Ercilia Araya, president of the Pai Ote community, claims that the Ministry of the Environment only reached an agreement with a non-territorial community, while those who actually live in the Maricunga territory «were shut out, as the consultation was closed, and they could not present their proposals to the government.»
Ercilia Araya Altamirano, president of the Indigenous Community Pai Ote, sounded the alarm nationally and internationally. The Indigenous leader formally lodged a complaint with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous peoples, Dr. Albert Barime, claiming that the Chilean state, under the responsibility of Environment Minister Maisa Rojas, and Atacama’s Seremi Natalia Penroz, hastily and improperly closed the Indigenous consultation for the creation of the Maricunga National Park in Atacama Region. Furthermore, despite the illegalities committed, the Council of Ministers for Sustainability and Climate Change will vote on the park’s creation on February 13.
The Pai Ote community asserts that the Ministry of Environment only reached an agreement with a non-territorial community, while local communities «were shut out as the consultation was closed, and they could not present their proposals to the government,» the Colla leader claims.
«What was closed was not merely an administrative procedure: what was shut down was the real possibility of participation,» community members emphasize.
The Email that Changed Everything
The conflict took a pivotal turn on February 9, 2026, when Atacama’s Seremi of Environment notified communities via email that the Indigenous consultation process had been formally closed, attaching Exempt Resolution N° 718/2026 from the Ministry of Environment.
This act is regarded by communities as a «newly arisen evidence» that radically alters the conflict’s landscape. Why? Because the state moved forward despite Indigenous objections and deemed a consultation that is currently under legal review as legitimate, sufficient, and valid.
In simple terms: the state acted rashly, declaring that everything was fine before any harm was done.
«Free and Good Faith Consultation»… According to the State
The resolution does not simply state that «the consultation is over.» It claims that the process complied entirely with the five phases of Supreme Decree N° 66, that the timelines and methodology were agreed upon with the communities, and that everything was done «in good faith» while safeguarding their rights.
For the Pai Ote Community, this assertion is serious: the state absolves itself while closing administratively a discussion that is judicially contested. «It’s as if the referee were to declare the game valid while VAR is still reviewing the play,» Indigenous defenders comment.
The Suspension That Never Came
One of the more sensitive points is that the consultation closure was issued after the Ministry rejected a suspension request from territorial communities. This request was made before dialogue, following internal deliberation, and sought basic conditions for real participation.
February is not just any month in the Andean world. There are religious, productive, and traditional activities that make rapid participation impossible. Nevertheless, the state pushed for an «express» schedule.
Ironically, authorities have acknowledged in writing the Indigenous allegations: undue pressures, loss of the «free» nature of the consultation, and the risk of imposing agreements reached with a non-territorial community, whose legitimacy has been heavily questioned and supported by two expert reports submitted.
A Consultation with Only One Agreement
The closure resolution acknowledges a key fact: there was an agreement only with one community, the Colla Finca del Chañar Community, which does not actually inhabit the territories related to the new Maricunga National Park. Territorial communities were excluded from effective dialogue.
For Pai Ote, this demonstrates tangible harm: «There was not plural consultation; there was selective consultation.» They denounce that the mechanism ceased to be an intercultural space and became a tool to produce a politically useful but legally flawed result.
All This While the Case is Still in Court
The situation becomes more serious considering that the ministry itself recognizes that the determination of which communities participate is being discussed in court. Case Rol N° 422-2025 from the Copiapó Court of Appeals is under appeal and pending in the Supreme Court.
Nonetheless, the state decided to proceed, closing the consultation and moving forward as if nothing were amiss.
«They knew the issue was sub judice, yet they pressed forward,» community members summarize.
The Countdown: The Council of Ministers
The closure of the consultation is not neutral. On February 13, 2026, the Council of Ministers for Sustainability and Climate Change was convened to vote on the creation of the Maricunga National Park, using this disputed consultation as a basis.
For Pai Ote, this renders the violation irreversible. «The closed consultation is the key that unlocks decisions that will forever transform our ancestral territory.»
Consultation or Consent?
Communities argue that merely having a consultation was insufficient. The establishment of a national park in the Salar de Maricunga impacts cultural practices, transhumance, animal husbandry, medicinal herb collection, and spiritual sites.
Thus, they assert, free, prior, and informed consent was required, not a hurried and formalistic consultation. Without that standard, the process is fundamentally flawed.
A Complaint that Crosses Borders
For all the above reasons, sister Ercilia Araya Altamirano has taken the complaint to the United Nations. The message is clear: what occurred in Maricunga is not an administrative issue but a severe violation of Indigenous rights, equality before the law, good faith, and the rule of law.
«This is not a hypothetical conflict,» Pai Ote members warn. «The damage is already being consolidated, with official documents and a ticking clock.»
Ariel Leon, advisor to the Pai Ote community, states that «Law 21.600, regarding Biodiversity and protected areas, expressly prohibits activities such as transhumance, medicinal herb collection, firewood collection, and even holding ceremonies with sacred fire in national parks. The solutions to these prohibitions are utterly degrading and violate the rights of Indigenous peoples, who must seek permits almost exclusively at the capricious discretion of bureaucrats. It will be absolutely impossible for Colla customs to be incorporated into the decree that establishes the park, because the consultation ended precisely with a community that has no clear understanding of local practices, lacks knowledge of water sources, medicinal herb locations, transhumance routes, and the territory itself. The consultation and national park creation process are fundamentally flawed, and the community is urgently requesting that the United Nations Rapporteur urge the Chilean state to suspend the process. The current government’s fear of the incoming administration of elected president José Antonio Kast cannot justify human rights violations.»
The ball is now in the courts’ court and the international community, unless «President Boric’s government realizes the situation and refrains from violating human rights just to secure last-minute, non-consensual measures that infringe on existing rights,» Ariel Leon stated.
