Abstract

This article examines the relations occurred between the Mapuche people and the Chilean State in the Þ rst 60 years of the 20th century. Its purpose is to demonstrate that these relations were contentious from the moment the State reaches the region, at the end of the 19th century. The analysis is based on speciÞ c events and issues that shaped the debate from the early 1930s, when the poverty of communities was perceived as one of the problems that the authorities should be resolved at the border. Far, therefore, from the idea that the demonstrations that have shaken the area over the past 20 years arise at that time by the presence of actors beyond the indigenous world, here is probed that it’s a long-standing conß ict that still cannot be resolved.