Abstract

The reality of indigenous peoples has varied and complex characteristics, which have been addressed from different areas of knowledge, including political anthropology and legal anthropology, disciplines that give special attention to power dynamics. In the case of the present research2 these dynamics are expressed in the political-legal relation governing the interaction or interface between the Mapuche people and the State of Chile in terms of legal issues. The present article addresses the Chilean legal framework and the mapuche customary system in both cultural expressions in dialogue and phenomena of asymmetric and in conflict interactions. For this purpose, the perspective of the different actors that participate in the process of legal interface, is analyzed, particularly in the legal context established by the Indigenous Act 19,253 (1993) and the Convention 169 of the International Labour Organization (ILO). The interest to inquire into the matter corresponds to the need to understand the dynamics unfolded in the encounter or interaction of culturally differentiated social legal bodies or systems.