Chile's government declared a temporary emergency in four southern provinces plagued by spiraling violence. The controversial constitutional measure allows the armed forces to support police in Bío Bío and Arauco provinces of the Bío Bío region and Malleco and Cautín provinces in the Araucanía region, where some radical indigenous Mapuche groups have long demanded autonomy from the Chilean state. Although the conflict in the impoverished communities has churned for decades, attacks on forestry industry infrastructure and private property have escalated sharply in recent years, with criminal groups widely seen as exploiting ... (full story)