Diaguita: Indigenous Culture

Anna Huanchequay runs a newspaper and candy kiosk in Alto del Carmen. The blue metal box big enough for a six-pack of telephone booths opens its front window in the mornings and late afternoon each day. From inside, Anna looks down a quiet, paved street of Alto toward the horizontally layered ridge that separates her valley, the San Felix, from the Transito Valley. The two main rivers of this controversy meet just around the corner. Anna's position as liason between the Diaguita people and Barrick has not been such a smooth confluence.

When we met with Ron Kettles, Barrick's director of Pascua Lama, he discussed fair-and-balanced reporting and the dangers of misrepresenting the facts. Up until that point our blog had reported on encounters with valley residents. Sergio Campusano had been our main contact but from there we canvassed random homes in two different communities. Everyone we met but one - a bartender who hoped for increased commerce - feared the mine and wished it would go away. But our interactions with Sergio concerned Ron:

"He (Sergio) doesn't have an ounce of Diaguita blood in him," Ron said. "And neither does his wife. Sergio represents the Huascoaltino farming cooperative. He's looking after his own personal financial interests. You need to understand the politics and speak to the people involved."

Ron continued to explain that the Diaguita recently became an indigenous culture:

"The 'Diaguita' people were not even recognized by the Chilean government. With the new government they magically recognized the Diaguita as a people. Magically, they became an indigenous group because a (governmental) minister is Diaguita. Previously, we recognized them simply as part of the community."

Later, Barrick's anthropologist reiterated the freshness of the Diaguita's indigenous status. He went on to state that the indigenous status brings benefits to a community. From his perspective it seems everyone suddenly wants to be indigenous whereas years ago the term was avoided as a social stigma. He feels people are playing the indigenous card in order to gain influence especially since anyone living in the valley, regardless of heritage, can claim Diaguita status. In this case, Sergio could be a legitimate Diaguita.

Perhaps the distinction - Diaguita or not - matters because the official Diaguita group of the valley, led by Anna Huanchequay, is in favor of the mine. Barrick has been sponsoring classes in native traditions like pottery and cooking. They have also paid for a bus to take Diaguita to Santiago for a meeting, a move many locals question as an easy avenue to encourage favor from this suddenly influential group.

It's difficult to discern the fair from the imbalanced when a group of small farmers and a man who grows avocados and mangos out of a small house are portrayed as self-serving, manipulative forces wrenching influence from the hands of others. Yet two separate groups - the Diaguita led by Anna and the Junta de Vigilancia (more on them later) - who have approved of the mine are clear of such charges. So Ron recommended we speak with Anna Huanchequay, "one of the people involved."

We spoke with Anna in her kiosk. She was apprehensive at first and seemed worn down from trying to decipher people's motives. This Pascua Lama topic has obviously taken its toll on her. Once convinced we weren't working with Barrick, she began talking. Anna claims the Diaguita never supported the mine but since it gained approval from the government they had fought to keep the glaciers safe. Recently, however, according to Anna, a town representative had been to the mine and reported that the glaciers had been manipulated by Barrick. Now, Anna says they await a response to a formal letter sent to President Bachelet. Ultimately, they want further discussion on mine activity and their claim to land title. This is what Anna told us. We have it on tape. She also said Barrick offered her money and she refused. She's tired and everyone seems to have a different story about where she and the Diaguita she represents stand.