Colonial capitalism, Mapuche social suffering and political participation. The role of Mapuzungun and the boundaries of the colonial public sphere.

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to explore the role of Mapuche contextualized discursive practices and the role of Mapuzungun as a source of knowledge, wisdom and transgenerational memories that facilitate the development of social practices of reciprocity, and to understand how a language subalternized by a history of racist violence, reveals how such practices are severely obstructed when they are articulated in the public sphere, both in the expression of the suffering experienced, as well as in the vindication of demands against colonial capitalism. We situate this discussion in the context of the current process of political receptiveness to new ways of conceiving the state in Chile, as a response to the diverse demands for justice among different political communities. We address both the dilemmas of capitalism and colonial enterprise in the Latin American Southern Cone, as well as the debate on Mapuche social welfare and suffering in the face of colonial violence.