Chile's constituent assembly on Tuesday approved an early proposal that could lead to the nationalisation of the country's copper industry, prompting an immediate angry reaction from mining companies.
The Chilean parliament's environment committee is drafting a new constitution that gives the green light to proposals for "nationalization and new social and environmental management of copper mines, lithium and other strategic assets." The proposal still faces a vote by the full parliament to be included in the final draft text, which Chile will put to a national referendum later this year.
Xile està reescrivint la seva constitució per substituir la centrada en el mercat-, que es remunta a la dictadura militar del general Augusto Pinochet. El debat sobre l'esborrany de constitució començarà de debò a finals d'aquest mes, però el contingut de les propostes ja està causant malestar entre els gegants de la mineria.
'I think it's a good idea,' said Diego Marquez, president of the National Mining Association, which represents Chile's copper industry. Hernandez says the bill passed is barbaric and contains clear legal errors. Its implementation would nationalize the companies themselves as well as the metal resources, with significant economic and legal implications. He added that in the context of globalization, nationalization would have serious consequences for the economy and affected companies would defend their legitimate interests. The mining industry has called for legal protections to remain in place to ensure future investment in the sector by the world's largest copper producer and second largest lithium producer.
Els membres de l'Assemblea constituent van indicar que la proposta es podria ajustar o fins i tot derogar-se.
