Free Francisca Linconao:  Resistimos!
Levy Abad 

source: midiacoletiva.org

Seemingly, small events such as a forum of a hundred people may be perceived insignificant by the eye of the unconscientisized, but to anybody who understands the process of building a movement, it is a small step that can lead to change.  A month ago, I have no knowledge whatsoever about Francisca Linconao until I was invited by Pablo Herrera and Simon Baer to a meeting to discuss about indigenous struggles here in Canada and around the world.  It was suggested that we talk about Francisca Linconao.

I learned from this meeting that Francisca Linconao is an indigenous spiritual leader from the Mapuche tribe (the largest indigenous group in Chile), who was imprisoned for resisting “Neoliberalism’s encroachment on ancestral lands through the construction of dams, highways”, mining and what not.  If a national symbol like Francisca Linconao, a spiritual leader, can be jailed for standing up for the Mapuche, what about the fate of ordinary grassroot activists who tirelessly organize in the locality and are usually ignored by corporate media. Researching on YouTube, I found a lot of branding, surveillance and imprisonment done by the state security forces against Mapuche Indigenous activists. According to the article of Luis Campos Munoz, “there are now over 100 Mapuche political prisoners in Chilean jails, many of whom are members of the Arauco-Coordinator (CAM), a Mapuche organization made up of 160 indigenous communities.”  All this reminds me of the same struggles of the Lumads of Southern Philippines in resisting global mining corporations.

My curiosity about Francisca Linconao helped me understand that “the Mapuche have been credited as being the only native-American to have successfully resisted the conquest of the Spanish Empire, due in part to their guerilla like military strategy, high adaptability and largely decentralized political system. The Arauco War between  the Spanish colonial forces and the Mapuche begun in1550, almost a decade after the arrival of the Spaniards in 1841, and according to contemporary historians, lasted for more than a century, transitioning to a more subtle and intermittent conflict, which lasted up until 1883” (Tobias Sean -Fontecilla).

Any rudimentary understanding of Capitalism teaches that “it must expand or die.”  In the book lent to me by Henry Heller, “The Blood Of Extraction : Canadian Imperialism in Latin America “ by Todd Gordon and Jeffrey R. Webber, I was shocked  to learn about the policies  that guide the government  in its approach to Latin America and Chile, in particular. This book reminded me of the outcome of nationalist, progressive or worse, socialist government that tried to chart an independent course of development during the time of the CIA-backed coup d'état against Salvador Allende for instance, who was a Socialist. In the Philippines, Gina Lopez, the only progressive Environment Secretary ever appointment by President Rodrigo Duterte, was rejected by the comprador-dominated Commission of Appointments of Congress for her firm stand to protect the environment in areas where most of the indigenous communities are concentrated. She was replaced by a former General.

In the 70’s, neo-liberalism became a popular concept. It was for a time referred to as globalization in the Philippines where it means liberalization of policies or dismantling of protective measures. When people, led by movements adhering to socialist ideology, resists in a comprehensive way, the fangs of monopoly capital counter by eliminating the activists or prophets of the people, branding them as enemies of the state. After 9/11, no matter how legitimate the issues were, came the blanket terrorist tag. In Chile however, this reactionary measure happened earlier with “the counter terrorist act formulated in 1984 under the Pinochet military dictatorship, in order to more efficiently control and repress the opposition.”  In 2001, the Counter-Terrorist Act was subjected to reform in order to accommodate the “Mapuche problem” (Chile’s biased Counter- Terrorist laws by Tobias Sean Fontecilla).  This act is the reactionary basis of the Francisca Linconao's case where she was branded as engaging in terrorist activities. What happened to the so called restoration of Democracy in Chile?  Hence, in the face of the comprehensive attacks on people's rights, the communities must go on organizing consciousness-raising events as a form of resistance and not slumber. No matter how small the effort, the struggle must go on.

Meeting and discussing about indigenous issues is good, but in the long term worthless, if not matched by action. Any seed must touch the ground in order to grow. Karl Marx  in his “Eleven Theses on Feuerbach“ said, “Philosophers have  only interpreted the world, in various ways.  The point, however, is to change the world.” The simple idea must be concretized into a forum where significant discussions occur. We were fortunate to have the following as our guests in the forum, Radhika Desai, a professor and author of the book “Geopolitical Economy” who spoke on Neoliberalism and its impact on Indigenous rights, Wanda Luna Galdames who presented the Chilean Perspective and Peter Kulchysky, professor and author of the “Indigenous Rights are not Human Rights”, who discussed Mapuche Issues and Struggles.  Henry Heller, another author ( The Birth of Capitalism, A Twenty-First-Century Perspective ) , delivered a poem by Berttolt Brect. The speakers analyzed the issues from the global perspective down to the local level to crystallize understanding and pave the way for further solidarity with the Mapuche struggle.

Source: Vancouver Media Coop

Aside from the speeches, it was also interspersed with songs not as entertainment, but culturally to
reinforce the message and rouse the listeners to care and move to organize and resist. Reflecting on history of the social movements of the 60s to the 90s, cultural forms of education were quite effective in rousing the people to participate in movements for change. The participation of Johsa Manzanilla , a singer songwriter and human rights activist, together with Maree Rodriguez, who delivered “spoken word “ piece,  is important in raising awareness about the issue. Acts of solidarity by Zully Trujillo, who recited a poem and also Francisco Valenzuela, who expressed a message of solidarity, are equally commendable. The event ended up with the song “Imagine” by John Lennon performed by Jason Schreyer, who is also a great artist and performer.

 Admirable was the role of some members of the academe for their collective effort in making the Francisca Linconao event possible.  Thanks to grassroots organizers like Pablo Herrera and Simon Baer of Las Americas and Chilean Human Rights Council, a founding organization of Winnipeg Multicultural Human Rights Forum or WMHRF, Migrante Manitoba, Ana Vergara of the Winnipeg Chilean Association and its cultural branch “Grupo Quidel” and to Johanna Quintana of the Manitoba Chilean Association with its cultural arm “Grupo Rumel”, Ian Desales of Serve The People-Winnipeg and Ali Saaed of the Solidarity Committee for Ethiopian Political Prisoners (SOCEPP) and one of the founding members of WMHRF, for supporting the forum. Simon Baer also asserted that Pablo Herrera was instrumental in the organizing of the event. He networked with many of his Chilean comrades and friends and invited huge number of people to participate. Without his hard work and commitment, our event would not have been as successful. 

So, what's happening next?  The Francisca Linconao committee will continue on drumbeating the issue and write a series of articles revolving around the struggles of the Mapuche of Chile.  Anybody interested is welcome to join the forum for change. The hope is to slowly organize a movement for change with a clear perspective towards contributing in building a just society through solidarity, ever weary of movementism that serves as a tail and subtle instrument of imperialism and its monstrous neoliberal facade.

(Levy Abad is a freelance writer and also a singer songwriter/recording artist and a member of Migrante Canada-Mb chapter and also a founding member/ program coordinator of Winnipeg Multicultural Human Rights Forum, Levy has released four albums , Canadian Experience Vol. 1 (iTunes ), Never Give Up and Rhythms of Compassion CanEx 3.and for June 2017 ,"Tara ng Maglakbay". You can reach Levy Abad through , lev67.abad@yahoo.ca or on Facebook.).