MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile debates re-nationalization of fresh water resources

A broad coalition of Chilean politicians, Church leaders, environmentalists, indigenous groups and labor unions is calling on Chilean authorities to renationalize the country's fresh water resources.

As stipulated in the Chilean constitution, passed in 1980 during the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship, fresh water is a privately traded commodity in Chile. On Monday, Socialist Party (PS) Sen. Alejandro Navarro, Party for Democracy (PPD) Sen. Guido Girardi, Sen. Mariano Ruíz-Esquide of the Christian Democratic Party (DC), Radical (PRSD) Sen. Nelson Avilá, PS Dep. René Alinco and PRSD President José Antonio Gómez announced they will soon present Congress with a bill that if approved, will do away with Chile's private water market. "Privatizing the water was an economic and strategic error," Dep. Alinco told the Patagonia Times. "In Aysén (Region XI), which I represent and where I live and plan to die, 100% of the water in the Baker, Pascua and other rivers belong to foreign economic groups, like Endesa. People in Aysén and in Chile in general don't have any power to recover that water. The situation in Aysén is the same across the country." Alinco and his colleagues in Congress' so-called "Green Bench" insist the bill will give senators and deputies on both sides of the political aisle an opportunity to express their "nationalism." "If someone's really nationalist, then they have to protect our country's interests and wealth, which includes the water," the PS deputy said. "It would be a patriotic act to help the state recover the fresh water… This will be a chance to see who the real patriots are." Long a source of controversy, Chile's privatized water system has received particular scrutiny of late due to an ongoing national debate over the HidroAysén dam project, slated for Aysén's Baker and Pascua Rivers. HidroAysén, a joint entity created in 2006 by Spanish-Italian electricity giant Endesa and Chilean energy company Colbún, plans to build five massive dams that would together have an installed generating capacity of some 2,750 MW – equivalent to roughly 20% of the electricity currently available in Chile. Although it has yet to be approved by environmental authorities, the project has already been endorsed by several members of President Michelle Bachelet's cabinet. But the planned US$3 billion venture has also attracted a long list of critics, who insist the dams – and accompanying transmission line – will cause irreparable environmental damage. Rather than approve a venture that relies on outdated technology, argue groups like the Patagonia Defense Council, the Chilean government ought to encourage investment in non-conventional renewable energy projects such as wind farms and solar facilities. Joining Alinco and his congressional allies were leading environmentalists Juan Pablo Orrego and Sara Larraín, outspoken critics of both the HidroAysén project and Chile's privatized water system. Also present was Aysén Bishop Luis Infanti de la Mora, who recently published a 90-page pastoral letter calling for an end to Chile's private water market. "This is a national problem and in that sense, it's important that the elected officials accept their responsibility for Chile's sovereignty. The country's environmental treasures and energy potential should belong to the state and not be subject to market interests," said Bishop Infanti. The Santiago Times