Indigenous communities in northern Chile have ended their mobilization. Since the start of the week, they have been blocking access roads to the country’s only lithium mine, located in the Atacama desert. They were pushing for Chilean President Gabriel Boric to visit the region to express their concerns. They are concerned about an agreement reached at the end of December 2023 to increase lithium production in the salar [désert de sel, NDLR] of Atacama.
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From our correspondent in Santiago, Naïla Derroisné
For four days, under the scorching desert sun, hundreds of people from the Atacamen people waved colorful flags to the sound of drums and blocked access to the lithium mine operated by the private company SQM.
They denounced the fact of not having been included at the negotiating table last year during discussions between SQM and the public mining company Coldeco. These negotiations led to an agreement last December for shared exploitation of the salar of Atacama until 2060.
The energy and energy of the Atacameño-Lickanantay village are in the lucha game. More than 26 hours of lucha in the Salar de Atacama. Algo positivo seente en el ambiente. pic.twitter.com/e8f70L3ma8
— Consejo de Pueblos Atacameños (@CP_Atacamenos) January 10, 2024
Worry
“ As the first people, we demand that our rights be respected », declared the Atacamenes who are opposed to this agreement. They are concerned about the environmental consequences that the overexploitation of the salar and managed to obtain the promise that President Gabriel Boric would go to meet them.
“ Let him come here to see all the consequences of lithium extraction and the damage it causes », expressed the president of the Council of Atacamen Peoples.
This metal, lithium, is crucial in the manufacturing of batteries for electric cars. Chile has the largest reserves in the world and is the second largest producer on the planet.
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