Original article: Comunidad de Pallaco acusa violenta intervención de guardias forestales y maquinaria pesada en predio en disputa: Denuncian destrucción de viviendas

Pallaco Community Alleges Violent Intervention by Forest Guards and Heavy Machinery Amid Land Dispute, Report Housing Destruction

From Lleu-Lleu, Tirúa, the Mapuche community of Pallaco claimed on Tuesday, September 8th, that forest guards affiliated with Mininco (CMPC), using heavy machinery, intervened in a disputed area currently occupied by their families.

Initially, a community leader informed Werkén Noticias that the incursion «was reportedly violent and occurred without police presence, resulting in the destruction of homes built by community members still residing in the area.»

Later, the community confirmed the information from the south: «At this moment, we, as the Pallaco community, are facing a situation of utmost concern in our territory. There is a significant presence of forest guards and heavy machinery, including an excavator and dump truck, intervening in the disputed property, attempting to evict our recovery and destroying homes erected in the territory.»

«What is happening does not only affect certain families or homes. It impacts us as a community as a whole because in this territory we live, organize, educate our children, and develop our community life while maintaining our spaces for gathering, spirituality, and ceremonies,» families alerted in a statement sent to various media outlets.

Ceremonial Spaces

One aspect that particularly concerns the community is the risk facing the ceremonial spaces of the Mapuche people due to these actions by the forestry company.

In this regard, the Pallaco community recalled that these are «essential places for our spiritual life, our culture, our memory, and our relationship with the land.»

«Their impact does not merely signify a material loss; it means intervening in spaces that hold profound cultural and spiritual value for our community,» they expressed.

«Our Autonomous Mapuche School of Pallaco, which is founded and sustained by our community and our territory, is also located here. For us, the school is not separate from this reality: it is part of our community life, our identity, and the transmission of our knowledge and traditions to the younger generations,» they added.

Call to Social Organizations

In light of these events, the Pallaco community issued an urgent appeal «to communities, social organizations, and all individuals who can support us, to stay alert and help us raise awareness of what is occurring.»

«Our primary concern at this moment is to safeguard the integrity of our children, our families, our educational community, our ceremonial spaces, and all those who remain in Pallaco. Defending our territory is part of a unified defense: the continuity of our community, our culture, our spirituality, and the right of our children to grow and learn connected to their land and their Mapuche identity,» they stated.

«Today, we need Pallaco to be heard, respected, and supported,» concludes the statement from the Mapuche community of Pallaco.

We will continue to provide updates.