Southern Guilds Say Violence Caused Companies to Leave, and If State of Emergency is Scaled Back, New Ones Will Not Arrive

An average of five forestry contracting companies withdraw from the southern macro-zone each year, due to the violence and insecurity illustrated by 525 attacks recorded since January 2014. Similarly, an estimate from farmers in Malleco maintains that annually one agricultural company has ceased its productive activities due to attacks and land usurpations.

"We have lost about 60 companies in the last 12 years, and recovering them will not be achieved if, in addition, security measures are now eliminated," says the manager of the Association of Forestry Contractors, René Muñoz. According to his estimate, in the same period, "about three thousand jobs have been lost."

The president of the Association of Farmers of Malleco, Sebastián Naveillán, stresses that "we have had almost 30 years of violence; therefore, it is necessary to build trust so that the private sector will invest again in the southern macro-zone, and that is not achieved overnight, especially if they are telling you that the military presence is going to be withdrawn."

Naveillán emphasizes that "it is true that the number of attacks is decreasing, but that does not mean security has returned to our regions" and adds that "while the state of emergency is a special situation, to be able to de-escalate it, a scenario of normality must be achieved, but that takes time, because the feeling of Security must be recovered."

Alejo Apraiz, a transporter and president of the Association of Victims of Rural Violence, states that "on average, each year we have about four companies dedicated to road freight transport that stop operating in the area. Some do so as a precaution and others because they have suffered attacks."

Source:El Mercurio