SANTIAGO – Undersecretary of Internal Affairs Rodrigo Ubilla has a summer house built on indigenous land. According to news outlet Interferencia, these lands are only for indigenous people and cannot be sold to non-Mapuche people. A remarkable issue, regarding the fact that Ubilla often deals with Mapuche-related problems.
Article 13 of the Indigenous Law from 1993 states that indigenous lands that fall under this article “may not be alienated, seized, or acquired, except among communities or indigenous persons of the same ethnic group”. In other words, lands under this law can only be bought by other Mapuche people.
Undersecretary for Internal Affairs Rodrigo Ubilla, however, has bought a summer house on protected lands, according to Interferencia, an investigative journalism platform in Chile.
The lands can be found in the Mapuche community Mariano Millahual, near Pucón and the summer house has a view over the Quetroleufu area. Ubilla bought the land, totaling 5,000 m2, for CLP$ 11 million in 2009 through the Sociedad de Inversiones Quetroleufu Ltda., a legal entity created by Ubilla after having worked for the first government of President Piñera. His wife and four children are also stakeholders in the entity.
The land was registered as indigenous territory in 2000 by the National Corporation for Indigenous Development, Conadi.
For the Undersecretary of Internal Affairs, who recently blamed the Mapuche communities for forest fires and is involved the Camilo Catrillanca-case, the revelations ask for an explanation, as it is unlikely that Ubilla was unaware of the protected status of the lands he bought, considering his knowledge of and experience with the territorial conflicts Mapuche people in the area are having with landowners.
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Editor-In-Chief Boris van der Spek is the founder of Chile Today.