The model for the "Mapuche nation" he foresees in the central southern region of Chile is based on the autonomous rule enjoyed by Basques and Catalans in Spain.
But the hurdles he faces are numerous, including government opposition that extends to imprisoning him and other militants, and a division among the Mapuche Indian communities over what direction to take.
"Recovering our land will cost us sweat, blood and tears," Llaitul said, paraphrasing a phrase made famous by Britain's World War II prime minister Winston Churchill.
The 41-year-old leader of the radical indigenous Auroca Malleco Coordination was one of nine militants imprisoned after a 2008 attack against a state prosecutor and police.
Chile charged several of them under anti-terrorist legislation dating from its 1973-1990 military dictatorship, which permitted lengthy preventative detention and a tripling of sentences.
In all, 50 Mapuches are in prison, according to the Liberar non-governmental group lobbying for their freedom. Many of them were arrested during a campaign by the Indians to seize private properties, burn company equipment and clash with police on land they claim as they own.
In 2008, the confrontations resulted in the death of one Mapuche Indian.
Numbering around 600,000, the Mapuches are the biggest Indian minority in Chile, representing around six percent of the population.
Many demand the return of territory lost in a 19th century military conflict that has since been split up among ranch-holders and lumber or farm companies.
The small town of Temucuicui is at the heart of the indigenous "resistance". Its 200 homes sit on a vast steppe sown with big forests, far from the Chilean cities where most Mapuches now live, often in poverty and victims of discrimination.
A group of journalists was recently met in Temucuicui by Indians on horseback wearing traditional ponchos and carrying spears. Their role was to guard, and to escort the visitors.
One woman who passed by the group, a "traditionalist" Mapuche, threw stones at the horsemen.
"There are divergences on how to carry out the struggle," explained Jorge Huenchullan, spokesman for the "Autonomous Community of Temucuicui".
The "traditionalists," usually of the older generation, are criticized for being too passive, too collaborationist with the Chilean authorities.
Sometimes the differences turn to violence. Daniel Queipul, a traditionalist, shows bullet scars on his arms, left from clashes with the "autonomists".
The divisions in the small community and the spikes in violence feed a negative stereotype in Chilean society. The government, which considers it has been more than generous in giving land and bestowing rights and privileges to the minority, reacts with increasing firmness to the nascent insurgency.
"A Basque-style or Catalan-style autonomy is not possible. Never. It's a utopia," the special minister to President Michelle Bachelet, Jose Antonio Viera, said last week.
Viera is responsible for indigenous affairs until the appointment of a specific minister with the portfolio promised before the end of Bachelet's term in March next year.
While a form of indigenous sovereignty is ruled out, Viera said a model permitting the Mapuches to use their ancestral lands was conceivable.
"They have to understand that their identity has to live within a changing and modern world," he said.
"The solution is Mapuches living alongside enterprises. Mapuches with non-Mapuches. It's a slow lesson to learn." (AFP)
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