Five decades of transformations in Araucanía Rural

Abstract

The Araucanía has a rural population that reaches 31% of the total, making it one of the regions in the country with the largest rurality. Likewise, the Araucanía is the historical and territorial reference of the Mapuche people, whose population amounts to 23.4% of the regional totality, of which 70% are rural dwellers. The Araucanía, in the past five decades, has undergone various transformations resulting from different political-economic models and their respective policies, which have affected the rural world. These policies include a process of land reform, land counterreform, Mapuche property division, the installation of an open economy, forestry promotion of artificial plantations, and the enactment of a new indian law, among others. This article seeks to identify and review of major policies and their consequences, in order to suggest guidelines for developing relevant public programs.