A historian has described the Mapuche gene in Argentina as ‘murderers, thieves and usurpers’

He mapuche gene of violence has been the subject of debate by the historian of Mendoza Andre Grecowho spoke with GlobeLiveMedia and explained the intricacies of self-perception of this indigenous peopleits arrival in Argentina, as well as the historical link with the recent land seizures and deliveries.

In the famous case of Villa Mascardi is added that of the province of Mendoza who appeared before the National Institute of Indian Affairs (INAI) in an attempt to overturn the resolutions with which the body, dependent on the Ministry of Justice, handed over land to different Mapuche communities. This included marches and protests by farmers and neighbors.

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For starters, based on the stories of the original Argentine historian Pierre d’Angelis (Collection of works and documents related to the ancient and modern history of the provinces of Río de la Plata), Greco argues that The Mapuches never came from Argentina, but from Chile. “They should never claim Patagonian lands as their own since they should not be considered as original peoples because they were not settled there before the arrival of the Spaniards,” explains the regional history teacher who works in two normal schools in San Rafael.

Member of two research teams from the National University of Cuyo, she takes as reference the work of the doctor in anthropology Jose Manuel Zavala Cepeda (Hispanic Mapuche Parliaments there Inter-ethnic relations and Mapuche identity), to affirm that the term Mapuche was not the most used at the time of the Spanish conquest. “He’s not of Hispanic descent (compared to stuffed) but Araucanian, there is a socio-cultural continuity between those who were called Araucanians and those who were called Mapuches. The terms they chose to self-determine have a Chilean origin,” he argues.

Greco lives in San Rafael, Mendoza, a province as the native land of the Indians huarpsnorth and south of puelches and pehuencheswho were in conflict with the Mapuche people. “The south of Mendoza, beyond the 19th century, was passage area of the Mapuches, but without settling anywhere in this territory. They have a Chilean origin, on the other side of the mountain range, as a sedentary people who inhabited the lowlands from the Araucanía region: it was not an Andean city as many believe,” said the former member of the Centro de Edición de Textos Hispanoamericanos (CETH).

According to the specialist, the Mapuches had invasive strain in Argentinasince they entered into conflict with the other populations, from west to east, in the direction of Neuquén towards the province of Buenos Aires then towards the north and the south towards Mendoza and Río Negro, respectively.

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A case of Mapuche invasion dates back to minute zero of the foundation of San Rafael (Mendoza), in April 1805. The historian recalled it. at that time it was done a parliament with the Puelche and Pehuenche caciques of the region, those who are considered to have the right to occupy the land. “There, they cede the land to the Spaniards to defend it from the enemies, who are the Mapuches. They erected a fort to prevent these natives from attacking the Andean passes and, incidentally, they made sure before the Hispanics that they prioritized the occupation of these lands.

Another of the milestones in this bloody profile occurred in 1825, where there was a Massacre of Pehuenches by the Mapuches. “It was a revenge attack on the indigenous peoples, ordered by the Chief Antenir who crossed the mountain range with 5,000 natives and attacked the Pehuenches, causing enormous mortality. Only around 1,000 people were rescued, who were able to flee,” Greco added. And he clarified the Pehuenche-Mapuche confusion. “The first ones adopted the Mapudungun languagebut they did not stop being an autonomous city and exercising control over the Andean passes, they did not consider themselves Mapuche”, he argued.

Despite the triumph of the territorial outpost, according to the historian, the Mapuches did not settle in Mendoza, but they did south of the Colorado River, between the southern Pampas and the province of Río Negro. “That’s where they used to cattle theft because they find a geography different from that of Chile, less fertile and arid, which has led them to rustling», expressed the historian.

And for these facts, among others, he supports his thesis: “in Argentina The Mapuches were murderers, thieves and usurpers since they went to war“, indicated the historian. But originally, in Chile, due to its sedentary nature -where they cultivated the Chilean land- this city did not have this fighting lineage.

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“Until they started the Arauco war against the Spaniards and they became warriors against other indigenous peoples who oppose their predominance and their livestock theft and sale tradeadded the specialist who worked at the Civil Law Research Institute of the University of Mendoza based in San Rafael.

For Greco, it is a “political operation» encouraged by the National Institute of Indigenous Affairs (INAI) since, according to her, a correct request is not given to the law 6.086 (November 1993), known as the Law of rooting (Promotion and installation of farmers in the non-irrigated lands of the province).

“This law was reformed in 2020 and, at the end of last year, the Council of Arraigo was formed, which is the body that must receive the complaints of merchants and The INAI forced him”. For Greco, the “orchestration” through this body tIt is linked to the recent revivals of Villa MascardYo. “And also with the protection that was given to Postman Jones Huala“, held.

The law is to incorporate the activities of the original people into the production of Mendoza. That in Mendoza there are communities that call themselves Mapuche, according to her, it’s recent. And finally, he cites the case of Elisha Parada: “a merchant who was told to be part of a Mapuche community”. In cases like this, it affirms the political intent behind these land claims. “We must not invent an identity that we do not have, with the law of arraigo a puestero can legitimately claim. Injustice is repaired by justice, not by lies,” concluded the academic.

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