Migration and Return to Mapuche Lands in Southern Chile, 1970–2022

Abstract

This article addresses the emerging issue of migration from cities to the countryside, a trend which increased and became more evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, this study follows the population growth of Mapuche communities in southern Chile. It proposes that this migration pattern represents a medium-term pendular historical phenomenon; decades after the initial Mapuche exodus to cities in Chile and Argentina in the 1960s and 1970s, families and individuals have decided to return to live permanently on community lands. This study utilized official Mapuche community resources and interviews with public officials, experts, community members, and Mapuche leaders. This article highlights a very important historical phenomenon, as return migration generates changes in the communities and the southern landscape, as well as posing challenges for the rural world. In some cases, the recent return migration has generated substantial occupation changes for the migrants, resulting in a change from urban to rural activities. In other cases, individuals and families have returned to live in the community but maintained jobs in nearby cities, or have retired.