The community reported through a public statement that the police planted weapons on them. The next day, the governor announced at a press conference this as irrefutable evidence of the 'violent' way of life this town leads. In that Lof, Victoria Nuñez was arrested and sentenced to 60 days of preventive detention for 'probability of participation' in the fire on January 18 at the Amancay Estancia.
Posters supporting the Mapuche Lof during the mobilization in CABA last Thursday the 13th under the slogan 'Put Out the Fire Now'.
On Monday, February 17, members of the Mapuche Lof (community) raided last Tuesday, February 11, in the province of Chubut, held a press conference in response to the criminalization, persecution, and incitement to violence by the Chubut government. This is the 'evidence' presented by the prosecutor against Victoria: that the car she drives is very similar to the one that apparently was near the estancia on the day of the fire.
The response from the Mapuche communities. While Ignacio Torres, the governor, criminalizes both the firefighters and the communities, the fire hotspots remain active.
One of the 8 Mapuche women who was detained for 8 months for defending the territory of the Lof Lafken Winkul Mapu, where law enforcement shot Rafael Nahuel Yem in the back on November 25, 2017.
The insurance company reported, with satellite data, where Victoria's car was on the day of the fire: for three days, including the day of the incident, her car was parked in the Lof Pillán Mahuiza, parked in Corcovado. Meanwhile, the communities are preparing a legal presentation against her.
The police mistreatment was not only towards adults but also towards young people in the communities. Violence against Mapuche children is sadly frequent in this country: on September 24, 2021, there was an attempted eviction in the Lof, and the police entered shooting lead pellets and bullets, aiming at the head of an 8-year-old child, leaving some people with legal cases.
We also saw this during the repressive deployment in the eviction of the Lof Pailako, where Mapuche children raised their voices to denounce the violence exercised against their people. 'Something that caught a lot of attention was that the conference was given with four armed and hooded men behind him,' explained an international journalist, and asked, 'As this caught our attention, we wanted to inquire whether this is a common practice in Argentina and, if so, what role it plays in the task of political communication.' 'It seems there are legal hoods for some and illegal hoods for others,' they responded.
Moreover, from the Lof Pillán Mahuiza, they warned that they are using their cell phones (seized during the raid on Tuesday, February 11) and writing to their contacts. Two of them have provided their testimonies. Likewise, as they reported in the press conference, on the same day that Security Minister Patricia Bullrich returned from her vacation in Disney with her grandchildren, members of the Pillán Mahuiza community were undergoing a violent raid, during which girls aged 3 and 5 'trembled' in fear for the five hours the operation lasted.
He stigmatized them, calling them 'delinquents,' and also announced the eviction of the Pillán Mahuiza community without having initiated any legal proceedings beforehand. The next day, Wednesday, February 12 in the afternoon, the governor of Chubut, Ignacio 'Nacho' Torres, held a press conference and presented slides with photographs, names, and surnames of various people belonging to the Mapuche Nation. And in the following days as well, they reported on the movements of the vehicle. Just as defense had requested during the detention control hearing on the 12th. 'When they took her away, we did not know where they were taking her, why they were taking her. I was afraid they would make her disappear,' they explained about Victoria's detention.
