Indigenous representation and participation

The case of the Chilean Mapuche

Bibliographic Data

ID4171954
AuthorsPedro Cayul (0000-0001-7333-1626), Alejandro Corvalan (0000-0001-9281-8018)
Year2024
Volume90
Pages102818
Publication date2024-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueElectoral Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0261-3794 • E-ISSN: 1873-6890
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.electstud.2024.102818
OpenAlexW4399879137
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited51

According to the empowerment hypothesis, minority politicians encourage minority participation. The relationship between representation and participation has been extensively analyzed for several ethnic minorities and women, but there are no studies for indigenous populations in Latin America. This paper evaluates the link between descriptive representation and electoral registration of Mapuche, a deprived indigenous minority from the South of Chile that is as large as ten percent of the total population. We implement a panel estimation that controls district effects using a national dataset of more than three million new registrations in Chile for five municipal elections. We found that Mapuche mayors are significantly associated with higher Mapuche participation during the first year of the mayoral period. Since registration in Chile occurs throughout the representatives’ term, and we use registrations long before the next election, our evidence suggests that office-holding affects participation by channels other than electoral campaigning. To shed light on the channels, we describe the symbolic and substantive mechanisms used by Mapuche mayors to empower their communities

Biology · Ethnology · Geography · Indigenous · Political science · Politics · Representation (politics · History · Indigenous Cultures and History · Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights · Law · Migration, Education, Indigenous Social Dynamics · Ecology

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access