Chilean President Michelle Bachelet officially created a 740,000-square kilometer marine reserve around remote Easter Island, a move that will protect dozens of species found nowhere else. The move follows five years of efforts by environmental organizations and the Rapa Nui people of Easter Island, famous for its extreme isolation and mysterious stone statues known as Moai.
Chile expects to close an energy swap deal with Argentina in the days ahead, Chilean Energy Minister Andres Rebolledo said in an interview Thursday. The neighboring nations are also negotiating the locations for five additional transmission line interconnection points, with an agreement expected as early as January, the minister revealed.
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet’s top economic officials resigned on Thursday after the cancellation of a major mining project, weakening her center-left coalition before November elections. Finance Minister Rodrigo Valdes said in a news conference some members of Bachelet’s government had not shared his sense of urgency to spur growth and attract investment to the world’s top copper producer.
Chilean Constitutional court on Monday ruled that a law legalizing abortion in certain cases is constitutional, a win for President Michelle Bachelet’s ruling coalition and for groups that have campaigned for years against the country’s strict ban.
Chilean authorities have approved a US$2.5 billion expansion of BHP Billiton's Spence copper mine, a local newspaper reported, though the company has not yet decided whether to go ahead with the project.
Chilean lawmakers took a major step toward legalizing abortion in some cases on Wednesday, a dramatic development in one of Latin America’s most traditionally conservative countries. In a marathon session lasting well past midnight, the Senate voted to allow abortions when a mother’s life is in danger, when the fetus is not viable, and in cases of rape.
A rare snowfall in Santiago, Chile, left at least one person dead and caused widespread power outages Sunday. An early winter cold front brought cold temperatures to the southern and central parts of Chile, with Santiago reaching near-freezing temperatures and snow fell throughout the morning and early afternoon.
Credit ratings agency S&P downgraded Chile's long-term foreign currency rating to 'A+' from 'AA-' on Thursday, the country's first downgrade since the 1990s, as weak business confidence and low prices for key export copper have eaten into fiscal revenues.
Chile's government has cut its forecast for 2017 economic growth to 1.5% from 2.25%, Finance Minister Rodrigo Valdes said on Monday as the long-awaited recovery remains elusive.
British Ambassadors to the Southern Cone countries, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Chile will be attending Canning House to give round-table briefings on their experiences since their recent appointments to their respective posts. They will present the latest political, economic and business updates from those countries and answer any questions during the closed round-table session.