Protest against Chile dam plan ends in violence

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Protest against Chile dam plan ends in violence
By EVA VERGARA
The Associated Press
updated 5/20/2011 11:43:44 PM ET 2011-05-21T03:43:44

SANTIAGO, Chile — Tens of thousands of people massed in the center of Chile's capital Friday night for new protests against the government's plan to dam two wild rivers in the country's southern Patagonia region.

Most demonstrators were peaceful, but bands of hooded protesters attacked police and smashed shop windows and damaged other property along a 10-block stretch of Santiago's main avenue.

The protesters started at the Plaza Italia and walked peacefully to the front of La Moneda presidential palace, carrying flags and banners denouncing the hydroelectric project that was approved for Patagonia on May 9.

At that point, hundreds of masked people began throwing rocks at police, who responded with water cannons and tear gas. The masked bands tore off metal bars and scaffolding timbers to use against police, trashed stores, wrecked signs and set fire to trash piles.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43118024/ns/us_news-environment/

[Judi Lynn]

1. Chile Approves HidroAysen Dam Project In Wild Patagonia Despite Major Opposition

Chile Approves HidroAysen Dam Project In Wild Patagonia Despite Major Opposition
By MICHAEL WARREN and EVA VERGARA
05/ 9/11 08:57 PM ET

SANTIAGO, Chile -- A $7 billion project to dam two of the world's wildest rivers for electricity has won environmental approval Monday from a Chilean government commission despite a groundswell of opposition.

The commissioners – all political appointees in President Sebastian Pinera's government – concluded a three-year environmental review by approving five dams on the Baker and Pascua rivers in Aysen, a mostly roadless region of remote southern Patagonia where rainfall is nearly constant and rivers plunge from Andean glaciers to the Pacific Ocean through green valleys and fjords.

Monday's vote – 11 in favor and one abstention – could prove to be pivotal for the future of Chile, which has a booming economy, vast mineral wealth and a determination to join the elite group of first-world nations.

More:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/10/chile-hidroaysen-dam-project-approved-patagonia_n_859833.html



Sunday, May 15th, 2011 | Posted by angie.clifford HidroAysén Reactions in Patagonia
By Angie Clifford in Puerto Natales

Reactions to HidroAysén in Patagonia are almost unanimous. Still reeling from the reduction in natural gas subsidies announced by the Chilean government in January of this year, the unchallenged sentiment is that Chile is more interested in special interests than its citizens. “They say the dams will create more energy for Chile, but that energy will not go to the people of Patagonia. The hydroelectric energy will go first to fuel the mines of Northern Chile. Industries in Chile consume far more electricity than the people,” commented David Dittmar, a local resident of Puerto Natales and opponent of HidroAysén.

Placing the dams in Patagonia opens up the barely healing wounds from the gas subsidy strikes. Patagonians in the area commented that most of their energy comes from natural gas, whereas Northerners rely more on electricity.

In addition to the fiscal consequences, the Patagonians live on and near the affected lands and also work in those areas. Many Patagonian opponents to HidroAysén were eager to show photos from their travels in the area, lamenting that the breathtaking landscapes and wildlife would soon be eliminated by the dams.

~snip~
Although the protests are now gaining press following the vote, Patagonians in the region have been fighting HidroAysén for years. For several years, Patagonia Sin Represas has been protesting the development of the hydroelectric dams, but sadly for the people of Patagonia, those protests have not gained widespread attention until too late.

More:
http://www.ilovechile.cl/2011/05/15/hidroaysen-reactions-in-patagonia/21575

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