Expansion of the hydrocarbon border and criminalization of the Mapuche communities in southern Argentina

Abstract

The main objective of this work was to analyze the mechanisms of criminalization of the Mapuche population in southern Argentina within the framework of the expansion of the hydrocarbon border on the territory of indigenous communities. For this, qualitative methodology has been used. Data collection was carried out in the field by conducting interviews with qualified informants on the aspects investigated by the investigation, which were complemented with the analysis of documents, journalistic clippings and academic works on the territorial dynamics of southern Argentina. The historical stigmatization of the Mapuche population was reconfigured as of 2009 when the native population was linked to armed groups, an accusation originating in Neuquén that was amplified through the large national media outlets. With the emergence of fracking, the defense of their ancestral territory by the Mapuche communities was considered "environmental terrorism" by the political power. The violent characteristics attributed to "environmental terrorism" were the same ones that defined the actions of a supposed insurgent group, "Mapuche Ancestral Resistance" (RAM). The acronym "RAM" became synonymous with the claim of the Mapuche people.