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Association of Forestry Contractors: "The agreement was not fulfilled, it's a State of Exception at 50% of what we requested"
This Tuesday, the State of Exception came into effect in the southern macrozone after being published in the Official Gazette. According to the government, this measure is solely for the protection of highways and roads.
Regarding this, the manager of the Association of Forestry Contractors (Acoforag), René Muñoz, pointed out that the executive branch did not "fulfill part of the agreement," as "this is a State of Exception at 50 percent of what we had requested."
The state of emergency measure only applies in the La Araucanía Region and the provinces of Arauco and Biobío in the Biobío Region, and will remain in force for 15 days, with the possibility of extension for the same period.
However, as Muñoz explained in an interview with 'La Mañana de Agricultura,' during the discussions and meetings held with the government a few weeks ago amid the protests, they had requested that the regions of Los Ríos and Los Lagos also be included.
"The issue is that the Los Ríos Region is potentially one where violence and the destruction of equipment and work are gradually increasing," said the Acoforag manager, who recalled that "we have had 14 attacks in the Los Ríos Region in three years and nine attacks in the Los Lagos Region in three years."
Nevertheless, La Moneda's decision to declare a State of Exception for the industry is a step forward, but "it is not enough for what is happening."
"Yesterday (Tuesday), even with the State of Exception in place—decreed and approved by the Comptroller General—they burned one of our pieces of equipment. At 2 p.m., in Capitán Pastene, they set fire to a backhoe that was performing road maintenance," he lamented.
That is why he stated that "the problem is so big that this measure will be insufficient, especially since the armed forces have rules of engagement that are very limited. This State of Exception is more 'light' than the one decreed during Piñera's government—it lacks substance."
"We don’t want this to escalate or spiral further out of control. The problem is so severe that it’s not visible from Santiago—you have to come to the regions. I once again invite the Minister of the Interior and President Gabriel Boric to come and see for themselves what is happening here," he emphasized.
