International
Chile seeks to resolve conflict between the State and the Mapuche people

June 21 |
The Chilean President, Gabriel Boric, presented today the Commission for Peace and Understanding that seeks to solve the historic conflict between the State and the Mapuche people, especially the demand for land.
“I have the hope, the conviction, that through broad social dialogue the foundations will be laid for a lasting and sustainable solution to a long-standing conflict,” said the president.
The eight-member commission is made up of representatives of the indigenous community, business, politics and academia.
Its objective is to give an adequate response to a problem that has been trapped for too many years and which is associated with the demand for land, said the president.
Another purpose is for the State to take charge of the lack of development, poverty, violence and insecurity and the reparation of victims in the so-called southern macro-zone.
The President admitted that Biobío and La Araucanía are currently among the poorest regions in the country, despite their enormous cultural, natural and economic wealth.
Although the Mapuche have been victims of dispossession since the Spanish conquest, the most recent conflict began in 1850, when the State and the oligarchy invaded their lands south of the Biobío, reduced their properties and gave them the Titles of Merced.
However, in the following years the occupation continued and in the 20th century many of these lands were given to European settlers, especially Germans, Swiss and Austrians, and also to Chileans.
Questioned by Prensa Latina about this new commission, Congresswoman Ericka Ñanco said she hoped that the cadastres could be taken and the lands restituted to the communities, which would create the foundations for a new way of dealing between two peoples.
Meanwhile, the secretary general of the Communist Party of Chile, Lautaro Carmona, valued all efforts aimed at the return of ancestral territories and recalled that the cosmovision of the native peoples is directly related to the Pachamama, where their culture and economy are rooted.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
International
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition

he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.
Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”
International
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may

The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.
The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”
The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”
Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.
The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.
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