Sponsors
Strategies Analyzed for the Gradual Termination of the State of Exception in the Southern Macrozone
Sponsors
The State of Constitutional Emergency in the Southern Macrozone has been extended sixty times, specifically in the Biobío Region, in the provinces of Arauco and Biobío, and in the La Araucanía Region. This week, the Senate approved the extension with 32 votes.
In the Upper House chamber, they pointed to the decrease in violent incidents and began analyzing "exit strategies" for the 3.5-year-long State of Exception. This goes hand in hand with measures that open the possibility of "considering a reduced military and police presence."
It should be noted that, according to figures presented by the Government during the vote for the new extension, as of August 10, 2025, there has been a 39% decrease in rural violence events compared to the same period in 2024, and an 80% decrease compared to 2021.
Thus, from the legislative side, there was a call to expedite projects such as the Rules on the Use of Force (RUF) and the modernization of the Intelligence Law.
Despite the decrease in violence, legislators noted that armed groups persist: "Throughout all these years under the state of exception, little has been done to limit these groups' access to weapons or bring them to justice."
The Minister of the Interior, Álvaro Elizalde, stated that an evaluation is currently being conducted to analyze the possibility of de-escalating the measure in light of the decrease in rural violence incidents.
"An evaluation is being carried out to adopt the necessary measures for better results, and on that basis, we believe it is necessary to design a de-escalation plan that allows for a perspective where this exceptional measure remains truly exceptional and does not become permanent," said Elizalde.
However, the Secretary of State emphasized that "with the same honesty, it must be stated that as long as this measure is necessary, we will have to extend it, because the number one priority here is the priority of the people."
In the Area
Meanwhile, Biobío Region Senator Gastón Saavedra (PS) referred to the possibility of implementing de-escalation measures and said, "I proposed de-escalation in municipalities where there is no conflict, but I voted in favor of maintaining the State of Constitutional Emergency."
Along the same lines, Saavedra proposed that "the territorial extension, especially in the Biobío Region in places like Yumbel, Cabrero, and Laja, could perfectly be lifted, because it makes little sense to have police and military forces deployed in territories where it is better to maintain normal surveillance and focus on other parts of the territory where terrorist activities are primarily taking place."
The parliamentarian also highlighted the dialogue instances that have been created to discuss possible measures to end the State of Exception in the mentioned area. Lastly, Saavedra added that it is key for all involved actors to be part of the analysis.
"I agree with President Boric convening this dialogue with representatives from diverse backgrounds, including indigenous peoples, business owners, and members of various communities, which benefits the country and the resolution of the conflict," the senator concluded.
At the same time, fellow Biobío Senator Enrique van Rysselberghe (UDI) argued that a potential phased exit from the State of Exception cannot be executed in the short term, stating that every time the idea is raised, violent incidents recur.
"Every so often, the government and related sectors raise the need to begin de-escalating the measure in the Southern Macrozone, but new attacks on private or public property occur, demonstrating that such measures cannot be carried out in the short term," explained the parliamentarian.
For van Rysselberghe, the main requirement to end the constitutional measure is "for the Government to put all its efforts into dismantling, arresting, and bringing to justice the terrorist cells that remain operational in the territory."
Thus, the Upper House member affirmed that, as long as this condition is not met, "it is completely unacceptable to end the State of Constitutional Emergency, as we would return to the previous scenario where terrorist groups operate with impunity in a territory without state control or presence."
Communities
The mayor of Santa Bárbara, Cristian Oses, commented on the idea. It should be recalled that in April of this year, his municipality recorded an arson attack that destroyed 51 machines at the Rucalhue power plant, an incident classified as extremely serious.
Regarding the idea proposed by the Executive and the Senate, the municipal leader stated that "as long as there is no legal modification or aspect of the guarantees within our legal procedural system, or a lack of intelligence to anticipate all these criminal problems that compromise the security of the country's municipalities, it will be difficult to replace the state of exception with something else."
Additionally, Oses added, "We call on parliamentarians to draft legislation with people's reality in mind; we need signals that will toughen this."
It is worth recalling that the measure was implemented on May 18, 2022, 66 days after the start of President Gabriel Boric's administration. Similarly, the Armed Forces are also deployed in the regions of Arica and Parinacota, Tarapacá, and Antofagasta under the "critical infrastructure" system.
Source:Diario Concepción
