By Julia Zulver and Mat Youkee
CASTRO, Isla de Chiloe, Chile, March 1 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – People who live on Chile’s island of Chiloe in the deep south of the continent, where it rains ten months of the year, have long seen themselves as distinct from mainlanders.
The islanders were the last bastion of Spanish loyalists in Chile’s 19th century wars of independence and have clung to their unique culture, often putting them at odds with the rest of the nation.
“Change here came slowly,” said local historian Armando Bahamonde Vera.
In coming weeks, the island, which is roughly the size of Corsica, faces a new challenge when construction begins on Latin America’s longest suspension bridge that will link Chiloe to the mainland 2.5 km (1.5 miles) away.
“We’re fighting for survival,” said Bahamonde one of many islanders who oppose the plan.
Proposed in 1972, but canceled and postponed several times since, the $740 million project is set to be completed in 2020.
Advocates hope for better access to healthcare and schools and an economic boost for the 150,000 residents of Chiloe, the largest in an archipelago of more than islets, 1200 km south of the capital Santiago.
Opponents, who have festooned the island with banners and graffiti declaring their objections, fear a loss of their culture rooted in the Huilliche and Chono indigenous groups.
“We don’t want these investments. They are synonymous with invasion,” Bahamonde told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
“They damage our communities by destroying our natural and cultural heritage.”
