{"id":354300,"date":"2026-03-19T12:22:26","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T12:22:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/354300\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T12:22:26","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T12:22:26","slug":"kast-is-more-like-trump-chiles-environmentalists-prepare-to-do-battle-for-the-countrys-future-chile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/354300\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Kast is more like Trump\u2019: Chile\u2019s environmentalists prepare to do battle for the country\u2019s future | Chile"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Chile<\/a>\u2019s most northerly region, Arica y Parinacota, Andrea Chellew, 62, relies on tourists for her cafe. They usually travel from the coastal city of Arica to the unique biosphere of the Andean highlands, which rise well above 5,000 metres and host nature reserves and wetlands.<\/p>\n

At 3,000 metres (9,800ft) above sea level, along Highway 11, she lives by the trade route that brings raw materials and goods between Bolivia<\/a> and Chile. Yet the cafe remains empty as fewer tourists come, amid more reports of increased mining activity near environmentally protected areas, such as the Lauca national park.<\/p>\n

Chellew, a former candidate for local elections in 2024, says: \u201cThe highlands are the sustenance of life, and all that water comes down from the mountains to the valleys, such as Azapa and Lluta and to the coast. The city of Arica is on the coast. So, we have a very serious problem.<\/p>\n

double quotation markWe will not have water \u2013 not for agriculture, not for livestock, not for tourismMarcela G\u00f3mez Mamani<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mining business in Chile<\/a> is good for very few people,\u201d she says. \u201cThe rest fall into absolute misery.\u201d<\/p>\n

The far-right president, Jos\u00e9 Antonio Kast, won Chile\u2019s recent polls<\/a> on promises of greater security and a \u201cpro-business\u201d platform under the slogan \u201cfewer permits, more investment<\/a>\u201d. It was a swipe at what he considers the \u201cexcessive bureaucracy\u201d of environmental permits, which he believes harms economic growth<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the region of Arica y Parinacota, Kast won by a wide margin, receiving more than 62% of the vote<\/a>. As Kast assumed the presidency on 11 March<\/a>, many environmental activists were worried about what this presidential term might mean for their efforts, not only for conservation but also for Indigenous rights and access to water.<\/p>\n

Chile\u2019s new \u2018pro-business\u2019 president, Jos\u00e9 Antonio Kast, long an admirer of the dictator Augusto Pinochet, is succeeding the leftist, pro-environment Gabriel Boric. Photograph: J Torres\/AFP\/Getty<\/p>\n

\u201cThe entire north of Chile is contaminated with polymetals,\u201d Chellew says, referring to the highly toxic pollution caused by heavy metals, such as arsenic, lead, cadmium and copper, left by mining.<\/p>\n

\u201cKast is more like Trump,\u201d she says. \u201cWe are worried. People here voted for the far right \u2013 it is absurd.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marcela G\u00f3mez Mamani, a representative of the Indigenous community of Umirpa and a member of the regional council of Arica y Parinacota, says activists are concerned about the new government\u2019s impact on the environment. \u201cThe greatest concern is water,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

In the south of the region, more than 4,000 metres above sea level, the Indigenous Aymara community of the town in the Vitor-Codpa basin has long been concerned about the impact of mining operations.<\/p>\n

A llama by a qocha, or pond, in the Atacama highlands\u2019 fertile wetlands \u2013 in the middle of the driest desert in the world. Photograph: Daniel Harper<\/p>\n

Andex Minerals, a Chilean company, has been exploring the area around the small town of Camarones for copper and other resources, and locals are worried they may soon begin mining.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe company is operating precisely where the water sources are located. They drill one kilometre or two kilometres deep, even if their project documents state 200 metres or 800 metres,\u201d says G\u00f3mez Mamani.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will not have water \u2013 not for agriculture, not for livestock, not for tourism, not for any economic activity we currently depend on,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Andex Minerals was contacted for comment.<\/p>\n

Surrounded by three mountains, known as the Mallku, rainwater flows and is collected on its western slopes, which are used by communities along the basin. The area is an Alto Andino indigenous development area<\/a> (ADI), designed to support the sustainable development and cultural preservation of Indigenous communities living in the region\u2019s high-altitude ecosystems.<\/p>\n

Yet G\u00f3mez Mamani says little is being respected. \u201cThey blocked ancestral ceremonial paths by placing rocks across them. We filed complaints, and nothing happened,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government speaks of our rich culture, but when it comes to water and land rights, that recognition disappears. That is where Indigenous peoples are portrayed as obstacles to \u2018development\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

An abandoned sulphur mine near Chile\u2019s border with Peru shows the region\u2019s long history of resource extraction. Mining makes up more than half of Chile\u2019s exports. Photograph: Daniel Harper<\/p>\n

The perceived connection between mining companies, local communities\u2019 health and access to clean water involves profits from extractive industries and environmental harm. Mining is one of the main pillars of Chile\u2019s economy, with its taxes accounting for about 20% of state income in 2021<\/a>. All the mining is in the country\u2019s northern regions and has attracted substantial foreign investment over the decades.<\/p>\n

Fernando Cabrales G\u00f3mez, an economist and associate professor at the University of Tarapac\u00e1, says: \u201cMining accounts for more than half of Chile\u2019s exports and is the only industrial sector whose productivity is comparable to that of a developed country.\u201d<\/p>\n

double quotation markWe need a government committed to environmental protection \u2026 50 years later, the damage remains unresolvedLuz Ram\u00edrez<\/p>\n

In the past, large-scale dumping of toxic material by foreign companies<\/a> in Arica y Parinacota has caused massive health problems, including arsenic and metal poisoning. It is seen as one of the consequences of public health taking a backseat to foreign investment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been a long and painful struggle,\u201d says Luz Ram\u00edrez, president of the Mamitas del Plomo (\u201cMothers of Lead\u201d) Foundation, which she helped found after high arsenic levels were discovered<\/a> in her children\u2019s blood.<\/p>\n

She is one of more than 700 Chileans who filed a claim for compensation in 2013 after allegedly suffering health problems from living near waste left<\/a> by a Swedish mining company in the 1980s.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need a government committed to environmental protection,\u201d says Ram\u00edrez. \u201cWe are deeply contaminated, and 50 years later, the damage remains unresolved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Workers clean up a spill of soya bean oil left by a truck accident along Lake Chungar\u00e1, in Lauca national park. Photograph: Conaf<\/p>\n

Last month, an accident involving a cargo truck<\/a> driving between the Bolivian and Chilean borders spilt more than 20,000 litres of soya bean oil into the waters of Lake Chungar\u00e1 in the Lauca national park, as the main road skirts the lake\u2019s shore. This was the sixth accident this year and sparked protests in Arica demanding that the government do more to protect the environment.<\/p>\n

Nationally, the two-year deadline of the previous leftist government of Gabriel Boric<\/a> to set up the newly created Biodiversity and Protected Areas Service<\/a> (SBAP) passed without the legislation being enacted, meaning it could be scrapped by the new government. This delay could block environmental protection.<\/p>\n

Now conservation organisations are on high alert, trying to hold on to existing environmental safeguards. Lorena Arce, coordinator of the biodiversity and development alternatives programme at Chile\u2019s Citizen Observatory<\/a>, commented that political activism \u201cwill be focused more on defence than on promotion<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Atacama desert is one of the driest places on Earth, making water an extremely political issue. Sources range from tributaries of the Lluta and San Jos\u00e9 Rivers, which irrigate the important agricultural valleys of Azapa and Lluta, to groundwater and high-altitude wetlands, the peatlands known locally as bofedales and vegales.<\/p>\n

The Azapa valley, one of the region\u2019s main agricultural centres, is known as \u201cChile\u2019s refrigerator\u201d, producing tomatoes, olives and other vegetables all year. Yet the Azapa aquifer has been facing shortages.<\/p>\n

San Miguel de Azapa, an agricultural oasis in the Atacama desert known as \u2018Chile\u2019s refrigerator\u2019 for the year-round produce from its greenhouses. Photograph: Jon G Fuller\/Universal\/Getty<\/p>\n

The situation is exacerbated by worsening climate conditions. A report by the environment ministry\u2019s office of climate change suggests that highland temperatures are set to rise by 2-6C (3.6-10.8F) by 2080<\/a>, and precipitation is projected to decline by up to 30%, which could greatly affect these major sources of water.<\/p>\n

Chile has one of the world\u2019s most privatised water systems<\/a>, which creates problems at the local level. It is based on the water code<\/a> introduced in 1981 by the Pinochet dictatorship.<\/p>\n

Aymara locals from Visviri, in Chile\u2019s far north near Bolivia. Boric prioritised Indigenous water rights but Kast is set to favour business. Photograph: Daniel Harper<\/p>\n

The law granted permanent water rights to private companies and individuals, who could buy, sell and inherit them. This allowed mining companies to buy large amounts of water, causing tension with Indigenous communities relying on the same sources for farming, livestock and the wetlands.<\/p>\n

Gloria Lillo Ortega, development and policy coordinator at the National Irrigation Commission<\/a>, says: \u201cThe main problem in the north is less about infrastructure and more about governance: the rules of the game, the legal framework, the water code, land-use planning and long-term planning.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese governance issues are more critical. The Boric administration has prioritised small-scale agriculture and Indigenous communities. A future administration could shift that focus towards large-scale individual users.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2022, the law was reformed to limit water rights<\/a> to 30 years instead of indefinitely, with greater priority given to human consumption and environmental protection. Yet the reform has been criticised for not doing enough to address historic inequalities in water rights.<\/p>\n

In the town of Putre, capital of Parinacota province, Sebasti\u00e1n Vidal D\u00edaz, co-founder of the Aka Pacha Foundation<\/a>, an environmental and social organisation operating in the lower highlands, is also concerned about the new Kast administration.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are afraid that this productive vision will cause some extreme change in the north because this region is not fully covered with mining companies,\u201d Vidal D\u00edaz says. \u201cThis is one of the regions with the fewest approved mining projects. Kast just wants more foreign investment.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In Chile\u2019s most northerly region, Arica y Parinacota, Andrea Chellew, 62, relies on tourists for her cafe. They…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":354301,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[246,61,60,82],"class_list":["post-354300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=354300"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354300\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/354301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=354300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=354300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=354300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}