This article analyzes the development of intercultural communicative competence (ICC) in initial teacher education (ITE) at three regional Chilean universities located in border contexts. Based on 46 semi-structured interviews with students, teachers, and academic authorities, seven categories were identified that reveal a marginal and fragmented incorporation of interculturality into the curriculum, as well as a persistent gap between institutional discourse and actual formative experiences. The study is based on Munezane’s (2025) tree model of ICC, which organizes competence into interrelated ethical, formative, and practical dimensions, represented as the roots, trunk, and leaves of a dynamic, situated process of intercultural development. It employs an intersectional approach that makes inequalities associated with gender, ethnicity, and territory. The results show that the development of ICC is conditioned by institutional, epistemic, and relational factors, and that its strengthening requires comprehensive curricular policies and critical, context-sensitive teacher education. The study concludes that promoting a situated intercultural education that recognizes and addresses these inequalities represents both a challenge and an opportunity to strengthen the ethical and political commitment of teaching, fostering more just and democratic educational practices in contexts of diversity and structural exclusion.
