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dam-l BioBio: Conadi leadership changes affects Pehuenche/Mapuche
CHIP News for September 24, 1998
>SOURCE: EL MERCURIO
>SOURCE: LA TERCERA
>TEXT: Today's other headline stories in brief:
> -- GONZALEZ TAKES HELM AT CONADI. Socialist Party (PS)
>lawyer Rodrigo Gonzalez Wednesday took over as director of the
>National Indigenous Development Board (Conadi), arriving in Temuco
>one day ahead of schedule. PS Deputy Alejandro Navarro, along with
>his green faction colleague Guido Girardi and indigenous members of
>the Conadi Board of Directors, continue to question his appointment.
>According to his opponents, Gonzalez's position in favor of Ralco, will
>compromise the lives of the Pehuenche families who refuse to sign
>land barter contracts with Endesa.
> Gonzalez said he will create an extensive list of issues which
>affect indigenous populations. Responding to criticism that he is not
>of indigenous descent, Gonzalez said his appointment was a
>presidential decision, and he is honored to assume the post. Navarro,
>however, said that the designation of a non-indigenous person to
>head Conadi affects the credibility of the organization, and said he
>will ask the PS Political Commission to review the appointment.
> Juan Pablo Orrego, head of the Bio Bio Action Group, which has
>been lobbying against Ralco since the project's inception, said
>Gonzalez is a puppet who has shown he believes environmentalists
>have do not offer alternatives to development.
> Mapuche communities in and around Temuco held
>demonstrations Wednesday protesting Gonzalez's appointment, and
>on several estates occupied lands they claim to own. The occupations
>occurred in Traiguen, Villarica, Santa Rosa and Allipen, all located in
>southern Region VIII.
Chile Information Project
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