What are Chilean presidential candidates’ environmental plans?

Gabriel Boric speaks to his supporters in Santiago, Chile, after receiving news of his victory in left-wing primaries. Photo: SOPA Images Limited via Alamy

As a result of climate change, global temperatures will continue to rise, with extreme weather events in Latin America becoming more frequent, according to the IPCC’s latest report, published on August 9. The following day in Chile, the Coquimbo Environmental Commission approved the Dominga mining project, which aims to excavate an open-pit mine as well as create a mega-port fewer than 30 kilometers from the Humboldt Archipelago, one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world.

The Chilean public was outraged by the decision made by the Sebastián Piñera administration. Indeed, local communities and scientists have resisted the project for years. But the “No to Dominga” campaign found an unexpected ally in Sebastián Sichel, Chile’s rightwing-backed presidential candidate for the November presidential elections.

Mr. Sichel, who won the conservatives’ primary despite being an independent with a center-left background, said Dominga “is not viable.” In an attempt to further distance himself from President Piñera, he also pledged to sign the Escazú Agreement, the first environmental treaty in Latin America and the Caribbean, which came into force earlier this year.

After years of Mr. Piñera rejecting Escazú, its supporters have now found new hope. All the main contenders for the four-year presidential term beginning in March 2022 are committed to signing the document. With a profound and long-running drought also afflicting the South American country, the environment is now squarely on Chile’s political agenda.

Chile’s crowded presidential race currently has three favorites: Mr. Sichel, from the right-wing alliance Chile Vamos; Yasna Provoste, from the center-left Christian Democracy (and the only woman on the ballot); and young Congressman Gabriel Boric, from the left-wing bloc Apruebo Dignidad.

The historic Constituent Assembly that was born out of the massive 2019 social mobilizations has already begun drafting the new charter — and a significant number of its members originate from socio-environmental movements. They are currently working to incorporate the rights of nature into Chile’s new constitution.