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***
Date: November 27, 1999
Subject: Bio-Bio al Dia - GABB gabb@reuna.cl
Written by: Cristian Opasso/GABB
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HEADLINES:
*RALCO CONCESSION TO BE GRANTED SOON
*COMPTROLLER GENERAL WILL INVESTIGATE CONCESSION
*MAPUCHE MOBILIZATION ON THE UPPER BIOBIO
*COURT HAS YET TO RULE DEFINITIVELY ON INJUNCTIVE MEASURE
*LEADERS OF THE RESISTANCE TAKEN TO COURT
*VIOLENCE AND THREAT AGAINST PEHUENCHES
Sender: irn-biobio-request@netvista.net
Precedence: bulk
*RALCO CONCESSION TO BE GRANTED SOON SANTIAGO --
In an unusual step, just two days after an executive of Enersis (which owns
Endesa-Chile) put public pressure and without following the regular
process, the Electricity and Energy Authority (SEC) sent an official letter
which grants Endesa the definitive concession for the construction of Ralco
Dam to the Ministry of the Economy.
To make matters worse, during the annual meeting of a group of Chilean
business owners (SOFOFA), President Eduardo Frei assured them that soon the
concession would be granted for the second hydroelectric dam on the Upper
Biobio. On that occasion, Frei also branded those who question these
megaprojects as "environmental Shiites."
The latest chapter in this plot of irregularities and undue pressures began
on November 2, in statements made by Enersis general manager Enrique Garcia
to the morning paper La Hora de Santiago and reproduced by the daily El Sur
de Concepcion. "If we had the concession we would start to build the dam
tomorrow," Garcia said. On that occasion, in an act both ignorant and
disrespectful of Mapuche-Pehuenche rights, the Spanish executive gave
little importance to the land transfer agreements that Enersis has been
unable to obtain from the indigenous people, a necessary condition for the
project to go forward. "I don't suppose for that reason a project of this
quality would be stopped. We would be building the dam if we had the
electricity concession and that doesn't have anything to do with this
problem," he said. Garcia added that the final contract on the project had
still not been awarded, which made the concession even more urgent for
Endesa. "We have said clearly that we want to continue with the Ralco
project, but we must have the concessions, if not it will be very difficult
to make important decisions."
COMPTROLLER GENERAL WILL INVESTIGATE CONCESSION SANTIAGO --
Unofficial sources have made it known that the Comptroller General of the
Chilean Republic will create a special team to study in detail the alleged
irregularities surrounding the granting of the electricity concession for
the Ralco project to Endesa. The imminent concession has three legal defects:
1) The arbitrary interpretation by the legal department of the SEC, which
claims that the Pehuenches have no right to oppose the concession because
it is an authorized act, and that the articles of the Indigenous Law that
prohibit the sale of indigenous lands would only be applicable if the
Pehuenches were being forced to leave their land.
2) The lack of water rights for the project. It is important to remember
(see Biobio al dia, No. 17) that Endesa made a mistake in requesting the
water rights for the project. Last week, it became known that the General
Water Authority, a part of the Ministry of Public Works, would officially
inform Endesa that it could no longer exercise its water rights for the
Ralco project as it has been doing.
3) The irregularities in the granting of the environmental resolution by
Conama, which authorized the project and is being investigated by the
courts. As you may remember (see Biobio al dia, Nos. 16 and 17), the
injunctive measure that recently paralyzed the dam construction is
sustained by this trial, which is being aired in the courts of Santiago.
MAPUCHE MOBILIZATION IN THE UPPER BIOBIO
UPPER BIOBIO -- This weekend (Saturday November 27 and Sunday November 28)
delegations of Mapuche from different areas of the country are expected to
arrive in the Upper Biobio, in response to an invitation from Nicolasa
Quintreman Calpan, one of the principal leaders of Mapu Domuche Newen
(Women with the Strength of the Earth). Quiltreman called on her brothers
and sisters to join her in a religious ceremony and other actions to defend
their right to remain on their land in the Upper Biobio. Nicolasa,
accompanied by Mapuche-Hulliche leader Sara Imilmaqui, traveled to various
Mapuche communities on the coast and south central region of the country to
meet with representatives of communities in conflict and with leaders of
various Mapuche organizations. Many of these people actively participated
in the march of Mapuche communities last October, which ended on October 12
in Concepcisn. The march, which lasted several days, was the most massive
Mapuche mobilization in recent years and was supported by thousands of
people who supported the horseback riders and walkers who gathered in Caete
and traveled to Concepcisn. One of the agreements that resulted from the
mobilization was awareness and solidarity among the various Mapuche
communities who fighting for their rights.
*COURT HAS YET TO RULE DEFINITIVELY ON INJUNCTIVE MEASURE
SANTIAGO -- A final resolution regarding the injunctive measure that
paralyzed construction of the Ralco Dam last September, and which was later
reversed by a "no-change" order on October 1, has yet to materialize. The
injunctive measure decreed by Judge Mario Carroza has not yet made it to
the list for review by the Appellate Court of Santiago and many speculate
that it is being delayed until the definitive concession is granted, which
would influence the judges' ruling. All of this, of course, would be
illegal and theoretically could not happen, but the enormous economic power
and political influence of Endesa and its principal legal advocate, Mr.
Pablo Rodriguez Grez, are open secrets in Chile and it would not be
surprising if such speculation were to become reality.
ENDESA ADMITS RALCO PROJECT IS BEHIND SCHEDULE
SANTIAGO -- Alfredo Llorente, a Spanish executive and president of Grupo
Enersis (parent company of Endesa Chile) acknowledged in the press that the
Ralco Dam could begin operating in the first half of 2003. "There has been
a delay, particularly for the diversion of the river, which must be
completed within a certain amount of time," the executive told the daily El
Mercurio in an article entitled, "Ralco Will Happen, but in 2003." This is
the first time the company has publicly acknowledged that the project has
suffered significant delays, although Llorente naturally forgot to say that
the delay is due to the vehement opposition of Pehuenche families and the
many people who support them, which has resulted in marches in the dam zone
and judicial victories, that although partial, have affected Endesa's plans.
Llorente also expressed trepidation about the eventual resolutions of the
Senate, where possible property limitations in the energy sector are being
discussed. "It would be a major setback for us, with this enormous project,
if later they told us we had to sell it because we have too large a portion
of the market," Llorente told El Mercurio on November 21.
Llorente, of course, is talking about what has already happened, since
Endesa doesn't have the permission of all the Pehuenches to build its
enormous project on land that it does not own. Nor has Llorente wanted to
meet personally with opponents of the project, despite having promised to
do so in a casual encounter during the Endesa stockholders meeting a couple
of years ago, and despite having said in August that Endesa Espaqa is still
undecided about whether to continue with the project.
*LEADERS OF THE RESISTANCE TAKEN TO COURT
SANTA BARBARA -- Five Pehuenches, supposedly representing the communities
of Ralco-Lepoy, Quepuca-Ralco and Quepuca Estadio, have filed suit against
Mapuche women Nicolasa Quintreman Calpan, Berta Quintreman Calpan y
Mercedes Julia Huenteao Beroiza on the basis of "extracontractual
responsibility." The women are among those who have refused to transfer
their lands and recently succeeded in stopping the Ralco Dam construction
by winning an injunction against Conama, which granted the environmental
permission for the project. The suit against the three women alleges that
they have ignored community agreements, that they have falsely represented
others and that they have abused others' rights by not transferring their
lands to Ralco. In addition, the suit charges the three women with hurting
the rest of the Pehuenches by denying them the benefits that Endesa has
promised. The suit asks for indemnization for moral and material damages
equivalent to 300 million pesos (about $550,000) and asks also that the
Pehuenche women abstain from approaching the authorities and the media as
representatives of the communities of the Upper Biobio. Although lawyers
representing the Pehuenche women assure them the case has no legal basis,
it represents a new kind of pressure on the part of Endesa and those
Pehuenche who have given up their lands, against these women who have
stopped a megaproject backed by the most powerful corporation in Chile.
VIOLENCE AND THREATS AGAINST PEHUENCHES
RALCO-LEPOY -- Physical violence against a Pehuenche woman and her husband
who have refused to give up their land, a stoning attack on the Mapuche
Pehuenche Center in Ralco and a threat by the Municipal Council of Santa
Barbara to end the organization's lease for the building, are among the
worrisome events that have occurred in recent weeks. The physical
aggression against Aurelia Marihuan and her husband Reinaldo Beroiza took
place on November 1 in the Ralco-Lepoy cemetery after a heated argument
between Aurelia and a neighbor concerning the land around the cemetery,
where Aurelia did not want itinerant vendors to sell their goods. The land
belonged to her grandfather and was passed on to her. One of Aurelia's
aunts has gone to court saying the land belongs not to Aurelia but to her,
in order to get the money from transferring the land to Endesa. As a result
of the physical aggression against her husband Reinaldo Beroiza, Aurelia
suffered burns to her hand from trying to defend her husband.
Also during these days, the Pehuenche Center was victim of a stoning attack
by unknown persons who committed the crime at night and fled. The Pehuenche
Center is a community organization founded in 1992 and which represents
most of the lonkos (traditional leaders) of the Upper Biobio. It also
contains a store selling Pehuenche artisanry and providing tourist
information. The Center has a 20-year lease granted by the municipality of
Santa Barbara. Recently, however, council members have said they intend to
cancel the lease. It is important to remember that on various occasions,
mayor Rene Correa (who was nominated during the military dictatorship) has
said that he wants to end the lease because he believes the Pehuenche
Center is a "den of Communists."
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Biobio al Dia is the electronic newsletter of the Grupo de Accisn por el
Biobio (GABB). Editor: Cristian Opaso. Address: Ernesto Pinto Lagarrigue
112, Recoleta, Santiago de Chile. Phone: (56-2) 737-1420. Fax: (56-2)
777-6414. Email: gabb@reuna.cl. English translation by International Rivers
Network, 1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA 94703, U.S.A. Phone: (510)
848-1155. Fax: (510) 848-1108. Email: monti@irn.org.
Previous editions available at www.irn.org. (c) All rights reserved. Total
or partial reproduction of this newsletter authorized only if source is cited.