On December 3, 2010 armed Chilean troops equipped with riot gear opened fire on unarmed Rapanui civilians refusing to be evicted from ancestral lands. The police started shooting pellet guns and tear gassing at the Rapanui people who for months now have been reoccupying their lands. 

Chile's president, Sebastian Pinera, announced during the country's bicentenary celebration that he would spend $4 billion for development in southern Araucania, which is where most Mapuche live, and that he would open talks with Mapuche leaders on land rights issues and other concerns. The announcement comes as 34 Mapuche activists are conducting a hunger strike in prison to protest their being jailed on charges of terrorism.