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Members of the Mapuche community Lof Lafken Winkul Mapu and their defense attorneys in a second trial accusing them of land grabbing in the Villa Mascardi area of ​​Nahuel Huapi National Park (Río Negro) are denouncing irregularities in the proceedings. The trial—supposedly oral and public—began on February 25th before the General Roca courts, and since the second hearing on the 26th, it has been taking place behind the scenes. Furthermore, in an act that sounds like a provocation, the president of National Parks, Cristian Larsen—a plaintiff in the trial—filed a lawsuit seeking to remove the sacred ceremonial space (rewe) so that it falls under his jurisdiction. However, the rewe is protected by a court order, even though it is located in part of the territory from which the community members were evicted.

The new trial has already had three hearings and appears to be a rerun of the one the community faced in September 2024, also accused of usurping the same territory they claim. In that instance, several of the defendants were already convicted, and one of them, machi Betiana Colhuán Nahuel, was acquitted because she was a minor at the time of the events. But today they are once again in the dock facing the same accusation, combined with other cases. 

According to the prosecution, after the failed attempt to evict Winkul Mapu in Villa Mascardi in November 2017 - in which the Coast Guard shot young Rafael Nahuel in the back - "they usurped the property again." In this trial, the list of accused people added Celeste Ardaiz Guenumil (who was also deprived of her liberty for eight months after another violent raid in 2022) and Matías Santana , a witness in the Santiago Maldonado case . In addition, other cases were added for usurpation of several properties claimed by private landowners, in addition to National Parks.

A trial without public or media

While the previous trial took place at the Bariloche Gendarmerie headquarters with an operation involving more than 200 uniformed officers, this one is taking place entirely virtually. In the courtroom at General Roca are federal judge Alejandro Silva, federal prosecutor Rafael Vehils Ruíz, and plaintiff attorney Natalia Cardoso (for National Parks), facing a crowd of empty chairs. 

The other complaints, the accused persons, and the lawyers from the Lawyers' Association are on the Zoom screen. The public and the press were only able to participate during the first two hours of preliminary hearings. When witness statements began, the Judiciary stopped broadcasting. With no one in the courtroom and no virtual broadcast, it was no longer a public trial. The media also cannot cover it live. 

They report that witness reading is allowed

From Lof Winkul Mapu's defense team, led by La Gremial de Abogadxs, Laura Taffetani has no doubts: “ It's clear that the sentence will be condemnatory. The trial process is moving at this pace. It stopped being public, inexplicably because the various YouTube broadcasts were already scheduled, and then they suddenly stopped They don't want to show how it's being handled here .”

The lawyer points out other irregularities: “The second: allowing witnesses to read their testimony. It's an unusual thing to do. The code is very clear that this is not allowed,” she explains. When the defense objected on this point, the judge replied that he would always allow the reading. When they persisted with their objections, the judge threatened to cut off the defense attorneys' microphones. Taffetani adds that in today's hearing, the third: “something serious happened: adding a witness who wasn't a new situation, a witness who was in the case. They had never offered him, and now they're adding him; it's not right.” But with no press or public in the courtroom, none of this could be seen.

"Article 363 of the Procedural Code establishes that the trial must be oral and public, under penalty of nullity," the Lawyers' Association explained in a statement. "Now the public and the press are prevented from seeing and hearing the atrocities of the racist, supremacist, and state witnesses."

While the trial is taking place behind closed doors, the director of the National Parks Agency, Cristian Larsen, filed a petition with the Bariloche courts requesting the removal of the rewe , a ceremonial site, from the territory and that the National Parks Agency be able to use the space.

What is rewe? 

The Lafken Winkul Mapu community reclaimed the territory in 2017 with the explicit purpose of establishing a machi (spiritual leader) there, the first on this side of the Andes in many years. Since then, the rewe, or ceremonial space, of machi Betiana Colhuán Nahuel is the only one with that significance in Argentina. 

There is a great deal of confusion about the rewe itself. It is the sacred place, but the term is often used to refer to the spiritual elements placed there, primarily the che mamull , a carved tree trunk several meters tall. However, officials generally use "rewe" to refer to the che mamull .

Following the violent eviction on October 4, 2022 , in which Mapuche women and their children were detained, federal judge Silvina Domínguez ordered the "restitution of the properties" to National Parks and several private entities. However, she entrusted Parks with safeguarding the rewe as a sacred site for Mapuche spirituality, and with preserving "the anthropomorphic carving (referring to the che mamull ) and the surrounding space" as an object of Mapuche worship.

Larsen, in the context of the previous trial, stated, "For us, it's a totem pole," using a term from the Ojibwe language, a Native American people. "Leaving the totem pole means that these communities will perform their sacred rites there." For Parques, the possibility of spiritual ceremonies implies "being subject to confrontation," as if respect for diversity and freedom of worship were not a right.  

"Judge Dominguez ordered Parques to preserve the rewe, something it never did and which they now want to annul," explained La Gremial. 

“At Rewe we become one with everything else again.”

For nearly two and a half years, communities have demanded that the "protection" of a sacred Mapuche site should be the responsibility of the Mapuche people, not the state. 

The Lafken Winkul Mapu community called for support in the defense of this crucial space for health through a statement and on social media. "We urgently speak out again in light of the seriousness of the abuse that, once again, National Parks seeks to inflict upon us by requesting the removal of our Rewe from the Relmulafken territory, where our Machi maintains our Mapuche Lawen."

What is the meaning of rewe? “Our entire being, our existence, and our becoming are connected to it. It unites us and commits us. It is in the rewe that we once again become one with everything else. Our rewe give us back our spirituality, our language, our memory, and our kimün (knowledge). They bring us alliances, solidarity, and trafkintun (exchange). All of this emerges when we are around our rewe,” the community points out. Their rights are protected by the National Constitution, the American Convention on Human Rights, and Article XII of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. They also hold a declaration by the OAS (to which Argentina adheres) that states: “Indigenous peoples have the right to their own health systems and practices, as well as to the use and protection of plants, animals, minerals of vital interest, and other natural resources for medicinal use in their ancestral lands and territories.” They call for an urgent defense of the sacred space.

At yesterday's hearing, the judge did not allow the defendants to display a sign in front of the Zoom camera demanding " Give Back Our Rewe ." "The judge's nerve is surprising, as he allows statements to be read and, in many cases, has helped to fix testimony riddled with contradictions. Despite this, he calls our attention and threatens our lawyers when, in our demand for our just right, we display a sign in front of the camera with the legend " Give Back Our Rewe !"," said Matías Santana, one of the defendants who is under house arrest for this case. "We know the sentence is written; we have no doubts. And so, we all stand with dignity, facing this purely and clearly political trial. In defense of our rewe and territorial political rights," he added.

The Mapuche community of Lof Winkul Mapu demands recognition of the rights afforded by the National Constitution, ILO Convention 169, the American Convention on Human Rights, and Article XII of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. We also demand compliance with Declaration AG/RES. 2888 (XLVI-O/16), which states in Article XVIII:

“ Indigenous peoples have the right to their own health systems and practices, as well as to the use and protection of plants, animals, minerals of vital interest, and other natural resources for medicinal use in their ancestral lands and territories ,” states the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The agreement that did not materialize

The recognition of the ceremonial space was also established in June 2013 through an agreement with the State. After a series of roundtable discussions involving institutions and the National Secretariat of Human Rights, an agreement was signed that not only recognized the ceremonial space but also guaranteed that the evicted community would have access to the sacred place for their spirituality . Furthermore, in the same agreement, the State committed to building three homes: one for the machi and her family, one for her assistants, and one for her patients and the storage of medicines. The rest of the community would be relocated near Lake Guillelmo, in a location to be determined in the coming days. None of that happened.

The arrival of Javier Milei, a president who vindicates the genocidaire of Julio A. Roca, worsened the situation for indigenous peoples in general, and for the Mapuche who participated. Security Minister Patricia Bullrich is the same official who, during Mauricio Macri's previous administration, violently repressed the community of Cushamen, where Santiago Maldonado disappeared and was killed, and days later, in Winkul Mapu, where Rafael Nahuel was murdered in the back.

The campaign of stigmatization and persecution against Indigenous peoples goes far beyond Winkul Mapu. Two weeks ago, in Chubut, there was a series of 12 simultaneous raids that, ignoring protocol, invaded communities and a community radio station . As a result, Victoria Núñez was arrested in Lof Pillan Mahuiza, and her release is still being demanded. The Chubut government, led by Ignacio Torres, held a press conference at the time, accusing Mapuche women of being terrorists.

In Argentina, the law and the Constitution guarantee the rights to land, education, health, and participation of Indigenous communities. However, at a UN assembly in November 2024, the country was the only one to vote against a resolution to protect the rights of Indigenous peoples.