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Symbolic Exclusion and Historical Negation Regarding the Indigenous Mapuche People: A Study of Their Moral and Ideological Causes in Chile

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Abstract

In this study we analyze distinct socio-political predictors, namely, system justification, moral foundations, political ideology, social dominance orientation and authoritarianism, of two distinct but interrelated postcolonial ideologies, namely symbolic exclusion and historical negation in regards to the Mapuche people, in a sample of the general Chilean population (n = 1.242). According to the results, symbolic exclusion is explained by the political ideology of the participants, their social dominance orientation, right-wing authoritarianism, system justification and one specific moral foundations’ dimension: harm/care. On the other hand, right-wing authoritarianism, system justification, political ideology, and two specific moral foundations (loyalty/betrayal and authority/subversion) play an important role in predicting the historical negation of negative events affecting the Mapuche Indigenous people in Chile. Our results are discussed in terms of their implications for present-day intergroup relations between the Mapuche and non-Indigenous Chileans.

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Acknowledgements

For the preparation of this article we have received the support of the project “Anillos” of Research in Social Sciences and Humanities, entitled “Political culture and post-dictatorship: Memories of the past, struggles of the present and challenges of the future” (SOC 180007 PIA/ANID) and the Project entitled "Postcolonial ideologies, policies of recognition and reparation, and current intergroup relations: The Mapuche in Chile" (FONDECYT/ANID Nº11201220).

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  1. Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Talca, Av. Lircay s/n, Talca, Chile

    Manuel Cárdenas Castro

  2. Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaiso, Chile

    Héctor Arancibia

  3. Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta, Chile

    Joaquín Bahamondes

  4. Universidad de O’higgins, Rancagua, Chile

    Ana Figueiredo

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  1. Manuel Cárdenas Castro
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Castro, M.C., Arancibia, H., Bahamondes, J. et al. Symbolic Exclusion and Historical Negation Regarding the Indigenous Mapuche People: A Study of Their Moral and Ideological Causes in Chile. Race Soc Probl 14, 342–356 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-022-09358-3

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