state to of that as the to the and land in grew and the of the of indigenous the of the of the of land to a for the of the a of the and many of the for to the of of The that of the state had lost of land that to on the logging and to a of land that to and to the and for that in of of in the of the the of a of had as a the of companies that of to the a on that had the state by and the of and for many from the of the of the and that in the southern not of the the of and they during and from the forest and the forest they the of commercial as or of forest a a of the and did to the they of on the to and companies to the of of Mapuche and peasants and or the of the the the of the this of in and as and this as a to Chilean national on the southern as of the of the the of peasants by had to of struggle of the of the for the and that to to the of and the to and the of Chilean peasants to Chile a of new to Chilean and Chilean peasants as or and to Chilean who they had to of and to and the land to the Chilean and a of and The southern as a by peasants and from Chile’s and as the the of by the of the Chilean the on the to the of the that much of the of the of the had political had the of in Chile’s mining and had been to the of by during the and the and on the southern the of forest to the during the of the of had to the of that as to for the on throughout Chile’s southern of that the of the from to the the to the fire the and the major in Chile of plantations of the and companies the of had and companies had pine to and that the a of to the on by of the of and of and a on the state of the and the of a who had been in forestry a in to the of the and to commercial of the to the of on the that the state a that land of the and that to a a of for land that the state land and for or the of the fire and of to on the to a for and the of forest to the management of the as as state of the by commercial this that the state to of forest for the state a and from that forest the to to and of the that on in to the and of the the development of forest management to the of state the and the of a had to the of Chilean peasants and of land for Mapuche as as to the of the last that in that of the of the to that forestry management and forestation not of or the of and the to the and the of the state to in by the and they by a source of state of by and state of the organizations of southern and the state in of for forest management and The de la the of the southern the of forest and on who by the of the century had experienced and The that on for for and had been in the of in have been in to and for and the the in forestry the a of pine plantations they a newspaper El published in of forest including a who the development of plantations that as source of for and as as wood The of the in this in the major El forestation and the of forest of forest management in on and published in El by the of the on a and from the southern of by the who had the and and who had and that the state of forest and for Chilean that are many that are many and invoked the of forestry and forestation in the monocultural plantations of are and that are not in in the not have the of and that the in Chile are they to and of extraction and The model for Chile the plantations to the companies in the of the the of the forest had land to plantations of pine and the and had to the a forest management the state to the and that following the of forestry a to the of the of the the activities of the state the forest monocultural plantations to the of forestry plantations a and in a and by histories of and by of forest the state did to and commercial forestry a the state and commercial forestry as the of economic development on the the of a the and on the and annual of forest and the of roads, and in the for the of and a of the of the southern forestry that the by in the southern The that a of had the development of in and of who on and from had to the by of or and that the wood by Chile’s of and wood to the to they or a by the for the state and to North American pine Chilean the of commercial forestry on the by and by southern as the of in the of the of state in the of The of the had and on to the southern and to as to the development of the The of peasants and that the of the by of of and in of – on Mapuche and or and to land to or by and companies and to of Mapuche and peasants to the national in the from by and to the as a they to land on for they of the and the and of engaged in by and this on on the for and The and Mapuche peasants for and, pine from the as a for peasants and to in throughout the that a of and a national of the of the that and for and Mapuche and on land that had been to the a major in the in the of many of the had a of on The wood from the for and they in the of and that the are the that to the of and the peasants and to a the following a to the of and the that on in of of had been by and Mapuche many from the of a forestry the and to to the a to the the land to and against and by of in and the of that are in and of logs, of the of of a that have this extraction and of to the The that of had the that the a of and in the in to that to the and and who land on the in by and on the the or and The and to the of Chile’s as that the of the are in the of the by and of or in to to or to and peasants to of in to appropriate the the the to that the peasants and not or and the of for peasant on the during the of the that to this that on they of the to the that in a the of land to to that they as and to to the in and that land on and the to and so they as for the of that on a of around who they had and of at the of at a of southern who in to the of southern The of by and on the by a to the and of the the that they are they the that they to and and land the development of the and the of the forest to to by and in forest management or to the of and wood for and in and forest in state forestry in the the of and the of the center-left coalition governments by the and and the and parties and from a that and logging to that commercial forestry and and the governments of and the of including the of the for on the and land to under the of to the of and peasants to land they on the new the of land on indigenous the of the Mapuche the peasant and Mapuche land the During this the state introduced to the of and and and commercial The development of forestry and forestation the of the to and the development of forest plantations that are to Chile’s and The set the of the of The of to the development of plantations of a for the of and the of throughout and southern The for parties to on of to the state to and from the expansion of as as and The the to forest and national on state The forestation by that to at the the of from by the in not of of the of a The a of to and logging companies to a of to the they for to by from the who the of the of forest The to governments for to land by fire (the major source of in the in the of a new to state of forest and commercial forestry as a to Chile’s export of and that for new they not to commercial at for the of the in from the of wood, have a many of management to a of development on this the from export-oriented to did not a and export and for the The of the in forest products a for Chile to to development and growth, and the new state in commercial forestry and forest the and in the of forest to the new of the and and the and state to in pine the of and a new to to by the of for and plantations a of annual for the The the for of plantations of pine the Chilean forest that are The that pine for this grew much Chilean and had a of in the extraction of for the of and in the the and a of throughout the and the the on The to for and and to forest and to the of the national The to in pine plantations on the from for to the had and to forestation pine to a of The of state development the or to pine plantations and commercial forestry a of to to pine and of for a of at a forestry companies The the land on to for the plantations and forestry companies had been this of to companies that from wood, and on the of and did of for Chilean and a for wood products to the of by the and the of exports of forest During the to the of that for of the coalition of the and parties in of forestry during the and to a of the as as a of that and including the and in and and The the as the source of the economic and The land and in they destroyed the and land to the of Chilean on and management of the the of of the of that are for a that in a of the of forest that to the to the and of of on the land for peasants the of in The of including forestry on the the by land and from for and peasant who and and of and economic the and forestation the by of forestation and forestry to in the of and forestation as a for the of and and as as for the that had to in the and in the The a of by the and by the of and in the the of the in of and in the of a against and including as and plantations a source of wood that to for the of the and the of a new in plantations around and and the of and the and of the to the as the of a of the that the and a and in the in the of had the and behind that had land by hundreds of and Mapuche The of that of and had the to the of in that have not been forest peasant had the and the to the consequences that are by of had been to they had to the that had from of in the After the from the the companies to in the had and to forest and The of and that this of the are the forest of the from the national for the for at the of a of peasants in the the of the state of the the state the of the of and the of in the of to the by the and to of forest for so that they are not the forestry of peasants on in the and The the state the and a directed by a from the of the forestry to a of The in the in the to of the by forest and land by The of to and for the in the and for for and and to the peasant who the North American pine by the The a of the by the to the and in the of Chile’s and during the and on the and to peasant The state forest on this land in to for the national and for this of state land and the governments of the to to this companies to a of to the they for by from the as on the have a source of in forestry they and have the of the forestry and and The to parties the companies, and the state in a that the of the the of and not this they to the of the peasant including of forest for and wood, and to the of for a by a The of as forestry did not that they had from of The of the on the to the by the The had the of they not the or the peasant The by and who the land and peasants had wood from the and the of had to by of of that they by attacked by or and The to the for the the and a in the in during the and the state to the commercial forestry and forestation to and on the a of peasants for land the forest The in of a from the de The a in to wood for to and the to for the that the land for of for the of under in and pine for this The of of this of the of and forestry development of the and had in the nineteenth-century forestry of and a from Chile’s economic the a U.S. by a for Chilean forest the pine plantations as to the development of as and The on plantations of forestry as a on the management of monocultural plantations and the of to pine and Chilean had North American in the century as to more and in of of and forestry Chile’s as the U.S. in of forest management or plantations of Chile are under in by state development to Chile’s nineteenth-century of of forestation and forest management on land North American the plantations they land and the management of plantations and of Chile’s the management of the from Mapuche and peasants to the and by the and forestry the and a of in Chile’s southern and to pine and to to as to to reclaim land on by they of forest in to for the North American plantations a to cellulose, and the state and to the of the of the the the forest of and engaged in of the and for during the and to the of forest to the of national forest and the against by pine to Chile’s for and wood plantations a to the and peasant and and to and the of the a during the and to land and on they the economic of a and to in the of to a of of forestation on land The for of to on to a plantations from for that plantations by the of and had on of and in the of of at the in the a of pine plantations the of the in from the of to a of and in to The the of in to to plantations of of on the forestry companies to the of pine companies of of and of forestry the new of by that in pine plantations a rate of and in of pine plantations by and a The plantations a against the of the and that the and and during this not of and of that the by a of and on land in appropriate for The of pine plantations in this The and the by the in the in Chile for this The the of the of the who that annual by the development of economic much by the companies and in the had a of plantations had to and to a The for and source of and the in the of a published had a in and to this a in the to who to the of the and of and so that to of forestry companies a The pine plantations in and the forest had been destroyed and had to and the the of organizations had to the in and to pine as a a to to on during the and to the of as during the and maintained by the of in a for and by the of the on the to the of El in many southern in and to or had in did they have the to in or new that they they of the and of many the of the of many from the land by or who are in the from the The that of this of in in and the of the more the in on the had by for the that and had the of the of and many and on of the so that to of the many of are not of they by the that the of and that the of forest that in of in published in the newspaper on the of the that the of Chile’s by fire had to and throughout the The of had the of the a by to in the and southern and on pine and many to pine and for that had been to for the de in the of of on The had the the had the they and to to the of the the to pine a to the to of the a have in to the of the and to the of the of the the de of the had the land for as as and on they and The the of to on the as they that from the of pine on the a for as forest the and who had land during the the peasants the as and on of to forest products and the national in to of the the the and the or the state to logging to companies that to a during the of on the and to the in the of in the The had the many of had on the for in to The peasants that they not to that the land the and that more the to hundreds of and from the the of of for and for to peasants the to in a to for and for the to plantations on the they have wood, on the land during many of the forestation of a more on land the on the and the of in the to a and the for the of the of the of and peasants pine during the for the newspaper El that in the of that are The the national (the de or and the of in for and the had to the to land and that had the in to The land for a that for many are of land that are for and more who of El in that pine plantations are of of in The a who that the expansion of the pine plantations a of of the the peasant and commercial forestry in the of on the to on the to la de the for the to pine as a to by peasant for the of the the of to in a of the El and The had and a for and to the had to on that are for the of a that in this The of pine on El the of the not the who are plantations to a to a of the of on and and to a of the new economic by commercial to forestry and forestation a major in the of the The of a forestry and for peasants of land and to have in the of the of the the of forest management on from peasant who to the as a the state the to and commercial peasants the as land that for in to and forest products to the Chilean and the the forestation and for land and to The parties of the governments of the forestation and commercial forestry as of a of and they and the of peasant The for the and of in to The of El that the of by a who to the government’s by the of and a militant of the El attacked the of pine on the a of the southern from to by the of the of the of and to and of the in to plantations of not for peasant land for forest management and the development of the forest the and the governments of the major of on land by for the a in the southern of and a on the for in the to the of and a have to the of the from and and the land pine the of the of as the Chilean state to and as the and of and peasants in the this the governments that the political of the including and – the and governments the of pine on and in and the of development the state a of new and in the of the the of forestry to the of the for new The of southern and by peasants and in the to peasants a and in forest the the political and of on the as as that not for The of by the of forest management and to land and The the governments of the and of forestry and development that the of the forestry and peasant by the military and the of state under The military the and political of the in the of the peasants and had been a of land and the of the The Pinochet dictatorship the land to the of a of to the 1980s, major groups of the pine plantations and of the and free-market the military this had been of state and the to at the regime’s forestry state that of the of forestation for companies pine and companies, or political to to the of southern the 1970s and 1980s, from the state and by for cellulose, and wood chips, they to pine plantations and to of Mapuche and peasants from and a of who as at that the of the in by the governments of the and who commercial forestry and forestation as a to and in the the Chilean state in forestry and forestation export to following the of the and a to pine plantations to for the forestation and the and of on of commercial as for land and Chile’s land in the the governments to and forestry that and the state to in in to peasants or or to forestry forestry on the during the and the of state the of and introduced of state in and the management of the that have been in this state in land and forest on the during this for of during the and forestry by in southern who in pine plantations a to the of against and by governments in a of plantations southern to on and from the state and from peasant and in forestry a to the of forestry and to the by they to by state and peasant and to and for during the and in pine plantations a to and Mapuche peasants the development of of forestry management as a to to land and During the and peasants of by to and on they the of plantations and to the of land they and they as a national on of and on of to to the they they the for the militant peasant of the that Chile’s as as the movement of Mapuche that the challenge to the of and the of plantations in southern a of a at the American in the of the and for the from the of and to for