Weakness by design: neoliberal governance over mining and water in Chile

Abstract

This article examines the consequences of Chile’s neoliberal governance regime on the heartland of the mining industry in the Atacama region, especially regarding access to and distribution of water. Through a close examination of efforts to mitigate the impacts of mining, including over access to water and over Indigenous collective water user rights, we argue that Chile’s neoliberal governance regime privileges powerful private interests not only over public ones, but also over a range of other significant social, economic and ecological relationships for which water is critical. These relationships are largely hidden in this regime, but they remain vitally important. Neoliberalism sees governance as a technical issue, to administer a set of resources or carry out consultations among stakeholders. We argue that governance instead involves making the invisible visible, drawing attention to issues that have been taken off the table, including who speaks and which interests are to be protected. This is especially pertinent currently when Chileans are rewriting their constitution, the pillar of the neoliberal system. Our analysis reinforces Chileans’ desire to participate meaningfully not only in the political sphere, but also in the economic one.

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