Indigenous Communities Demand Correction from TVN and Defend Lafkenche Law Against Salmon Industry Lobby

Original article: Pueblos originarios exigen rectificación a TVN y defienden la Ley Lafkenche ante el lobby salmonero

In a powerful public statement, indigenous organizations and communities from the Mapuche, Chango, Kawésqar, and Yagán peoples, among others, raised their voices to demand a correction from Chile’s National Television (TVN) and defend Law 20.249 (Lafkenche Law) against the salmon industry lobby.

This legal instrument enables indigenous peoples living along the country’s coasts to request Marine Coastal Spaces of Indigenous Peoples (ECMPO), aimed at safeguarding their customary uses and preserving the historical, cultural, and spiritual connection they maintain with the lafken (marine territory).

The measure responds to a report aired by the «Informe Especial» program on Sunday, March 22, 2026, which, according to the signatories, represents a new chapter in a systematic strategy driven by economic interests to discredit their legal territorial protection tools.

The organizations not only reject the content of the report directed by Amaro Gómez-Pablos and Cristián Díaz, but they also go further by denouncing an orchestrated media operation aiming to delegitimize the Lafkenche Law and criminalize the coastal defense efforts undertaken by the communities.

They pointed out that such journalistic pieces aim to instill the notion that indigenous peoples and their customary rights are an «obstacle» or a «boycott,» systematically labeling them as «empowered to halt salmon projects in Chile.»

A «False Narrative» That Omits the Spirit of the Law

The core of the controversy lies in the interpretation the program has purportedly made of the Lafkenche Law, a legal instrument that allows indigenous peoples inhabiting the country’s coasts to request Marine Coastal Spaces, aiming to protect their customary usages and, in doing so, their historical, cultural, and spiritual relationship with the lafken.

The signatories of the statement assert that the TVN report constructed a narrative that inaccurately presents the regulation as a tool of exclusion, labeling them as «empowered to halt salmon projects in Chile.» However, the organizations emphasize that this view constitutes a «false narrative» that omits the true spirit of the law.

«The false narrative omits that this law, built democratically and approved almost unanimously by lawmakers from across the political spectrum, is actually a tool for safeguarding the customary uses of indigenous peoples, explicitly protecting the rights of all coastal actors, including those of the salmon industry,» states the text released by the communities.

In this sense, the indigenous peoples recall that coexistence in the territory is possible and has been demonstrated in practice. Far from being a tool of confrontation, the law has served as a framework for dialogue and the establishment of agreements. According to their statement, occurrences have shown that the Mapuche communities «have reached multiple agreements with both artisanal fishing actors and other coastal stakeholders, with a view to promoting healthy coexistence.»

Information Manipulation and a Historical Discrediting Strategy

The leaders and representatives of the communities argue that the TVN report lacks rigor and neutrality, built upon «contextualized accusations without evidence or real proof.» This methodology, they warn, transforms suspicions into absolute truths, creating «a dangerous exercise of information manipulation.»

They describe such attacks as not new, labeling them as an «old discrediting technique» historically used against indigenous peoples, systematically portraying them as «an internal enemy» threatening the country’s development.

The statement draws a strong historical parallel, comparing the current media campaign to the same logic used during the so-called “Pacification of Araucanía,” a historical period that justified dispossession and war under the pretext that indigenous lands were abandoned, «a notion proven false by history, which has led to the current context of crisis and violence in Wallmapu,» the organizations caution.

In this manner, the communities argue that the current defamation seeks not only to harm their image but is also creating a climate of hostility reminiscent of the struggle for land in the 1990s, increasing tension and the risk of conflicts in the territory.

Power Asymmetry and the Call for a «True Investigation»

A central point in the organizations’ complaint refers to the obvious asymmetry of resources and influence between indigenous peoples and the salmon industry. In their statement, the signatories question the motives and funding behind what they see as a «systematic campaign» against the Lafkenche Law.

While indigenous peoples lack the financial resources and media clout to impose their narrative, they denounce that the salmon industry wields vast capital, even from Norwegian origins, to influence public opinion and political decisions.

Given this reality, the declaration poses a question that, according to the signatories, should serve as the starting point for any serious journalistic investigation: «Thus, it is legitimate to ask: Who funds this systematic campaign against Law No. 20.249 and its defenders? A true journalistic investigation should scrutinize the power of those who have historically used their capital to corrupt politics, not unjustly prosecute those who work to balance the immense resource asymmetry we face,» the text states.

«While our history and dignity remain intact, others have much to explain about how
they buy their influence in the market and politics,» the communities assert.

Additionally, they call out the salmon industry and journalists committed to professional ethics to report with concrete data, challenging them to answer fundamental questions about the industry’s operations in marine coastal spaces. For instance, they question whether there truly are salmon concessions stopped by the ECMPO, urging factual verification of the claims made in the report.

«We urge the salmon industry and journalists committed to ethical practice to report with concrete data: Where are and how many salmon farming concessions are effectively stopped by Marine Coastal Spaces of Indigenous Peoples? Do Norwegian companies and capital not operate in the salmon industry in Chile? Where in Law No. 20.249 does it prohibit fishing or aquaculture activities? The law is clear and publicly accessible,» they emphasize.

Development with Autonomy and Rejection of Exclusion

Unlike what was suggested by the contentious report, indigenous peoples defend the Lafkenche Law as a mechanism that does not seek to hinder development but rather to organize the coastal territory based on principles of respect, dialogue, and biodiversity conservation. They insist that the regulation promotes coexistence among all actors of the lafken (sea), whether they belong to an indigenous community or not.

The organizations interpret the media attack not as a genuine concern for development, but as an annoyance at the empowerment of coastal communities. They argue that the underlying conflict is the discomfort of the business sector with the idea that communities are in charge of their coastal spaces and demonstrate compatibility between ancestral uses, artisanal fishing, and other economic activities, harmonizing conservation with local development.

«Is what disturbs the law itself, or the fact that coastal communities are the protagonists of the development of their territories? We do not believe it is fair to be mere observers or cheap labor in an extractive model. Indigenous peoples have the right to promote our autonomy and decide how to project our actions. There are no ‘other actors’ coming to impose their agenda in our organizations,» they conclude.

At this point, the signatories denounce unequal treatment in decision-making spaces. They criticize that while the Senate Committee on Maritime Interests, Fishing, and Aquaculture discusses possible amendments to Law No. 20.249, they have not been called for discussion, despite being the primary stakeholders. Instead, they observe how that instance systematically meets with lawyers and teams from the large salmon industry, many of whom, they point out, come from the very public fishing institutions.

Indigenous Peoples Demand Correction from TVN

The defense of the lafken, the organizations conclude in their statement, is not a business but rather an ancestral responsibility and a right recognized by current legislation, thus expressing their rejection of what they call a «malicious» attempt by the broadcaster and its journalists to promote a biased hypothesis that adds to a long history of defamation by certain political and business sectors.

«Therefore, we categorically reject the accusations disseminated and, as indigenous peoples, we demand a public correction from TVN commensurate with the damage caused,» the text states.

The declaration is supported by territorial backing spanning from the Arica and Parinacota region to Magallanes, reflecting the broad nature of the conflict and the unity of the indigenous peoples in defending their territorial rights.

The statement concludes by highlighting the deep gap between the institutional discourse on development and the reality of coastal communities, reaffirming their willingness to engage in dialogue while making clear they will not allow an agenda to be imposed upon them that they have not constructed or agreed upon.

Among the signatories are:

Kawésqar Atap Community – Magallanes Region
Kawésqar Nomadic Family Groups of the Sea Community – Magallanes Region
Yagán Community of Bahia
National Council of the Chango People
Calchilla Chango Community, Castro González Family (ECMPO Barranquilla)
Changos de Ramadilla Community, Castillo Cortés Family. (ECMPO Ramadillas)
Huajachis Changos of Valparaíso (ECMPO LAFKEN MAWIDA)
Hijuela Las Heras Changos of El Yeco (ECMPO LAFKEN MAWIDA)
Changos Quebrada La Capilla de Algarrobo (ECMPO LAFKEN MAWIDA)
Mejillones – Yagán Usi – Cape Horn – Magallanes Region
Delegates of the Lafkenche Territorial Identity – Araucanía Region
Delegates of the Lafkenche Territorial Identity – Los Lagos Region
Delegates of the Lafkenche Territorial Identity – Los Ríos Region
Delegates of the Lafkenche Territorial Identity – Biobío Region
ECMPO Ancapan – Mapulafquen – Los Lagos Region
ECMPO Ayllarewe Budi – Saavedra – Araucanía Region
ECMPO Bahía Mansa Paleria – Los Lagos Region
ECMPO Budi -Toltén – Teodoro Schmidt – Araucanía Region
ECMPO Caleta Milagro – San Juan de la Costa – Los Lagos Region
ECMPO Carelmapu – Maullin – Los Lagos Region
ECMPO Lafquen Mapu – Los Álamos / Cañete – Biobío Region
ECMPO Leufu – Lebu – Biobío Region
ECMPO Locobe – Arauco – Biobío Region
ECMPO Malalhue – Teodoro Schmidt – Araucanía Region
ECMPO Manqueche – Tirúa – Biobío Region
ECMPO Mawidam Lafquen – Los Lagos Region
ECMPO Mehuín – Mariquina – Los Ríos Region
ECMPO Meli Mawidam Lafquen – San Juan de la Costa – Los Lagos Region
ECMPO Mississippi – Mariquina – Los Ríos Region
ECMPO Newen Pu Lafkenche – Carahue – Araucanía Region
ECMPO Nueva Lleu / Lleu Quidico – Tirúa – Biobío Region
ECMPO Paleria Punta Pichi-Mallay – Los Lagos Region
ECMPO Pilcomañi – Toltén – Araucanía Region
ECMPO Punta Chucaucura – Arauco – Biobío Region
ECMPO Tirúa Dankil – Tirúa – Biobío Region
ECMPO Última Esperanza – Magallanes Region
ECMPO Wadalafken – Valdivia / Corral / La Unión – Los Ríos Region
ECMPO Islas Huichas – Comunidad Antunen Rain – Comunidad Fotum Mapu –
Aysén Region
ECMPO Waywen Wapi, Indigenous Community Pu Wapi – Aysén Region
ECMPO Weky Buill – Chaitén – Los Lagos Region
ECMPO Tawokser – Magallanes Region
Lafkenche Territorial Identity
Territorial Table of Lafkenche Communities San Juan de la Costa – Los Lagos Region.

Further down you can read the public declaration: