On Violence

On Violence, and Cultural Relativism

I´ve always been a pacifist. As an idealist, I´ve always believed in non-violence and in buddhist philosophy. I believe that if everyone in the world were to return to the source, return to a place of love, we will have peace. Peace IS possible. A conflict is only a conflict if both parties maintain that it is. If either or both decide that there is no conflict, there IS is no conflict. Unfortunately, reality looks a little different on the ground. Each place I travel to I see that different people have different realities, culturally, socially and politically defined. Yet we all create those realities. We all have the power to change them. However, in the reality of economic combined with authoritarian power, democracy and human rights seem to be far-off pipe dreams. In such a case, peace is not always the answer. It is, effectively, a fight-fire-with-fire mechanism that will be effective in order to keep the peace, ironically enough. In Chile, I have found the cultural relativist ability to understand violence. Within the context of all-pervasive exploitation and repression, the reaction is expected: if those in power do not fight the fair fight, why should we? Corruption, extortion, threats and violence from the state and the private sector generate the same among the citizens. They resort to illegal means to survive in the jungle of discontent. It is a discontent, distrust and disbelief that the “system” will work for them. The beautiful discourse of “transparency” and “participation” are nothing but that. Just empty words. Definately not the reality for most citizens of this country. Most people say that not much has changed since the dictatorship. True, there is no military rule, but there is no democracy, either. And now I finally get it, violence IS the answer. But doesn`t it just generate more repression? That is the fear that will prevent violence from occurring.

The True face of Nils Huseby and SN Power

On the 31st of January, 2008, I witnessed an intense and well-organized meeting with members of the mapuche (indigenous) communities of Panguipulli, Chile and executives of Norwegian energy company SN Power, and their Chilean counterpart, Trayenko, S.A. The purpose of the meeting was for the companies to open a dialogue with the communities about SN Power´s proposed project to build hydroelectric plants in the area. This meeting was agreed upon by the director for the Latin American region of SN Power, Nils Huseby, and Pedro Antimilla, representative of the communities, who had gone all the way to Oslo in December. There, on December 11th, 2007, they had signed an agreement according to Nordic and international laws which respect the rights of indigneous communities, such as land and water rights. The agreement stated that SN Power would not continue their project without entering into dialogue with the communities. The proposed dialogue, intended to start on the 31st of january, was meant to offer a platform for the communities to express their concerns about the project and for the company to take these concerns into consideration in their plans. At this meeting, in the fields of Carirriñe, Mapuche territory, about an hour`s drive on unpaved roads from Coñaripe, over 500 local people were present, including 14 lonkos (chiefs) of the mapuche communities, members of local tourist organizations, and the mayor of the municipality of Panguipulli, Alejandro Kohler. These fields are symbolic land where Mapuche and Non-Mapuche historically meet. The lonkos, other representatives of the communities and the mayor spoke eloquently and clearly for over an hour in the plain sun and scorching heat of the afternoon, articulating their concerns about the proposed hydroelectric projects and how these would affect the communities. It was made absolutely clear that the Mapuche communities, the mayor, and several local (eco)tourism operators and small farmers, representing over 3000 local citizens, are unanimously opposed to the plans being performed in any way, shape or form. However, they also emphasized that they do not wish a violent conflict as those taking place between mapuche communities and forestry companies in the northwest of Chile.

Nils Huseby arrived in his suit and tie, he and his collegues refused to sit on the traditional seats offered by the communities, and stood under the hot sun, listening to each of the lonkos and werken (spokespeople) make their appeals. They appealed to international agreements such as the ILO 169 and the UN`s declaration of indigenous peoples. The Mapuche communities wish to recuperate their ancestral rights to water, which were sold to SN Power by the Chilean state. The rights to water and the rights to land were divided by the Pinochet regime in 1981, allowing for the state to sell and alot land and water seperately. As the territory which the communities occupy is recognized as indigenous land, the water is seen as a distinct resource. The land is, however, useless without water. The rivers running through the land are subject to being rerouted by subterranean aquaducts, to feed the hydroelectric plants SN Power has planned. Furthermore, a large part of the land will be inundated, rendering it useless and possibly entailing the relocation of communities. Local farmers and hotsprings enterpreneurs will lose their water sources as well, which will mean they will no longer be able to survive as such. The region of the rivers and lakes is the most well-developped ecotourism destination in Chile. Tourism is the sole industry in the area, and the transformation of this area will not only mean a great loss to the Mapuche communities, but a great loss to all Chileans.

Finally, when it was Nils Huseby`s turn to respond, he simply said “I`ve heard your concerns and appeals, but we are not prepared to discontinue the project, we will proceed as planned”. An all around shocked reaction and booeing surged spontaneously from the crowd. The Werken Maria Eugenia Calfuñanco responded that this was not in accordance with the agreements made in Oslo, where Mr. Huseby agreed to negotiate with the communities, and then revise the plans. Obviously the decision had already been made prior to the meeting that the plans would proceed regardless of the opinion of the communities, for it was made clear at the meeting that all present were not in favour of the plans: no studies, no plants, no dams. A big “NO” all around. And so Nils Huseby gave them a big “NO” in return. Some dialogue. Why did he even bother coming? He seemed only to laugh cynically at the serious appeals of the Lonkos. Was it just a media stunt? To fulfill his “participation” barometer in the Corporate Social Responsibility charts? Some participation. He even tried to make excuses, saying that he could not do anything about the gap in the Chilean laws, that allows for a company such as SN Power to buy all the rights to water in the area, leaving the locals powerless, and if the company proceeds with the plans, leaving them without a source of life, and some even landless. He said that he was not in the position, due to Chilean law, to return their water rights. He said that they have to take up this problem with the Chilean state, not with him. Meanwhile SN Power is taking advantage of this “gap” in the law. Taking advantage in order to turn a profit, not taking any responsibility for the consequences for the local environment and people in Chile, something which the company would not be able to do in Norway itself. This echoes the long tradition of colonialism and imperialism, exploiting the national resources of latin america to increase the wealth of western nations. The new form of “globalization” is possible due to the tremendous neoliberalism installed by the Pinochet regime which is allowing foreign and transnational companies to transform Chile`s natural resources into capitalist profit, creating enormous impacts for the Chilean people for an unforseen amount of time.

The representatives of the mapuche communities had made a typed statement entailing all that was said during the meeting, and asked all the speakers to sign it, as is traditional in these types of meetings. Nils Huseby, however, also refused to sign this. He was then asked “what is his word worth?” and “why should we ever believe it again?” He does not seem to be complying to any of his promises. He was then asked to leave the territory. The representatives said: “Unfortunately this is our first conversation and also our last.You are no longer welcome in this territory”. All those present, shouted “They must leave!” Other comments made by those locals present and at the end of the meeting proved that this would be the beginning of a long battle, and if any of the workers of SN Power or Trayenko were found working in the territory, they would be sent away again, as they had been in october 2007, when they had begun their “studies” with immense machinery to drill holes into the earth of Mapuche territory, without their permission or even their previous knowledge, because the ministry of economics had signed a contract with SN Power allowing them to conduct subterranean studies of the area for the next two years. It is clear that SN Power will continue to do so regardless of the desires of the local communities, and to this effect, Nils Huseby and his collegues are not taking any responsibility in the so-called “dialogue” with the communities, nor do they respect indigenous and human rights, such as the collective rights to land and water, resources which are invaluable to the people, yet receive a very cheap pricetag in the competitive capitalist market.

See also:

http://pellaifanewen.blogspot.com/

http://pellaifanewen.blogspot.com/2008/03/comunidades-mapuche-y-grupos-locales.html

http://www.australvaldivia.cl/prontus4_nots/site/extra/pdp/pdp.html?sec=2&ts=20080201000636&fp=20080201&pag=4

http://www.termasvergara.cl/todos-contra-las-represas/

http://www.coñaripe.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=22&Itemid=28

http://www.travesiaweb.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=65&Itemid=7

http://www.mapuche.info/

http://www.patagoniasinrepresas.cl/

http://www.mapuexpress.net/?act=news&id=2096

www.minesandcommunities.org/Action/press1111.htm

www.mapuche.nl/english/natives_rights120507.html

http://www.ecoterritorios.blogspot.com/

http://www.ecosistemas.cl/1776/propertyvalue-29643.html

Los Chilenos

Chileans remember the violence of the dictatorship all too well. Social reform imposed with brute physical force. Another type of violence resulted from the radical neoliberal economic reforms implemented by Pinochet: poverty, destitution, inequality and injustice. Only strict military rule was to deter the rise of crime. To this day Chile has not completely recovered or recuperated social equality. And so crime rates have risen alongside democracy.

Around the world, Chile is seen as the most democratic, stable, and economically developed country in Latin America. This all depends on the definition of democracy that is applied. An electoral democracy it certainly is, but social justice and equality are still lacking for many. Voices of dissent and protest are all too often repressed by the military police. Macroeconomic development benefits those that have resources and access to the formal market and education. Meanwhile, those that do not enjoy these opportunities are punished in their efforts to survive, as the informal market and petty theft are still reprimanded strictly by the police force. Again and again, no matter how you look at it, the ´little guy´ always gets the short end of the stick. The big guys are given the go ahead as if there is no tomorrow. But there is, and it is for our children and our children’s children that we must plan ahead. Currently, a theft so large it is almost impossible to fathom is occurring in the capitalist democracy that is Chile.

The drive for sovereignty and the growth of the GDP take shape in the form of powerful multinational entrepreneurs and investors who extract natural resources at such a high rate and at an enormous cost of the local peoples and their environment. These foreigners do not seem to have the same love and pride for Chile that Chileans share. The love for the land, with all its natural beauty, and for the kind, warmhearted and generous people. Chileans are proud of their history, the leaders of the past, and of their artistic icons, such as Victor Jara and Violetta Parra. It is a love and pride of Chile that I have come to share with them.

Natural resource-based industrialization has nothing to do with love, peace, equality, justice or democracy, which is something that people generally strive to achieve in their lives. No, it is simply the rape of Chile, leaving a token of GDP growth behind for the father el gobierno, who turns a blind eye.

For More information, see:

http://www.patagoniasinrepresas.cl/

http://www.pellaifanewen.blogspot.com/

http://pellaifanewen.blogspot.com/2007/12/comunidades-de-carrirrie-convocan.html

http://www.termasvergara.cl/todos-contra-las-represas/

http://www.mapuexpress.net/?act=news&id=2096

http://www.minesandcommunities.org/Action/press1111.htm

http://www.mapuche.nl/english/natives_rights120507.html

http://www.ecoterritorios.blogspot.com/

Coñaripe, Chile

Coñaripe, situated to the north of lake Calafquen, near the Villarrica National Park, which was declared a UNESCO sight in 1999, in the XIVth region in Southern Chile. The environment of a large part of the seven lakes region will be seriously affected and its sustainability will be threatened by the plans of a foreign energy company, SN Power, to build a series of hydroelectric plants, in a hydroelectric megaproject.

In the Mapuche language, Mapudungun, ‘Mapu’ means earth, or land, and ‘che’ means people; they are the people of the land. This linguistic symbolism signals the historic importance of land and its resources to the Mapuche people, and it is an integral and significant part of their existence to this day. Yet, it has also been the cause of most of their grief and strife. Most anthropologists and observers recognize the integral role the land and the environment play in the Mapuche culture. The valley in which Coñaripe is located has always been Mapuche land. The Mapuche originally populated the mountain ranges of Challupén, Traitraico y Pucura. Throughout history, they have been resettled and their land has been reduced significantly, so that they now live on a handful of reserves in and around Coñaripe. Now SN Power´s plan threatens to further reduce their living space and ability to survive, displacing them even further.

If this project will be effectuated, flora, fauna and the local people will no longer be able to survive as they currently do. Water will diverted from flowing its natural course through this area, and inundate other parts of the region. One of the rivers that will be largerly affected is the Llancahue, which presently provides water to the surrounding flora, fauna and people alike for their survival, as well as there sustenance needs such as sustainable fishing, a sustainable energy source, and sustainable tourism such as hotsprings, rafting and trekking. This form of income will be lost if the plans go through. This will further affect the local businesses in the region who profit indirectly from tourism. This area does not currently have any other industry that can provide employment. Therefore, if the plans for the hydroelectric megaproject by SN Power take effect, the livelihoods of approximately 1400 people (30 families and communities) will be threatened, as well as causing unforeseeable consequences for the ecosystem, surrounding region, and mountains, not to mention the pollution the construction will cause.

Currently, the energy company holds an agreement with the Ministry of Economy, Promotion and Reconstruction, so that it may perform ´studies´ in the next two years. These ´studies´ commenced on October 22nd of this year, on indigenous lands, without permission of the inhabitants, which is in contradiction with Chile´s 1993 Indigenous Law. Leaders of the Antimilla community, part of the Round table Pellaifa Newen, are willing to talk and defend their rights. But they have been victims of acts of force by SN Power, as the installation of materials and machinery for exploration sites without permission from the community forced them to take physical action to make the company withdraw its materials and leave the unauthorized sites. The affected communities will continue to raise awareness and conduct protests locally.

However, due to the ethnic and socio-economic politics in Chile, their voices are not being heard, their protest is not being headed. This situation has long historical premises, and indigenous rights have repeatedly been negated in the quest for industrialization and capitalist expansion. The most recent example was the prolific and polemic Pangue and Ralco dams built on the Bio Bio river in the XVIIth region from 1997-2004, comissioned by ENDESA. (see previous post)Approximately 92 Mapuche families were relocated away from their ancestral lands, burial grounds and sacred sites, which were inundated due to the damming of the river. The Mapuche comunities in Coñaripe fear that they will also see a similar fate, as the actions of the energy company have shown absolute disregard for their lands, customs and the Indigenous law to date. This is why we feel it is imperative that this project does take any physical shape. Experience has taught us that once construction has commenced and investments have been made, the power of capital will overrule any human or environmental right. Taking away their water will be literally taking away their last drop of life.

Body Talk

A conversation with a couple in Chile reminds me of a similar conversation I had with a couple in India, about women´s bodies. It seems that the world over men and women are brainwashed with the ideal of a ´perfect´, desirable, sexy and healthy body is that of a barbie doll. Her skin being tanned in the West and white in the Rest. And yet, talking to people from around the world it seems that this ideal is just that, as it is not naturally achievable for many, it is rather a mechanism which keeps women insecure and vulnerable to eating disorders. To be happy, to be healthy, to reproduce and live a long life is to be at peace with your own body in its natural form. To feed yourself for nutrition as well as social pleasure. And men seem to actually truly desire a ´real´woman´s body (una mujer) and not a barbie doll or una chica. If he says otherwise, he is lyng or a product of this brainwashing. A result of our western media, hollywood-glamour magazines and the like. Do we seek approval from the stars? Are they happy? Would they not much rather live without such inhuman pressure to conform to something they are not? It used to be desirable-popular-mainstream to be a round, voluptuous, well-fed woman, in almost all parts of the world. It was seen as a sign of wealth, prestige, power and presence. When did it become fashionable to look like a weak, meek, insecure and vulnerable shadow of a girl? A poor excuse of a woman, I´d say. It is sad enough that professional athletes, dancers, models and actresses must adhere to this pressure as a part of their professional choice. But it is atrocious that the normal, day-to-day, wives, mothers, sisters, friends (ie. the majority of the population) of this world feel pressured to do so. An absolute outrage, a scandal of unhealthy proportions, in fact! Figuratively and literally speaking. Times are changing, though, for the better I hope, as awareness is growing. We, the real people of the world, have the power to change the expectations of what a woman should be. Let us reverse the tides, my friends. Swallow your food, enjoy, drink and be merry if you can, if you are priveleged to do so. Don´t forget it!

The Hypocracy of the Climate Change hype

On a flight with Delta airlines, I was handed the following bag:



Filled with an eyeshade, body lotion, a toothbrush and toothpaste (labelled biodegradable) and earplugs. I'm guessing that only about half the people will use these things and then they will be thrown out. the other half will almost all use them once and then throw them out. So great, that the packaging is environmentally friendly, but they were still made in China, and that certainly does nothing for the 'carbon footprint' of the airline itself. Not to mention that they encourage passengers to take the inflight magazines with them when they leave = more printing and more trees clearcut and more waste! It's an industry that is impossibly carbon-neutral. BIG changes need to take place before I would call an airline 'green'. Yet these promoting themselves as such is all part of image marketing. Although as an environmentalist I cheer every little step towards change, and I truly believe every little bit counts, I am worried about environmentalism being a passing fad, a short-lived trend. Environmental awareness, and adapting behaviour according to environmental principles, requires a long-term internalisation, as if it were second-nature. (when it actually is first).

The Alphabet of Indigenous Simpatico

Ancestors

Beauty

Coexistence

Community

Culture

Dialogue

Earth

Ecosystem

Energy

Exchange

Fairness

Future

Genuine

Gift

Grace

Identity

Integrity

Knowledge

Land

Language

Life

Love

Morality

Mother

Nature

Obligation

Philosophy

Positive

Reciprocity

Relationship

Respect

Responsibility

Sacred

Social

Solidarity

Spirit

Spiritual

Subsistence

Sun

Wisdom

Worldview

Reflections on the Oneness

To experience the oneness
One must relinquish the mind
In order to relinquish the mind
One must experience the oneness
It is without the mind
That one experiences that vast connection
Of life, movement, rhythm on earth
Existing mellifluously with one another
And inanimate objects
It is this perception of spiritual and physical interrelatedness
That occurs when the mind is switched off
It is beyond the mind's comprehension
Yet when experienced
It is the mind's desires to recognize,
Give it a name, give it a form, in words.
When experiencing the oneness
The mind feels light
Yet has difficulty cognizing
The experiential realm of consciousness
Without this realm thought has no form,
Thought becomes a superfluous human function.
Although most of our human lives
Are consumed by thinking.
If life can exist without thought,
Then life itself is all, but thought.
Thought is merely a desire to understand
This miraculous phenomenon called life
All life is one,
Whether we understand it or not.

The War on Terror is Everywhere...History repeats itself.

Much like the time the 'commies' were suspect EVERYWHERE, now we repeat history and replace the word 'commie' with 'terrorist', even though it is clearly defined as one who inflicts fear, or terror on others most often by the threat of violence or the use of violence. Now, the new 'terrorist' is EVERYWHERE. Even in the university lecture halls. Be afraid, be very afraid. He actually used the words 'gentrification' and 'inequality' in his publications! The nerve of some people! This professor has actually been detained, according to the German police, for acts of terror because these words were used by a terrorist group in their publications as well. In this line of reasoning almost every sociologist and most anthropologists should be considered terrorists or at least affiliating with terrorists. Yes, I said the word affiliate. Just as in the cold war, any insinuation that you support the ideas of communism would lead to your arrest and trial as a communist. Yet you had not committed a single illegal act. Today, suggesting with full academic argumentation that a possible explanation for civil unrest and dissatisfaction with society's current state of affairs could be associated with concepts like 'gentrification' and 'inequality' is equated with supporting terrorism, acts of terror and terrorists. How far will the nation-state spread this fear of the dreaded enemy, the elusive Other, the iconic terrorist, before we realize that it is the state itself that is acting as a terrorist and is actually legitimized in its actions due to our irrepressable and irrational fear of terrorism, or rather fear of fear itself.

For more, read: Guantanamo in Germany

Sign the petition by Policing Crowds.

The Three Stages of Truth

Watch the film Earthlinks.
For wisdom and inspiration, however, viewer discretion is advised.

Quote of the Month

I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got to hold up for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.

-George Bernard Shaw

Poetry of the Month

Bird call

Surf crashing

Sunset on wheat hill

Distant silhouettes

Arbutus shadow

Cat’s meow

Beach cry

I gaze at all the beauty

My mind light

There is less here

Less of everything

When less is more

Crisp, clear calls

The song of birds

Enveloped by silence

A soft breeze

Washing my face

So much silence

Envelops everything

Like a thick blanket

Unlike anything else I’ve known

The Ralco Dam Conflict

After the Enron scandal in 2001, when it was revealed that Enron’s reported financial condition was sustained mostly by institutionalised, systematic, and creatively planned accounting fraud, the world awoke to corporate greed. Enron has since become a popular symbol of wilful corporate fraud and corruption. Did this awakening to corporate greed arise because it involved leaders of the world’s ‘most powerful’ nation? Or was it because it involved enormous amounts of money? Or because many ordinary citizens had been duped of their lifesavings and their jobs? In any case, the Enron scandal was far from unique in being an exemplary case of capitalism gone wrong. The greed for more and more capital accumulation has had far-reaching and negative impacts throughout the world. More and more activists are keen on exposing wrongfully acquired capital or capitalist interests that fuelled the destruction of societies and the environment.

Such a case that was exposed was the construction of the Ralco dam in Chile, for which an indigenous group was relocated and a protest ensued, supported by international human rights and environmental organisations. Unfortunately, the protests were not strong enough to overcome the power of the wealthy elite, and the building of the dam continued relentlessly. Chile is often named one of the most democratic countries in Latin America. How can a democratic government allow for this to happen?

Unfortunately, I can only conclude that this dam was constructed for the economic interests of the powerful elite, and that this process was far from democratic. Such processes leave me feeling uneasy, as not only are those whose lives are most affected the ones that are most excluded, but it is derived from a one-track development teleology that does not have any consideration for what people on the ground really want and need. The reality of a ‘minority group’ is thus the opposite pole to the reality of a technocratic, powerful elite, and the tensions between these poles result in conflicts such as the one surrounding Ralco in Chile.

The Empresa Nacional de Energia (ENDESA) and various actors of the Chilean state manipulated contradictory laws which allowed the rights of the Mapuche-Pehuenche to be repressed for a project that is in the end unviable economically and ecologically, as the area has seen severe droughts in the past ten years. Furthermore, the project depletes the possibility of achieving sustainable development, as a balance in the three dimensions – social, economic and ecological – were not taken into account in the plans.

In the early nineties, a land conflict developed in Chile, between the Mapuche-Pehuenche and the Spanish energy consortium ENDESA, as it had plans for an industrial mega-project consisting of six hydroelectric dams on the Upper Bío Bío River (Keijzer et 1992: 69; Wilson and Allaway 2001: 4). The conflict was at its height during the construction of the second dam, the Ralco dam, from 1997-2002, and received worldwide attention due to protests by environmental and human rights activists, and therefore is the most famous land conflict in Chile (Skjævestad 2006: 14).

The first dam, Pangue, was constructed from 1992-1997. This project had been approved by President Aylwin, before his administration had formed the National Corporation for Indigenous Development, (CONADI) and the National Environmental Commission (CONAMA). Both these institutions had declared the Ralco dam as illegal, initially, according to their respective laws (Haughney 2006: 125; Wilson and Allaway 2001: 6; Aylwin 2002: 15). Construction on the Ralco dam commenced in 1997, although a plan for the relocation of the Mapuche-Pehuenche living in the area was not even considered when ENDESA first announced that they would construct another dam (Wilson and Allaway 2001: 6). The reservoir on the Bío Bío River created by ENDESA’s dams covers an area of approximately 3,467 hectares in the VIIIth region (Nixon 2003). It has inundated the communities Wupuca-Ralco and Ralco-Lepoy and lands of approximately 600 people, amounting to 92 Mapuche-Pehuenche extended families, who were relocated higher up in the Andes to make way for ‘progress’ (Haughney 2006: 125; Palacios and Du Roy 2003: 24).

ENDESA, named “one of the most powerful Chilean private companies” saw the Bío Bío river as a means to produce cheap energy (Palacios and Du Roy 2003: 25). ENDESA is the former national energy enterprise, and now a privatised energy company from Spain who monopolises the energy sector in Chile (Haughney 2006; Malmborg 1999). Since the Pangue dam had negative impacts, protests were instigated upon its completion in order to stop the building of Ralco, the second and largest dam. Despite the highly controversial and highly profiled conflict, ENDESA continued construction until its completion in 2004 (Palacios and Du Roy 2003: 24).

The Concertación de Partidos por la Democracia is a coalition of democratic parties formed in the 1990s, and under President Eduardo Frei, promoted the projects as a matter of national security (so that they are not dependent on gas imports from Argentina) and national development (in terms of GDP). Yet the privatisation of ENDESA, and thus the President’s, members of his family and other political elites’ shares in the company raises questions about the legitimacy of this claim (Wilson and Allaway 2001: 6; Palacios and Du Roy 2003: 35; and Aylwin 2003: 15). The Frei administration played an enormous role in ensuring that the Ralco project would be approved. The approximately 20 independent assessments and reports by CONADI, CONAMA, human rights groups and anthropologists all denounced the project for its disregard for the environment and the lack of consultation with those Pehuenche that were to be displaced. The indigenous law not only requires informed consent, but also equivalent compensation for their lands, neither of which CONADI deemed sufficient in the permutas (relocation contracts). These reports were repressed by ENDESA, and the government fired two consecutive indigenous leaders of CONADI who did not support the project, after which he appointed a non-indigenous leader whose political affiliations supported the project, as well as forcing CONAMA to re-write their assessment of the Ralco dam so that they would approve it (Aylwin 2003: 14-15; Haughney 2006: 110 and Johnston and Garcia-Downing 2003: 4-5). Furthermore, an aggressive media campaign was launched to sway Chilean public opinion in favour of the dam, focussed on the “need for Ralco’s power to support industrial development” in a period of economic recession (Aylwin 2002: 10). This would further promote the invisibility of the Mapuche-Pehuenche, the ‘Chileans’ whose lives were to be directly, completely and irrevocably affected by the construction of the dam.

“The Mapuche population of 1.2 million accounts for approximately ten per cent of Chile’s total population and together with the 200 000 living in Argentina, Mapuche constitute the third largest indigenous people in South-America” (Nesti 2002: 2). In the Mapuche language, Mapudungun, ‘Mapu’ means earth, or land, and ‘che’ means people; they are the people of the land. Pehuenche, in turn, means people of the Pehuen, the pine tree which provided nuts for their subsistence (Haughney 2006: 102; Nesti 2002). This linguistic symbolism signals the historic importance of land and its resources to the Mapuche people, and it is an integral and significant part of their existence to this day. Yet, it has also been the cause of most of their grief and strife. Most anthropologists and observers recognise the integral role the land and the environment play in the Pehuenche culture (Malmborg 1999; Palacios and Du Roy 2003; Nesti 2002). Due to their relative isolation before 1992, when the construction of the Pangue dam commenced, their culture and society evolved and revolved around subsistence, and this isolation, in turn, allowed for a preservation of their culture and livelihood (Keijzer et al. 1992). It is argued that their world view is based on their relationship with the earth and nature, as they have always used medicinal plants from the area and invoked the ancestors for their religious and medicinal ceremonies (Malmborg 1999; Nesti 2002; Wilson and Allaway 2001). The lands which were flooded contained ancient and modern burial sites, sacred sites, as well as over 70 archaeological sites, not to mention, it formed the habitat for over 70 endangered species. The Alto Bío Bío area is estimated to have been occupied by the Pehuenche since the year 1200, and their historical settlements, burial sites and religious sites are now underwater in the reservoir created by the Ralco dam (Nixon 2003 and Estrada 2004).

Neoliberalism consumed the continent of Latin America in the 1980s and 1990s like a fever. Especially Chile, under the military dictatorship of Pinochet, was praised for its far-reaching privatisation and liberalisation of services, such as energy. Thus, neoliberal reforms and privatisation policies implemented during the Pinochet regime allowed for ENDESA’s monopoly over Chile’s energy production and distribution, which is echoed by the fact that ENDESA’s owners held “strong liaisons to the Pinochet regime” (Nordbø 2001: 5-6; Haughney 2006: 101).

Liberalisation also allowed for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), so that powerful actors outside of Chile also had control over the project, although the Chilean government had to camp with the internal conflict and protests. The World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) funded the Pangue dam, along with Canada’s Export Development Corporation, the Swedish Agency for International Technical and Economic Co-operation and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Wilson and Allaway 2001; Nordbø 2001; and Aylwin 2002). They were initially to fund the Ralco dam, but when international attention was drawn to the conflict, public opinion and litigations persuaded them to withdraw their support, and thus their funding (Skjævestad 2006). ENDESA was able to secure other sources, however, and the project continued.

The usurpation of Mapuche lands has created conflicts between the Mapuche and the state for several hundred years; however, the laws that allowed for this have historically favoured the interests of the Chilean state and its mestizo population (Keijzer et al. 1992: 4 and 7; Azócar et al. 2005). Land reform policies installed during the Pinochet period had reduced the Pehuenche land and organised them in a number of reserves and communities, and required the registration of individual land titles, contrary to the collective practices of the Pehuenche in the past (Haughney 2006). Due to the individual property titles, construction of the dam was possible. If the indigenous law recognised customary law in terms of collective land rights, ENDESA would not have been able to buy the land, for it allowed ENDESA to make individual contracts with the Pehuenche for their relocation, so that they did not legally need the consent of the entire community.

The Ley Indígena of 1993, however, requires that the entire community be consulted, and that they give their consent before a project is approved that will impact their lands, homes and subsistence (Malmborg 1999 and Haughney 2006: 135). The Environmental law of 1997 requires an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to be conducted before such projects are approved. The Electricity law of 1982 does, however, allows the sale of indigenous land if it is to benefit the Chilean society as a whole, in terms of energy supply. The courts have ruled in favour of Pinochet’s electricity law in all cases, subsuming the later laws, which were meant to be a priority of the government since 1993 (Haughney 2006: 131 and Aylwin 1998). However, Nancy Yáñez, a Chilean Lawyer, demonstrates the two-way tension between the laws:

The electricity law…stipulates that industrial projects for the generation and transmission of energy benefit the entire society and therefore should have priority over the rights of individual property owners. Article 24 of the Constitution also allows the state to expropriate private property for reasons of national interest or public good. Yet…the indigenous law declares that indigenous lands should be protected for “reasons of national interest”…The courts should apply the following criteria to decide: the more recent law has precedence over earlier law, and a special law takes precedence over a general law…the indigenous law took precedence by virtue of being both a special law and the more recent one (Haughney 2006: 128).

Simultaneously, Pinochet’s Counter-Terrorism Act of 1973 provides for the prosecution of illicit acts intended to terrorise the population. The provisions of the Act modify some aspects of criminal procedure, permitting some elements of secrecy in the pre-trial investigation phase, eliminating preventative measures other than pre-trial detention, and increasing sentences (Parra-Jerez 1999: 3; Skjævestad 2006: 49; Haughney 2006: 151; and Stavenhagen 2003). Unfortunately, the activists protesting against the dam have been detained without trial on account of the Act, and thus portrayed as ‘terrorists’ in the media as well. Furthermore, protests and demonstrations have been met with military and police violence, arrests and the deportation of foreigners, as Chilean law stipulates that foreigners may not interfere with internal politics (Haughney 2006: 130; Stavenhagen 2003). After the protests, however, the Pehuenche continually endured harassment in their homes by their neighbours who supported the project and wanted to relocate, and by the military police. The Pehuenche who refused to leave their lands were threatened, blackmailed and terrorised into doing so, and different uses of force were inflicted: physical, economic, and psychological (Haughney 2006: 121).

Although he had personal economic interests in the project, President Frei promoted Ralco in the name of Chile’s national ‘development’. “According to the ENDESA study, the poverty of the indigenous communities is considered evidence of cultural disintegration and even of an inferior culture in the process of yielding to a supposedly modern and `superior’ culture. This characterisation of the Mapuche culture as an `obstacle to progress’ has been echoed by the noted Chilean historian Sergio Villalobos” (Haughney 2006: 112). The assumption of inevitability of their integration into the dominant Chilean culture echoes the nationalistic assimilation policies of the Pinochet era, in which the Mapuche language and other cultural expressions were repressed (Skjævestad 2006: 9). Since the original plans had not even considered their existence in the area, and the relocation plan was only devised after pressure from human rights organisations, it is clear that ENDESA’s objectives, as well as the Chilean state’s, were purely economic. Furthermore, the idea that ENDESA and the state know what is best for the Pehuenche echoes a modernisation and colonisation logic which is now considered an ethnocentric discourse at best, and imperialist domination at worst.

Since 1997, especially the Pehuenche women protested against the Ralco dam, organised under the banner Mapu Domuche Newen (Women with the Strength of the Earth), and headed by the now famous sisters Nicolasa and Berta Quintreman, who formed a protest and claimed they would not leave their lands behind alive. They received several international human rights prizes for their struggle against the dam. This has, in turn, spurred on popular support for their cause in Chile. However, this occurred at a time when construction was nearly completed (Fletcher 2001: 40).

The Pehuenche and other contesters of the projects went to the courts to fight for their rights, but after long trials and delays, the claims were finally overthrown by congress. The protests conducted by the Pehuenche who refused to be relocated, or whom wanted to reverse the permutas because they had signed them without knowing the extent of their contents, were supported by international environmental and human rights groups. During all the protests, legal battles and international outcry, the construction of the dam continued almost relentlessly, albeit a short period when the hearing of the Quintremann sisters made the courts rule a halt to construction, but a higher appeal by ENDESA in congress reversed the process (Haughney 2006).

ENDESA persuaded some of the Pehuenche families to sign the permutas by offering them jobs in the construction of the dam, and alternative land elsewhere, as well as monetary compensation. However, there has been criticism that these measures were not sufficiently executed. ENDESA representatives only offered these packages for a short period of time, letting the Pehuenche believe that they would be relocated either way, by saying that the government had already approved the project, which was not true at the time. Therefore, those that accepted the offers did so under false pretences, and felt pressured to do so (Nixon 2003).

This process led to tensions within the communities, between those choosing to relocate and those protesting against the dam. Eventually, most of the families signed the permutas, and left the remaining eight resisting families in conflict with their neighbours and family members. Thus, the Ralco communities were divided and fragmented during the course of the conflict (Malmborg 1999). Some Pehuenche chose to relocate in order to receive jobs offered in the construction of the dam. Others were adamant never to leave their lands, due to its cultural, spiritual and economic significance. Still others were uncertain, and thought they had no choice, their insecurity motivating them to sign the permutas, without actually knowing its stipulations, nor what their rights actually were or how to defend them (Malmborg 1999).

Environmental activists lamented the loss of an ecosystem, its biodiversity, and the endangered species. Led by the Grupo de Accion del Bío Bío (GABB), a coalition of individuals and organisations protested the construction of the dam, and wanted to protect the ecosystem of the river and the surrounding forests, as the reservoir would create irreversible damage (Aylwin 2002 and Nixon 2003). The Chilean Mapuche movement was brought together for the marches and demonstrations, but thereafter they returned to their respective regions and protests. However, Mapuche “organisations disagreed among themselves over tactics, strategies, and goals. These divisions continued throughout the protest campaign, preventing the Mapuche movement form uniting to demand collective rights and allowing the government to dictate the terms of the conflict” (Haughney 2006: 131). Observers have suggested that ENDESA and the government exploited this phenomenon as a “Divide and Rule” strategy (Malmborg 1999).

Unfortunately, one can only conclude that the Ralco dam was constructed for the economic interests of the powerful elite, and that this process was far from democratic. Not only are those whose lives are most affected the ones that are the most excluded, but it is derived from a one-track development teleology that does not have any consideration for what people on the ground really want and need. The reality of a ‘minority group’ is thus the opposite pole to the reality of a technocratic, powerful elite, and the tensions between these poles result in conflicts such as the one surrounding Ralco in Chile.

This conflict is another example of the way in which global changes have local effects. The neoliberal model often generates negative consequences for small or marginal groups in Latin America. This is why it is important that macro policy is informed by micro reality. How a state treats its ‘minorities’ reveals how democratic that state truly is. Democracy is overridden when pressure, blackmail and corrupt practices force interest groups and institutions – such as CONADI and CONAMA – to adhere to the higher hand (the President and the National government, because their interests were represented by ENDESA).

Land conflicts mainly arise due to a conflict in laws, and in the case of indigenous rights, there is a conflict between the imposed laws of the dominant system and the customary law of the original population. Individual rights can contradict collective rights and vice versa. In the case of Ralco, individual property titles were exploited, which negate collective land titles of the indigenous population. These property titles were thus manipulated by ENDESA so that the Pehuenche could only fight for their collective rights via the legal system. However, the legal system favoured individual titles and did not recognise their customary law, which is based on collective rights. The Chilean legal system was thus foreign to the Pehuenche way of life, and therefore the individual land titles were the legal crux through which ENDESA was able to rob them of their livelihoods.

The livelihood consequences for the Mapuche-Pehuenche when they were relocated from the Ralco valley were not considered by ENDESA in the planning stage, which resulted in the conflict. The environment and their lands were not just of material value to the Pehuenche, it was of cultural and spiritual importance as well. Furthermore, the weaknesses in their five forms of capital and their lack of access allowed ENDESA to manipulate them so that they would agree to relocate. The strategies employed by ENDESA to coerce the Pehuenche to move forced them to be individually strategic instead of recognising their collective way of life. This way of life was by no means strategic, they lived with relatively little interference from the outside world until ENDESA began construction of the dams. They were not prepared to negotiate nor were they aware of their rights when ENDESA came with many empty promises so that they would leave their lands behind. The Pehuenche who signed the agreements did not seem to know that they had any other choice. The Pehuenche lacked access to the five forms of capital when they were induced into Chilean society, which turned them into five dimensions of poverty and dependence after their relocation.

Thus, the Ralco conflict is a classic example of how macro policies produce undesired and negative effects in the micro context, and how the tension between the macro and the micro level is induced by capitalist greed. There was a hegemonic attitude that said “you can’t stop progress”, so that you may as well accept things as they are; for the ‘greater good’. The Mapuche were seen as ‘externalities’ of economic development, as obstructions for development, although this type of large-scale industrial development actually had detrimental effects on their livelihood.

Therefore, the Ralco project decreased the possibility of achieving sustainable development for Chile, as a balance in the three dimensions – social, economic and ecological – were not taken into account in the plans. In the case of Ralco, among many, macro policies favoured the economic benefits over the ecological and social impacts on the micro level, which makes the Ralco dam unsustainable within this three-dimensional framework. Furthermore, considering that the Pehuenche were not consulted before the construction of the dam began, the dam is most likely not conducive to their cultural worldview, if they had been informed of all the negative impacts it would bring to their environment and their livelihood. Thus, the use of energy is a prime example of the gap between macro and micro, between ‘development’ and sustainability, between ‘progress’ and ‘livelihood’.

To achieve the ideal of balance between the three pillars, (economic, social and ecological) (of sustainable development would require a compromise. A compromise in their values, as one may not be more valuable than the other. Therefore, the actors involved must compromise their own interests on the basis of equality with the other parties involved. The present development model itself is unsustainable, and therefore sustainability is not possible in the current system. Sustainability must represent an alternative approach altogether, not one that takes place within the development paradigm.

Stillness Speaks

'The transformation of human consciousness is no longer a luxury, so to speak, available only to a few isolated individuals, but a necessity if humankind is not to destroy itself. At the present time, the dysfunction of the old consciousness and the arising of the new are both accelerating. Paradoxically, things are getting worse and better at the same time, although the worse is more apparent because it makes so much "noise". '

- Eckhart Tolle

In the News

Democracy Now, your critical news source, available in English and Spanish. By Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez.

The History of Oil

Robert Newman's History of Oil.

How to be Happy

How to be Happy

Quote of the day

When one is confronted with the possibility of death, one may tend to contemplate the wonders of life.

Poetry of the Week

The glass pyramid is a device
For which unknown attention is deserved
Spartan simplicity and institutional design
No one knows the power it holds
The rain revolting against the glass with ferocity
A smooth, weathered surface
Awaits the inevitable
Reaching the summit while flying
Only to walk back down the mountain again
It is a place in which life repeats itself

Isn't it Ironic?

Yes I really do think.

The hot topic of the World Bank and the IMF is corruption in development countries, and dissolving it is currently a conditionality for them to receive financing from the West. How ironic that Mr. Wolfowitz is now apparently corrupt himself. To think that his arrogance was at the least ethnocentric, (which is a human flaw we are all guilty of, I'm afraid), but it was hypocritical at best!

Secondly, Wolfowitz is one of the orchestrators of the war in Iraq, which is supposedly implementing 'democracy'. How can anyone legitimately impose something that they cannot give a good example of themselves? Wolfowitz' practices have been far from democratic, especially considering they occurred during his 'rookie' days, it seems these kinds of practices were previously institutionalized at the Bank. It's really these kind of 'turn-a-blind-eye' attitudes that make me sick when it is coming from an institution that is demanding 'good governance' and 'transparency' from those that are financially dependent on their 'generosity'. It seems that the more power and money are consolidated, the less democracy and transparency there is. And who foots the bill? The little guy. The environment. The animals.