Chile’s Indigenous Rights Come at High Price for the Economy

Wilson Galleguillos watches the wind whip up dust clouds above the waste deposits of the Radomiro Tomic copper mine in northern Chile. He says the dust falls on the fields of Chiu Chiu, his village 3 miles away, and that the chemicals in it damage the harvest. Nestled in the valley of Alto Loa, this indigenous community of 300—descendants of the Atacameños, who lived in the desert valleys long before the Spanish arrived—couldn’t stop construction of the mine 20 years ago. Since Chile’s 2008 adoption of a global accord on indigenous rights, state-owned miner Codelco must consult with them over its planned $5.4 billion expansion. That means Codelco and other mining companies have to meet with indigenous communities to consider the impact a big project would have on their rights and customs.

It’s a messy process. Ideally, a consultation allows a company to proceed with its plans while making adjustments to spare the indigenous people, their customs, and their livelihoods. Although the law doesn’t require that the indigenous communities consent before the project gets under way, indigenous leaders can delay development by refusing to meet with the company or suing it for failing to consult in good faith. Says Galleguillos, a village leader and potter by trade: “I don’t even want to hear Codelco’s arguments. I am not going to compromise. I will sit and talk with them but only to say I want their project far away from here.” The consultation with Chiu Chiu is developing normally and hasn’t degenerated into a legal dispute, Jorge Lagos, head of Codelco’s environment and communities department, wrote in an e-mail.