Macarena Valdés
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
December 23, 1983
Macarena Valdés | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Born | Yudy Macarena Valdés Muñoz December 23, 1983 |
| Died | August 22, 2016 (aged 32) |
| Cause of death | Strangulation |
| Occupation | Mapuche human rights activist |
Yudy Macarena Valdés Muñoz (23 December 1983–22 August 2016) was a Mapuche human rights activist who led a campaign against the construction of a hydroelectric plant on the Tranguil River. Following her death, she has been compared to other murdered South American female activists including Berta Cáceres and Marielle Franco.[1]
Valdés was born in Hualañé, Maule Region, but spent most of her life in Santiago. In 2014, after wishing to live according to Mapuche culture and principles, Valdés, alongside her partner, Rubén Collío, and their children moved to Tranguil, Los Ríos Region, where they joined the Mapuche community of Newen.[2] Collío was subsequently elected as the community's werkén, increasing Valdés' visibility and profile in the local community.[3]
A hydroelectric plant was under construction on the Tranguil River by the Austrian company RP Global and the Chilean company SAESA, which had resulted in the felling of native forests and the flooding of two eltuwe (ancestral cemeteries). Collío led the Mapuche campaign to halt the plant's construction, with him and Valdés leading a series of demonstrations, including one on 1 August 2016 which saw Valdés and other members of the community block route CH 201, a national highway leading to a border crossing with Argentina. The demonstrations resulted in the Provincial Government of Valdivia initiating a dialogue between RP Global, SAESA, and local communities about the plans for the plant.[3][4][5]