Rapa Nui

Like all of humanity, Rapa Nui life during the review period became centered on adapting to the public health crisis of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (covid-19). Prior to the pandemic, Rapa Nui insular politics became complicated by a near collapse of the Chilean state as its citizens engaged in massive protests across its city streets and called for the resignation of Chilean President Sebastián Piñera and a new constitution. Given the global and local significance of the pandemic, herein I focus first on how Rapa Nui was impacted by the contagion and, second, on the ways Rapa Nui life was complicated by protests against the state government.

The island governor officially began managing the covid-19 virus on Rapa Nui on 11 March 2020. Tourists and others entering the island from flights departing either Tahiti or Santiago, Chile, became governed by the following protocols: fever check on arrival with a temperature gun; verbal discussion with all arriving persons to confirm a lack of symptoms of the virus (breathing problems, cough, etc); and a mandated two-week island quarantine period for all people arriving from countries with internationally restricted pandemic conditions (Gobernación de Isla de Pascua, 11 March 2020). Though no cases of infection had been documented at the time, island residents began to see significant further regulations on the island by 15 March: adult and child care centers were closed; cruise ships were prohibited entry; public meetings were suspended indefinitely; and public schools suspended classes for two weeks (Gobernación de Isla de Pascua, 15 March 2020). One day later, the municipality agreed to “close its doors” to tourism; latam Airlines, the only airline to service the island, was ordered to suspend all further flights (La Tercera, 16 March 2020). On 17 March 2020, the island became isolated from the rest of the world, and hundreds of tourists were stranded until some flights were subsequently allowed to depart (pbs, 21 May 2020). In a consequent week of perpetually canceled flights and confusion over rules that appeared to priori-tize the return of Chilean visitors over international tourists, many tourists were traumatized (Classic Journeys 2020); ultimately, some were forced to return by chartered flights weeks later (pbs, 21 May 2020).

Following the instigation of public health protocols, Rapa Nui began to document cases of covid-19 in late March. The first positive case was registeredon23 March (The Clinic, 24 March 2020). A second case, an infection spread from the first person, was registered a few days later (The Clinic, 27 March 2020). By the beginning of April, three additional cases had been documented, all stemming from the initial infection, and Juan Pakomio, the head of the island hospital, stressed the importance of all island residents remaining at home to reduce further transmission of the virus (The Clinic, 1 April 2020). At the close of the review period, no additional cases beyond the initial five documented in March and April had been noted (Chile Today, 6 July 2020).

Rapa Nui leaders began to publicly challenge state governance of the pandemic soon after the initial positive cases. Ma‘u Henua, the Indigenous institution responsible for care of the cultural heritage of the Rapa Nui National Park (Parque Nacíonal Rapa Nui), purchased ten thousand covid-19 tests from South Korea. Camilo Rapu, the president of Ma‘u Henua, feared that the state had not developed a “real capacity” to manage the pandemic (El Ciudadano, 28 March 2020). On hearing that Jaime Mañalich, the Chilean minister of health, had announced on television that the island quarantine would be lifted in forty-eight hours during the first week of April, Rapa Nui leaders immediately protested (Radio New Zealand, 8 April 2020). Anakena Manutomama, president of the Easter Island Development Commission (codeipa), disputed the proposal because the ministry had not consulted codeipa or other island leaders prior to making the announcement and had thus far failed to provide the island with necessary personal protective equipment (El Ciudadano, 6 April 2020). In defiance of the state, the municipality promoted an Indigenous system of regulation, termed a “tapu,” that required everyone to “maintain distance from...