El conflicto mapuche en Chile durante el proceso de reforma agraria: el ejemplo de la provincia de Cautín entre 1960 y 1973

In this article we examine the social disputes involving the Mapuche communities of Cautín province during the agricultural reform period in Chile. For this purpose we analyze journalistic documentation (mainly El Diario Austral, the most important newspaper of the region) and governmental files (essentially the Intendencia de Cautín section stored in the Archivo Regional de la Araucanía). First, we contextualize the research, offering a review of the historical precedents to the Mapuche conflict and the general background of the agrarian and indigenous question in Chile during the years spanned by our research. Then we focus on the analysis of indigenous social disputes in the Cautín province, in particular the land takeovers (tomas de fundos) that were the main Mapuche expression of protest. This supports the conclusion, first, that these were the most important indigenous disputes since the military occupation of the Araucanía region; second, that the land takeovers achieved their main aim, that is, to increase land expropriations in favour of the Mapuche communities; and, lastly, that certain sweeping generalizations on land takeovers and the participation of indigenous peoples are now refutable.