State of Exception in Southern Macrozone: Government Establishes Committee to Review Extension Request

Days before the start of President José Antonio Kast's term, Interior Minister Claudio Alvarado; Security Minister Trinidad Steinert; and Defense Minister Fernando Barros; met with the Chief of the Joint Staff, Air Force General Leonardo Romanini; with the goal of reviewing the request to renew the State of Exception in the Southern Macrozone, which has been in effect since 2022, surpassing 1,300 days.

The constitutional measure covers the provinces of Malleco and Cautín in the Araucanía Region, and Biobío and Arauco in the Biobío Region.

It should be noted that the last extension approved by the National Congress began on February 26 of this year for a period of 30 days, during the government of former President Gabriel Boric.

During the processing of the last extension, it was reported that in 2025, in the provinces under the State of Exception, a 28% decrease in rural violence events was observed compared to 2024. The decline reaches 79% compared to 2021.

Furthermore, from May 18, 2022, to January 4, 2026, Carabineros reports 668,264 controls in the southern macrozone. Additionally, 1,416 arrests were made, and it was specified that the new Anti-Terrorism Law has been invoked 8 times.

The mayor of Mulchén, José Miguel Muñoz, commented on a potential new extension of the measure, which must go through Congress, and emphasized that "the goal of the current government, as the authorities have stated, is to reach the end of the term without a state of exception. That is what we also hope for, and we have the hope that President Kast will place the area at the center of his priorities, managing to dismantle the organized groups operating in the Region."

For her part, Deputy Lilian Betancurt addressed the upcoming expiration of the state of exception and maintained that it is important to keep this measure in place due to the persistent violence in the provinces of Arauco and Biobío.

"The state of exception in the Southern Macrozone remains a necessary measure because it has proven effective in containing violence and restoring a greater sense of security to the families of Arauco and Biobío; however, it is not reasonable that every 15 days we are repeating the same discussion in Congress (...) I am in favor of moving towards a more permanent mechanism that provides stability and continuity to the strategy," stated the parliamentarian.

Regarding a potential extension request from the Government, the deputy indicated that her vote would be favorable, emphasizing that "we cannot backtrack on the progress or expose the neighbors again, although this must be accompanied by clear guarantees so that the Armed Forces and Order Forces can fulfill their duties."

At the same time, Betancurt said that "the state of exception cannot be the only tool and must be accompanied by a comprehensive strategy that includes intelligence, pursuit of organized crime, police strengthening, and an effective state presence, with the goal of definitively recovering peace in the territory."

Deputy Patricio Briones described the extension of the state of exception as "a vital measure to maintain order and security." In turn, he stated that the measure "is a tool to generate trust, but mainly a presence of state agencies in an area co-opted by anarchist groups but perhaps primarily associated with organized crime."

Source:Diario Concepción