José Bengoa Cabello (19 January 1945) is a Chilean historian and anthropologist. He is known in Chile for his study of Mapuche history and society. After the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, José Bengoa was dismissed from his work at the University of Chile by the Pinochet regime. He was the principal advocate for the first Social Forum of the ACLU International Human Rights Task Force, during the SubCommission's fifty-fourth session in August 2002. Bengoa had been living in Cajón del Maipo for some time. For medical reasons and concerns, he sometimes returns to his home in Ñuñoa. The anthropologist had been diagnosed with bone cancer and had a bone marrow transplant in 2017.
Career
Bengoa has had a successful career with ranging professions. He served on many different boards at the same time. Beginning in 1978, he was the director, president of the board, as well as researcher for the Center for Social Studies and Education in SUR, Santiago, Chile. He was here until 1990. While he was at the Center for Social Studies and Education, he was also serving as President of World University Service Committee in Chile. Bengoa served here from 1978 to 1991. From 1990 to 1993, he was the National Director of the Special Commission for Indigenous peoples in Chile. While here, he was in charge of drafting, editing, as well as creating the new indigenous law. In 1992, he founded and directed the School of Anthropology at the Universidad Academia de Humanismo Cristiano in Santiago, Chile. He remained director until 1996.
From 1996 to 2002, Bengoa was rector of UAHC in Chile. He later returned and as of 2016, remains rector. His most notable career moment was being a member of the National Commission on Historical Truth and New Deal with the Indigenous peoples of Chile. He was a member from 2000 to 2004 and was later nominated by the President of the Republic. He currently remains an active member in numerous different organizations. He remains a full-time professor at UAHC for the School of Anthropology and History in Chile. Since 1994, he has been serving as a Director of Research for the National Found for Scientific and Technological Development. He remains the President for the Board of the National Foundation against poverty within Chile, dating back to 1996. His work with the Mapuche people has helped their story and origins gain attention worldwide. His work extends past just the Mapuche people and focuses on helping all the different ethnic groups within Chile.
The Mapuche People
The name "Mapuche" translates to "people of the land." The Mapuche people is the largest ethnic group within Chile and makes up a rough 10% of the Chilean population as a whole. Half of the Mapuche people live around the capital of Chile, which is Santiago. The other half tend to live in the south from river Bío Bío right until the Chiloé Island. There is another fair-sized group of Mapuche people within the Argentina area. An interesting fact is that the Mapuche people will name themselves according to where they live. An example of this is the group of Mapuche people called the Huilliche, or the people from the south. Looking at the Mapuche people in the present day, they are in a vulnerable situation. Chile focuses strongly on class society. Unfortunately for the Mapuche people, they rank the lowest in class. There have been efforts from the state and the church to take the Mapuche people into the Chilean society. During an era, the Pinochet era to be exact, all the Mapuche land was privatized and later sold to foreigners and other wealthy owners/ landlords. During this time, new laws were also introduced, including the law that there would not be indigenous peoples within Chile. Instead, there would only be Chileans. Consequences of the Pinochet era were serious and the Mapuche's had to migrate to the bigger cities because of the loss of their land. Acclimating to a new environment proved difficult for those who had to move to cities, as they were forced to forget their culture in order to better fit in. Being a Mapuche also means it is difficult to make a decent living, as they are often paid less than other Chileans. They also struggle to receive their education. The class system in Chile is so rigid that it is not uncommon for Mapuche people to rid their names and adopt Chilean ones instead, in hopes of having a better life for their offspring.