The World Water Day, commemorated this Sunday, turned into a day of protest in Santiago and at least 15 cities in Chile. Thousands of people took to the streets to reject the recent environmental decisions of the new government of José Antonio Kast, which withdrew 43 environmental decrees promoted by the administration of Gabriel Boric.
The march in the capital covered about two kilometers along Alameda Avenue, under the slogan “Don’t ‘Kast-igate’ Nature”, and gathered tens of thousands of demonstrators.
The withdrawn decrees
The suspended regulations included:
- Protection measures for species such as the Darwin’s frog and the Humboldt penguin.
- Creation of national parks.
- Decontamination plans in critical areas like Lake Villarrica.
- Regulations on emissions from thermoelectric plants.
- Declaration of protected areas in the Atacama region, to preserve 10 high-altitude wetlands linked to the National Lithium Strategy.
The government justified the decision as a usual technical and regulatory review at the start of a new administration.
Criticism and concerns
For Mauricio Lorca, a researcher at the University of Atacama, the measure is “super regrettable” as it leaves the wetlands “at the mercy of capital expansion” linked to lithium mining.
From the Movement for the Defense and Access to Water, Land, and the Environment (Modatima), its spokesperson Cristóbal Rodríguez recalled that still 1.4 million people in Chile do not have access to drinking water, making the decision a setback in environmental policy.
Protests in different cities
In Valparaíso, dozens of demonstrators gathered with slogans in defense of ecosystems and against the Executive’s measures. Although smaller in scale than in Santiago, the protest was part of the national dynamic, showing that the defense of water and common goods is a central axis of struggle.
A scenario of social conflict
The mobilizations reflect a widespread discontent and are framed in a scenario of increasing social conflict. Sectors of workers, students, and socio-environmental movements warn that these are not isolated events, but a political orientation that seeks to deepen a development model based on the intensive exploitation of territories.
World Water Day in Chile became a national expression of resistance, where the defense of water and ecosystems is positioned as a priority in the face of the new government’s initial measures. The day made it clear that citizen organization and mobilization will continue to be key to confronting what broad sectors consider an offensive against social and environmental rights.
