Mapuche rappers fight for indigenous rights in Chile

Yahoo – AFP, Victorine BARRALES-LEAL, April 27, 2019

Filutraru Paillafilu (L) and Ana Millaleo, members of the Wechekeche Ni
Trawun rap group, rehearse in Santiago (AFP Photo/Martin BERNETTI)

Santiago (AFP) - With songs like "We'll Beat the State," Chilean rappers Wechekeche Ni Trawun are on a mission to support the Mapuche indigenous people's fight for justice and land rights.

Before the Spanish arrived in 1541, the Mapuche -- or "people of the earth" in the Mapudungun language -- controlled a territory that stretched 500 kilometers south of central Chile's Biobio River.

Following centuries of conflict with the Spanish conquerors and then the Chilean government, that land has been reduced to just five percent of its former expanse -- leaving the Mapuche fighting both for official recognition of their culture and the restitution of ancestral lands.

"Music plays a crucial role, it accompanies the process of the struggle," Filutraru Paillafilu, one of Wechekeche Ni Trawun's five members, proudly told AFP.

It's a struggle that has at times descended into violence, with some of the most radical indigenous elements resorting in the last decade to arson attacks against logging companies, churches and homes.

At the end of last year, the government claimed 20 people had been killed in Mapuche-related violence since 2011, with more than 900 firebomb attacks amongst almost 3,000 acts of violence.

Wechekeche Ni Trawun are on a mission to support the Mapuche indigenous 

people's fight for justice and land rights (AFP Photo/Martin BERNETTI)

For the band, music offers the chance to protest in a different way against the appropriation of their land and to denounce security services' use of force against Mapuche people.

In December, Chile's president Sebastian Pinera sacked top police chief General Hermes Soto after video emerged of the unprovoked murder of a 24-year-old Mapuche man, which contradicted the official version of events.

'Oppressors'

In "We'll Beat the State," written in 2017, the group speaks directly to those it brands "oppressors."

"You imprison and murder and then ask for forgiveness. Your forgiveness is an insult to my nation."

As well as campaigning for the restitution of indigenous lands, the musicians also want to convey to future generations their Mapuche pride.

"Our lyrics speak about everything that concerns our culture, our struggle. We also add our musical instruments," said Paillafilu, a traditional music teacher at a school in the capital Santiago.

As well as campaigning for the restitution of indigenous lands, the musicians 

also want to convey to future generations their Mapuche pride (AFP Photo/

Martin BERNETTI)

Another aim is to demonstrate the omnipresence of Mapuche culture in the city.

"People don't realize that half the names" of streets and neighborhoods are Mapuche, he added.

The Mapuche, originally from the south of the country and Argentina, are the largest indigenous group in Chile, making up nine percent of the 18 million population.

The entire indigenous population is just under 13 percent of the total, or nearly 2.2 million people according to the 2017 Census.

Carolina, a teacher who went to watch the band at a concert in a Santiago square, said more people have "Mapuche blood" than they realize.

"We're all mixed," she said. "Mapudungun should be taught at school so that our children are aware of our country's interculturality."

Twice as much poverty

In the summer, Wechekeche Ni Trawun travel from the capital Santiago to the southern regions of La Araucania, Biobio and Los Rios to play in front of their families, who mostly live in small communities where life is tough.

They sing in both Spanish and Mapudungun, denouncing police brutality and 

calling for the liberation of "Wallmapu," as they call Mapuche territory (AFP 

Photo/Martin BERNETTI)

Statistics show that there is twice as much poverty in the Mapuche community as the general population.

Wechekeche Ni Trawun, who formed in 2004, are not the only Mapuche band but their concerts generate great excitement.

Some concert-goers accompany the group by playing the "Trutruka," a traditional wind instrument that was once used by the Mapuche at gatherings ahead of battles.

From an artistic point of view, Wechekeche Ni Trawun combine rap with rock, salsa, cumbia and R&B, to attract as many "brothers" as possible, the band says.

They sing in both Spanish and Mapudungun, denouncing police brutality and calling for the liberation of "Wallmapu," as they call Mapuche territory.

Wearing traditional bandanas, band members beat out the rhythm with their "wada" instruments, a type of Mapuche maracas.

And culture and their community is at the heart of their existence: they recently held a concert in Santiago to raise funds for a child who needs to travel abroad for medical attention.

Indigenous protesters march on Brazil Congress over land rights

Yahoo – AFP, Valeria PACHECO, April 25, 2019

An indigenous man takes a selfie with others during a protest by thousands in
defense of land rights outside the National Congress building in Brasilia,
Brazil (AFP Photo/CARL DE SOUZA)

Brasília (AFP) - Thousands of indigenous people decorated with traditional feathers and body paint converged on Brazil's capital Wednesday to defend hard-won land rights many fear could be eroded by far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.

Heavy security, including riot police, has been deployed for the annual three-day lobbying effort in the heart of Brasilia, where representatives from various tribes have set up camp along the broad avenue leading to Congress.

Next to tents pitched on the grass, demonstrators displayed posters declaring "Our land is sacred," "No mining on indigenous lands" and "We demand the demarcation of our lands" as others sang and danced during the first such protest under Bolsonaro, a champion of farm businesses, mining and logging who took power on January 1.

"We do not just fight for constitutional rights, we fight for the right to exist," indigenous leader Sonia Guajajara told reporters.

Around 2,000 indigenous people have arrived so far, according to AFP journalists.

Organizers of the tribal camp said nearly 4,000 had turned up to the event that was given little coverage by major local media outlets.

"We came here for an important cause -- it was very difficult for us, our ancestors, to win these rights and little by little they are decreasing," said Camila Silveiro, 22, from the southern state of Parana.

An indigenous woman pictured at the protest is among more than 800,000

 indigenous people and more than 300 tribes in Brazil, according to the country's 

FUNAI indigenous affairs agency (AFP Photo/CARL DE SOUZA)

"We came here to ask for more respect."

Luana Kumaruara, an anthropology student from the northern state of Para, accused Bolsonaro's government of attacking "all" the rights of indigenous people, including education and health.

A long fight

There are more than 800,000 indigenous people and more than 300 different tribes in the country of 209 million people, according to Brazil's FUNAI indigenous affairs agency.

They have long fought to preserve a way of life imperiled since European colonialists arrived in South America more than 500 years ago.

But the situation has deteriorated dramatically under Bolsonaro, an indigenous alliance has warned.

"We are experiencing the first stages of an apocalypse, of which indigenous peoples are the first victims," 13 signatories said in a piece published in French daily Le Monde earlier this month.

Bolsonaro has vowed to "integrate" Brazil's indigenous people, in part with new roads and rail lines through the Amazon and clearing more areas for agriculture.

Indigenous people perform a ceremonial ritual (AFP Photo/CARL DE SOUZA)

"The Indian cannot continue to be trapped within a demarcated area as if he were a zoo animal," the populist leader once said.

Guajajara on Wednesday rejected his comments, telling reporters: "We don't want the society that Bolsonaro wants to introduce us to."

Bolsonaro has been less than welcoming to the protesters in Brasilia.

In a Facebook Live broadcast last week, he suggested Brazilian taxpayers would foot the bill for the "10,000 indigenous people" who take part -- a claim rejected by organizers who said they were using their own funds to pay for the event.

"This government that is in power today is trying to exterminate the indigenous people, but our people are warriors," indigenous leader Cacique Dara told reporters.

"We don't care about wealth, what's important is nature."

Protesters at the "Acampamento Terra Livre", or "Free Land Camp", hope to meet with members of Congress and the Supreme Court in the coming days as they push for greater protection of their lands.

Indigenous people have long fought to preserve a way of life imperiled since
European colonialists arrived in South America more than 500 years ago
(AFP Photo/CARL DE SOUZA)

Bolsonaro has already stripped FUNAI of the power to define native land, giving that authority instead to the agriculture ministry.

There are more than 400 demarcated territories across the vast country, established in the 1980s for the exclusive use of their indigenous inhabitants. Access by outsiders is strictly regulated.

Bolsonaro vowed during last year's election campaign that he would not give up "one centimeter more" of land to indigenous communities in Brazil, home to around 60 percent of the Amazon rainforest.

According to conservation group Imazon deforestation increased 54 percent to 108 square kilometers (42 square miles) in January -- the first month Bolsonaro was in office -- compared with 70 kilometers a year earlier.

Arara indigenous people in Para state told AFP recently that illegal logging on their lands had intensified in the opening months of Bolsonaro's presidency.

Facing arrest, former Peru president Garcia kills himself

Yahoo – AFP, Luis Jaime CISNEROS, April 17, 2019

Former Peruvian president Alan Garcia, pictured here May 28, 2010, was resuscitated
three times in surgery, before finally succumbing (AFP Photo/Cris BOURONCLE)

Lima (AFP) - Peru's former president Alan Garcia died in hospital on Wednesday after shooting himself in the head at his home as police were about to arrest him in a sprawling corruption case. He was 69.

The health ministry said Garcia died at 10:05 am (1505 GMT) of "a massive cerebral hemorrhage from a gunshot wound and cardiorespiratory arrest."

Garcia was resuscitated three times after suffering heart attacks while undergoing emergency surgery, before finally succumbing, Peru's Health Minister Zulema Tomas said.

The Casimiro Ulloa Emergency Hospital in Lima earlier confirmed he had suffered "a bullet wound to his head."

"This morning there was a regrettable accident: the president took the decision to shoot himself," Erasmo Reyna, Garcia's lawyer, told reporters outside the hospital after Garcia was admitted.

"Alan Garcia has died, long live APRA," said Omar Quesada, the general secretary of Garcia's American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA) party.

The attempted arrest unfolded at 6:30 am (1130 GMT) at Garcia's home in Lima's upmarket Miraflores neighborhood.

Police were acting on an arrest warrant for money laundering that would have allowed Garcia to be held for 10 days, giving authorities time to gather evidence and prevent him from fleeing, the prosecutor's office said.

Ricardo Pinedo, Garcia's secretary, said the former president had four or five weapons in his home that were gifts from the armed forces. Police said he used one of those to shoot himself.

Interior Minister Carlos Moran said police "heard a gunshot a few minutes" after entering Garcia's house before finding him "sitting down with a head wound."

'Condolences'

Peru's President Martin Vizcarra expressed his sympathy on his Twitter account.

"Dismayed by the death of ex-president Alan Garcia. I send my condolences to his family and loved ones," Vizcarra wrote in a tweet.

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera and Bolivia's Evo Morales added their own condolences, while Colombian leader Ivan Duque said "with sadness we raise prayers" for Garcia's family, adding: "Rest in peace."

APRA congressman Mauricio Mulder said Garcia "took a dignified and honorable decision. An honorable act in the face of fascist persecution."

Dozens of tearful supporters congregated at the hospital entrance when the news was announced.

Garcia, who was president from 1985-90 and again from 2006-11, was suspected of having taken bribes from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht in return for large-scale public works contracts.

In November, he sought refuge in the Uruguayan Embassy after a court ordered him not to leave the country for 18 months.

He applied for asylum but following 16 days in the embassy he left when his request was denied.

Garcia, a social democrat, claimed to be the target of political persecution, an accusation denied by centrist Vizcarra.

On Tuesday, Garcia had said he would neither try to flee nor hide again.

He had recently insisted that "there is no statement, evidence or deposit that links me to any crime and even less so with the Odebrecht company or the execution of any of its projects."

Although under investigation by the public prosecutor's office, Garcia had not been charged with anything. He had strongly protested his innocence and seemed prepared to cooperate with authorities.

Money laundering and bribes

He was one of four Peruvian ex-presidents embroiled in various corruption scandals -- alongside Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (2016-18), Ollanta Humala (2011-16) and Alejandro Toledo (2001-06).

Kuczynski, who is accused of money laundering and was being held under a 10-day preliminary detention until April 20, was also taken to hospital on Wednesday suffering from high blood pressure.

The 80-year-old was being treated in intensive care and had a cardiac catheter fitted, lawmaker Gilbert Violeta said.

Toledo faces extradition from the United States, having been charged with taking a $20 million Odebrecht bribe.

Odebrecht has admitted paying $29 million in bribes to Peruvian officials over three administrations.

Some of those payments were allegedly made during Garcia's second term in office to secure a contract to build the Lima metro.

Peruvian press reports also claim Garcia received a $100,000 payment from an illicit Odebrecht fund for giving a speech to Brazilian business leaders in Sao Paulo in May 2012.

Prosecutors allege that Garcia and 21 other officials conspired to enable Dutch company ATM Terminals to win a 2011 concession to operate a terminal at the port of Callao, near Lima.

Another ex-president, Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000), is serving a 25-year sentence for crimes against humanity and corruption.

His daughter, opposition leader Keiko Fujimori, is being held in pre-trial detention for up to three years, accused of accepting $1.2 million in illicit party funding from Odebrecht for her 2011 presidential campaign.

Peru's ex-president ordered detained in graft case: justice

Yahoo – AFP, April 10, 2019

Former Peruvian president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, 80, resigned in 2018 in a
scandal linked to the Odebrecht case (AFP Photo/Christian Miranda)

Lima (AFP) - A Peruvian court ordered the arrest on Wednesday of ex-president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski at the request of prosecutors investigating the giant Odebrecht corruption scandal.

Judicial authorities said the 80-year-old former president -- who resigned last year amid the scandal -- would be held for a preliminary period of 10 days "for the alleged crime of money laundering in the Odebrecht case."

The Superior Court on organized crime also authorized prosecutors to conduct a 48-hour search of Kuczynski's home for documents related to the case.

Kuczynski became the first sitting president to resign over the sweeping graft scandal involving Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht when he stepped down in March 2018.

The region-wide scandal has also embroiled Kuczynski's predecessors Ollanta Humala, Alan Garcia and Alejandro Toledo.

Odebrecht has admitted paying at least $29 million in bribes to Peruvian officials since 2004.

Kuczynski is a former economist who prior to his election in 2016 served as prime minister under Toledo in 2005-06.

Pence asks UN to recognize Guaido as Venezuela's leader

Yahoo – AFP, April 10, 2019

US Vice President Mike Pence speaks during a Security Council meeting about the
 situation in Venezuela at the United Nations in New York on April 10, 2019 in
New York City (AFP Photo/Johannes EISELE)

United Nations (United States) (AFP) - US Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday asked the United Nations to recognize Juan Guaido as the legitimate leader of Venezuela, telling the Security Council: "Nicolas Maduro must go."

Washington will present a draft resolution to the Security Council aimed at recognizing Guaido and appointing his representative as the ambassador to the world body, Pence told the council.

"The time has come for the United Nations to recognize interim president Juan Guaido as the legitimate president of Venezuela and seat his representative in this body," Pence said.

The United States is among some 50 countries that recognize Guaido, the opposition leader who declared himself interim president in January, and consider Maduro to have lost legitimacy.

Maduro has maintained control with support from the military, Russia and China. Russia last month sent troops to Caracas, raising tensions between Washington and Moscow.

A draft resolution recognizing Guaido is certain to be vetoed by Russia.

A bid by the United States to win support for elections failed at the Security Council in February, with Russia and China vetoing a US-drafted resolution.

After appealing for UN recognition for Guaido, Pence turned to Venezuela's Ambassador Samuel Moncada, who was seated in the council chamber, and said: "With all due respect Mister Ambassador, you shouldn't be here."

He advised him to return to Caracas and convey the message to Maduro that "his time is up. It's time for him to go."

The United States called the council meeting after a UN report detailed the heavy toll of the crisis from the collapse of Venezuela's oil economy.

Seven million people -- 25 percent of Venezuela's population -- are in need of humanitarian aid, lacking basic access to food and medical care, UN aid chief Mark Lowcock told the council.

Malnutrition rates have trebled over the past five years, particularly affecting children under five, and power outages are worsening access to clean water, threatening a major spread of disease.

More than 3.4 million people have left the country -- triggering a migrant crisis in neighboring countries, and that figure is expected to reach five million by the end of the year.

"There is a very real humanitarian problem in Venezuela," said Lowcock, who asked the council to support a ramping up of the international aid response.