Chile from the Estallido Social to the Triumph of the Far Right

“If Pinochet were alive, he would vote for me.” This statement alone would suffice to describe the significance of what happened in Chile on Sunday, December 14, 2025, the day of the last presidential election. The statement was made a few years ago by José Antonio Kast, who took office as President of the Republic on March 11.¹

From the very beginning of his term, Kast has implemented a series of measures consistent with the framework of his declared “emergency government,” such as a border control plan that calls for the construction of physical barriers, accompanied by the use of drones and the deployment of the armed forces along the northern border to strengthen efforts to combat immigration². Among the executive branch’s first actions was the suspension of numerous environmental decrees, marking an immediate break with climate policies³. Finally, the President recently confirmed his intention to grant pardons to law enforcement officers convicted for their role in suppressing the 2019 protests⁴.

In Geneva, during the Social Forum of the UN Human Rights Council (October 30–31, 2025), a representative of the Pope John XXIII Community took the floor to draw attention to the situation of the Mapuche people in Chile, who still face deep challenges in having their cultural identity, territories, and traditional knowledge recognized. She denounced the ongoing issues: the limited understanding of Mapuche customs and worldview by institutions, and the criminalization of those who defend their culture and land.
Education can and must become a space for encounter, capable of preserving collective memory, valuing diversity, and transmitting ancient knowledge to new generations. Only education rooted in respect and dialogue can help build more just, inclusive, and sustainable societies.
To watch the full video with all the speeches:
https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k18/k180qt8b0v

On Wednesday, September 24, in Geneva, during the 60th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the annual panel discussion on the rights of Indigenous Peoples took place, entitled
“Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the context of a just transition to sustainable energy systems, including in relation to critical minerals.”
Representatives of APG23 have taken the floor, bringing the voice of those who suffer the consequences of unjust development models. In the name of the energy transition, large-scale projects are realised that destroy the environment, harm biodiversity, and entrench new inequalities.

In Chile, a Mapuche activist has mysteriously disappeared under suspicious circumstances, reigniting the debate over the prosecution of the defenders of ancestral lands. Her community demands justice, while investigations proceed amidst silences and uncertainties.

On November 8th, 2024, Julia Chuñil Catricura, a 72-year-old Mapuche leader and activist, left her home with her dog, Cholito, looking for some animals, on a hill near Máfil, in the Los Ríos region, of south-central Chile. Since then, she has not been heard from.

Julia Chuñil is the President of the Putraguel indigenous community, where she came to be known for her fight for environmental rights, in particularly in protecting aproximately 900 hectares of native forest.
The defense of her community’s land led to many episodes of threats and harassment throughout the years. As reported by several local newspapers, the land, claimed by the Putraguel community, has in fact been, object of dispute with a local businessman interested in the selling of timber. The businessman is a descendant of one of the most well-known German settlers of the 19th century and is a beneficiary of the land-acquisition process under the Pinochet dictatorship.

In the report filed by her family after her disappearance, it is stated that the businessman had threatened Julia multiple times and that he had even attempted to run her over while she was on her way to the land, claiming to not have seen her on the road. He had even threatened her, saying that there would be no point in appealing to CONADI (Corporación Nacional de Desarrollo Indígena), the national agency responsible for the redistribution of land to indigenous communities in Chile, as he held a great deal of influence.