A panel of Chilean Cabinet ministers voted unanimously on Tuesday to reject the 3.2 billion dollars HidroAysen mega-project, which envisioned the construction of five power-generating dams in the environmentally sensitive Patagonia region.
It will come as no surprise to Chileans that some of the country’s biggest companies — and richest families — have donated millions of dollars to presidential and parliamentary campaigns this election season. However, until an investigative report was published last week, people were only able to speculate on the matter, as a law passed in 2003 allows donors and donations to remain completely anonymous.