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Workers Victims of Terrorism Protest Peacefully on Route 5 South Near Collipulli

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Forestry workers from the area, tired of the government's lack of action in response to acts of violence, are demanding safety and the dignity to work peacefully without fear of falling victim to terrorists. They temporarily blocked Route 5 South near Collipulli.

They cite as their reason the systematic violation of workers' human rights: the right to work, to free movement, to live where they choose, and the right to freedom of expression. They also assert that there has been a complicit, dehumanized, and brazen silence from the three branches of the state. The Executive branch claims to be taking many actions, but these do not translate into reality and remain mere rhetoric. The Judicial branch, which focuses on protecting the rights and presumption of innocence of criminals rather than the working class—proud to labor in the fields and produce noble raw materials like pulp for toilet paper, diapers, masks, and more. And the Legislative branch, where they call on the entire political class to enact or unblock laws that ensure security and reparations for the real victims of the constant hell endured in La Araucanía and Arauco.

Through a statement, workers who are victims of terrorism in La Araucanía and Arauco, united under Astrasur (Workers United for Justice), challenged deputies and senators as morally and criminally responsible for the wounded and dead that narco-terrorism will leave in our beloved land if they continue to condone violence and abandon the workers, entrepreneurs, and residents of this region. "You left-wing politicians who talk big about the people—'THIS IS THE REAL PEOPLE,' those who wake up early to bring bread to their homes—show that you care about us and are working on real actions. We stand for peace and against the ethnic supremacy that some have tried to impose."

After Carabineros arrived at the scene, they expressed deep regret on social media that high-ranking police authorities treated the workers of La Araucanía and Arauco with arrogance and contempt—workers who have systematically been extorted, assaulted, injured, and even murdered. "At this moment, we would have wished with all our hearts that you, Carabineros of Chile, had protected us, as you swore to your flag and your homeland. Know that we are also protesting for you, the rank-and-file Carabineros who carry out duties in the area and, like us, have been cowardly attacked and even murdered."