Special interview with Chile-based journalist and teacher Nicolas Sálazar.
Nicolas Sálazar (right) listens to the statement of a Mapuche political prisoner during a GJEP human rights delegation to Wallmapu (Mapuche territory) in Chile in 2024. Photo: Langelle/ Langellephoto.org
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In this interview, host Steve Taylor speaks to Nicolas Sálazar. Salazar traces how the Mapuche won autonomy in the nineteenth century, lost land to settlers and plantations, and are now mobilizing to reclaim territory to rebuild food systems, ceremonies, language, health and self-determination. Nico details police raids, shadowy paramilitary attacks, and the meaning of autonomy without a state.
• Mapuche resistance and lost autonomy after the invasion by Chile
• Settler expansion and the rise of pine and eucalyptus plantations displacing communities and destroying native forest
• Land recoveries for food, culture, and governance
• Ceremonies and planting of crops as flashpoints for repression
• Health rooted in native forests and water
• Paramilitary violence against families and children
• Autonomy as daily management and local decision‑making
