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René Muñoz, Manager of the Association of Forestry Contractors of Chile: "Terrorist groups have declared war on us"

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In a conversation with El Agro, the leader stated, "There are two perspectives. For the general community, a greater military presence provides a greater sense of security, but for us, nothing has changed. From October 12 until the end of the state of emergency on March 26, we have had 25 attacks. That is, it makes no difference to us whether there is a State of Emergency or not—we remain in the same difficult, worrying situation. We’ve been in the same scenario since 2014 to date."

And since the state of emergency ended, there have already been 2 attacks, but the most tragic part is that during the state of emergency, 3 murders occurred! In the communes of Cañete and Carahue, 3 forestry workers were killed. For us, it was worse during the state of emergency. Its end did nothing to help us.

Have you been abandoned?

There is abandonment by the State. Here, institutions do not function. The police always arrive late, investigations are shelved, not to mention the courts—there are officials under investigation for arms trafficking... It’s a complete abandonment. Around Lake Lanalhue, 500 beds have been destroyed. The State has abandoned the Biobío and Araucanía regions.

New Government

We are not very optimistic, but we also cannot dismiss the new Government’s efforts outright. If dialogue must happen, it should be with those who are genuinely interested in it, and we have made this clear to the new Government.

We believe there are two paths to a solution: a political one, where dialogue is vital, and a policing one, because what is happening here are crimes. There are no political prisoners here—these are criminals!!

What happened to the Minister and the Undersecretary in Cañete is part of what happens here constantly, and it should change the authorities' perspective on the problem. The problem is bigger than what is seen in Santiago.

Forestry Companies

President Boric is mistaken. No one here is expendable—thinking that someone must leave for another to enter is not the solution. It’s about working with those already here, seeking forms of association and cooperation. We do not agree that any actor should have to leave.

We are sitting idle, waiting for each business owner’s turn, because the State is the one that must provide certainty—and in practice, it hasn’t. We have suffered 343 attacks in 8 years, and 1,200 forestry machines have been destroyed. The outlook is bleak because they are destroying the dreams of business owners and workers whose only desire is to work. We also have 3 martyrs...

Constitutional Convention

Nothing is clear yet, so we are waiting for the draft of the Constitution. But without a doubt, when property rights are affected, it’s a fundamental issue. Some concepts are misunderstood, like autonomy, projects with indigenous communities, etc.

We hope that does not move forward.

What’s coming...

We have spoken twice with the Undersecretary. He has outlined the plans and resources—we are expectant, we have offered our support, and we are available. But optimism turns into pessimism. We want to give the Government a chance, we hope it works, but there is a vicious cycle of crime entrenched in the region. These terrorist groups have declared war on us, and we are caught in a war without any stake in it.

Source:radioagricultura.cl