Chilean truck drivers lifted road blockades they had imposed to&nbsp;protest&nbsp;the killing of a colleague,&nbsp;after&nbsp;the government pledged&nbsp;new&nbsp;safety&nbsp;measures&nbsp;on Saturday.

Truck drivers had been blocking roads and setting up barricades since a clash Thursday in which a colleague died near the northern city of Antofagasta.

During the&nbsp;protest, big rigs clogged roads in northern and central&nbsp;Chile, as well as on the outskirts of the capital Santiago.&nbsp;

In the port city of Iquique, trucks sealed off the road to the airport, forcing the cancellation of all incoming and outgoing flights.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/mining-of-lithium-key-to-the-climate-fight-faces-new-scrutiny-in-chile-442743">Mining of lithium, key to the climate fight, faces new scrutiny in Chile</a>

Police said the&nbsp;trucker&nbsp;died when three Venezuelans threw rocks at his rig because he refused to give them a ride. The three alleged assailants have been arrested.

To appease the protesting drivers, the government Saturday announced&nbsp;new&nbsp;crime-fighting&nbsp;measures&nbsp;in the north of the country allowing soldiers to assist police and stepped-up monitoring of roads from the ground and with aircraft.

Interior Minister Rodrigo Delgado announced the&nbsp;measures&nbsp;after&nbsp;a five-hour meeting with a truck drivers' union. He said they will go into force Monday.

Immigration has become a sensitive subject in&nbsp;Chile&nbsp;because of the deep economic woes of Venezuela, from where millions have fled seeking better lives, spreading out across Latin America.

In towns and along roads in northern&nbsp;Chile&nbsp;it is common to see migrant Venezuelan families camping out in public places and asking for money as they try to find work and start a&nbsp;new&nbsp;life.

Watch |&nbsp;Chile's youngest ever President Gabriel Boric unveils his women majority cabinet

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The death of the truck driver prompted calls for more anti-migrant protests of the kind that have unfolded in Iquique and elsewhere in&nbsp;Chile's north over the past three weeks.

A&nbsp;new&nbsp;immigration law went into effect Saturday that the Chilean government says gives authorities greater powers to expel foreigners who have false papers or have dodged immigration controls.

Chilean truck drivers lifted road blockades they had imposed to protest the killing of a colleague, after the government pledged new safety measures on Saturday.

Chilean truck drivers lifted road blockades they had imposed to protest the killing of a colleague, after the government pledged new safety measures on Saturday. Truck drivers had been blocking roads and setting up barricades since a clash Thursday in which a colleague died near the northern city of Antofagasta. During the protest, big rigs clogged roads in northern and central Chile, as well as on the outskirts of the capital Santiago. In the port city of Iquique, trucks sealed off the road to the airport, forcing the cancellation of all incoming and outgoing flights. Also read | Mining of lithium, key to the climate fight, faces new scrutiny in Chile Police said the trucker died when three Venezuelans threw rocks at his rig because he refused to give them a ride. The three alleged assailants have been arrested. To appease the protesting drivers, the government Saturday announced new crime-fighting measures in the north of the country allowing soldiers to assist police and stepped-up monitoring of roads from the ground and with aircraft. Interior Minister Rodrigo Delgado announced the measures after a five-hour meeting with a truck drivers' union. He said they will go into force Monday. Immigration has become a sensitive subject in Chile because of the deep economic woes of Venezuela, from where millions have fled seeking better lives, spreading out across Latin America. In towns and along roads in northern Chile it is common to see migrant Venezuelan families camping out in public places and asking for money as they try to find work and start a new life. Watch | Chile's youngest ever President Gabriel Boric unveils his women majority cabinet The death of the truck driver prompted calls for more anti-migrant protests of the kind that have unfolded in Iquique and elsewhere in Chile's north over the past three weeks. A new immigration law went into effect Saturday that the Chilean government says gives authorities greater powers to expel foreigners who have false papers or have dodged immigration controls.

Chile government pledges new safety measures after trucker protest

With a massive change in the political system, Chile's youngest president Gabriel Boric has unveiled his first centrist cabinet, and for the first time in the history of Chile, the country's cabinet is all set to be dominated by women.

Chile's youngest ever President Gabriel Boric unveils his women majority cabinet

Amid the global spread of the Omicron mutant variant, Chile is all set to offer a fourth COVID-19 vaccination dose for people at high-risk.

Chile to offer a fourth COVID-19 shot for people at high-risk amid Omicron spread

A trio of Andean condors were released back into the wild after years of rehabilitation for the members of the vulnerable species at a rescue center an hour southeast of Chile's capital Santiago.

Trio of Andean condors released back into the wild after years-long rehabilitation

Plans to expand lithium mining in Chile, the world’s second largest producer, hit political roadblocks this week, raising new questions about supplies of a metal that is in high demand as the world transitions away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy sources.

Lithium is used in batteries, including those that power electric vehicles, and demand is soaring globally. It is also at the heart of a profound debate among Chileans, who are at odds over the social and environmental risks of lithium extraction. The New York Times reported last week on the consequences of mining for lithium in the ecologically sensitive salt flats of northern Chile and on how a new constitution, being drafted by an elected body, could change the mining sector, water rights and the country’s response to climate change.

The outgoing government of President Sebastián Piñera had invited bids in October from private companies to expand lithium production to 400,000 metric tons a year. But that plan has come under new scrutiny.

On Tuesday, opposition lawmakers from the left-of-center Partido por la Democracia, or Party for Democracy, filed an objection before an appeals court in the capital, Santiago, demanding that the bids be halted. And Wednesday, the centrist Christian Democrats introduced a bill in the Chilean legislature to prevent sitting presidents from inviting new mining-contract bids in the final 90 days of a term.

Also on Wednesday, advisers to President-elect Gabriel Boric, who takes office in March, met with the current government to express their concerns about the lack of a national policy on the future of lithium. The latest call for bids would create contracts to extract lithium over a 29-year period.

Boric’s supporters have in the past urged the outgoing government to suspend the bids.

Diego Pardow, one of Boric’s advisers, said the president-elect’s team favored what he called “common ground” between the outgoing government and the incoming administration.

Juan Carlos Jobet, the minister for energy and mining in the outgoing government, said he would look into the incoming government’s “legitimate concerns,” including whether to suspend the request for bids.

How to handle lithium production is likely to be one of the toughest issues facing Boric, a leftist former student leader who had campaigned on a promise to expand the social safety net and take ambitious climate action. With prices soaring on the global market, lithium mining could raise huge sums of money for his government, even as it carries yet unknown risks to the ecology of the area. Not least, lithium mining is divisive among Indigenous people of the area.

Boric has said little about his lithium plans, except to propose the creation of a national lithium company. Currently, two companies, Albemarle and Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile, or SQM, produce lithium under contracts with the government.

Plans to expand lithium mining in Chile, the world’s second largest producer, hit political roadblocks this week, raising new questions about supplies of a metal that is in high demand as the world transitions away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy sources.

Plans to expand lithium mining in Chile, the world’s second largest producer, hit political roadblocks this week, raising new questions about supplies of a metal that is in high demand as the world transitions away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy sources. Lithium is used in batteries, including those that power electric vehicles, and demand is soaring globally. It is also at the heart of a profound debate among Chileans, who are at odds over the social and environmental risks of lithium extraction. The New York Times reported last week on the consequences of mining for lithium in the ecologically sensitive salt flats of northern Chile and on how a new constitution, being drafted by an elected body, could change the mining sector, water rights and the country’s response to climate change. The outgoing government of President Sebastián Piñera had invited bids in October from private companies to expand lithium production to 400,000 metric tons a year. But that plan has come under new scrutiny. On Tuesday, opposition lawmakers from the left-of-center Partido por la Democracia, or Party for Democracy, filed an objection before an appeals court in the capital, Santiago, demanding that the bids be halted. And Wednesday, the centrist Christian Democrats introduced a bill in the Chilean legislature to prevent sitting presidents from inviting new mining-contract bids in the final 90 days of a term. Also on Wednesday, advisers to President-elect Gabriel Boric, who takes office in March, met with the current government to express their concerns about the lack of a national policy on the future of lithium. The latest call for bids would create contracts to extract lithium over a 29-year period. Boric’s supporters have in the past urged the outgoing government to suspend the bids. Diego Pardow, one of Boric’s advisers, said the president-elect’s team favored what he called “common ground” between the outgoing government and the incoming administration. Juan Carlos Jobet, the minister for energy and mining in the outgoing government, said he would look into the incoming government’s “legitimate concerns,” including whether to suspend the request for bids. How to handle lithium production is likely to be one of the toughest issues facing Boric, a leftist former student leader who had campaigned on a promise to expand the social safety net and take ambitious climate action. With prices soaring on the global market, lithium mining could raise huge sums of money for his government, even as it carries yet unknown risks to the ecology of the area. Not least, lithium mining is divisive among Indigenous people of the area. Boric has said little about his lithium plans, except to propose the creation of a national lithium company. Currently, two companies, Albemarle and Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile, or SQM, produce lithium under contracts with the government.

Mining of lithium, key to the climate fight, faces new scrutiny in Chile

Rarely does a country get a chance to lay out its ideals as a nation and write a new constitution for itself. Almost never does the climate and ecological crisis play a central role.

That is, until now, in Chile, where a national reinvention is underway. After months of protests over social and environmental grievances, 155 Chileans have been elected to write a new constitution amid what they have declared a “climate and ecological emergency.”

Their work will not only shape how this country of 19 million is governed. It will also determine the future of a soft, lustrous metal — lithium — lurking in the salt waters beneath this vast ethereal desert beside the Andes Mountains.

Lithium is an essential component of batteries. And as the global economy seeks alternatives to fossil fuels to slow down climate change, lithium demand — and prices — are soaring.

Mining companies in Chile, the world’s second-largest lithium producer after Australia, are keen to increase production, as are politicians who see mining as crucial to national prosperity. They face mounting opposition, though, from Chileans who argue that the country’s very economic model, based on extraction of natural resources, has exacted too high an environmental cost and failed to spread the benefits to all citizens, including its Indigenous people.

And so it falls to the Constitutional Convention to decide what kind of country Chile wants to be. Convention members will decide many things, including: How should mining be regulated, and what voice should local communities have over mining? Should Chile retain a presidential system? Should nature have rights? How about future generations?

Around the world, nations face similar dilemmas — in the forests of central Africa, in Native American territories in the United States — as they try to tackle the climate crisis without repeating past mistakes. For Chile, the issue now stands to shape the national charter. “We have to assume that human activity causes damage, so how much damage do we want to cause?” said Cristina Dorador Ortiz, a microbiologist who studies the salt flats and is in the Constitutional Convention. “What is enough damage to live well?”

Then there is water. Amid a crippling drought supercharged by climate change, the Convention will decide who owns Chile’s water. It will also weigh something more basic: What exactly&nbsp;is&nbsp;water?

‘Sacrifice Zones’

Chile’s current constitution was written in 1980 by people hand-picked by its then military ruler, Augusto Pinochet. It opened the country to mining investments and allowed water rights to be bought and sold.

Chile prospered by exploiting its natural riches: copper and coal, salmon and avocados. But even as it became one of Latin America’s richest nations, frustrations mounted over inequality. Mineral-rich areas became known as “sacrifice zones” of environmental degradation. Rivers began drying up.

Anger boiled over into huge protests starting in 2019. A national referendum followed, electing a diverse panel to rewrite the constitution.

On Dec. 19 came another turning point. Voters elected Gabriel Boric, a 35-year-old former student activist, as president. He had campaigned to expand the social safety net, increase mining royalties and taxes, and create a national lithium company.

The morning after his victory, the stock price of the country’s biggest lithium producer, Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile, or SQM, fell 15%.

The Father of Volcanoes

One-fifth of the world’s lithium is produced by SQM, most of it in the Atacama Desert in the shadow of ancient volcanoes, including the oldest and still active one, Lascar. The Lickanantay, the area’s Indigenous people, call Lascar the father of all volcanoes.

From above, the mine looks as if someone has spread a glistening blue and green quilt in the middle of this pale desert.

The riches lie in the brine underground. Day and night, SQM pumps out the brine, along with freshwater from five wells. Pipes carry brine to a series of ponds.

Then, the sun goes to work.

The Atacama has the highest solar radiation levels on Earth. Water evaporates astonishingly fast, leaving mineral deposits behind. Magnesium comes out of the ponds. Also potassium. Lithium remains in a viscous yellow-green pool, which SQM converts into powdery white lithium carbonate for battery-makers abroad.

SQM was a state-owned maker of fertilizer chemicals until Pinochet turned it over to his then son-in-law, Julio Ponce Lerou, in 1983. More recently, it has been fined by Chile’s stock market regulator and by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Ponce, no longer chair, retains 30% ownership.

Today, SQM is riding a lithium bull market. Carlos Díaz, its vice president for lithium, said the company seeks to increase capacity from 140,000 tons of lithium carbonate to 180,000 tons by 2022. Díaz said the firm wants to “produce lithium as green as possible,” including by reducing saltwater extraction by half by 2030 and by becoming “carbon neutral” by 2040.

There is a good reason. Nearby, a copper mine, called Escondida, was fined $93 million for extracting water and causing what a Chilean court called “irreparable damage.”

The mining industry is bracing for change. A law to increase royalties is working through the Legislature. And the Constitutional Convention is weighing provisions that could require more local decision-making.

Joaquin Villarino, president of the Mining Council, the industry lobby, said both could diminish Chile’s appeal to investors. He voiced particular worry that some of the Convention members appeared to be against mining altogether, though he did not name any. “I hope this is not what we will have in our constitution,” he said, “because Chile is a mining country.”

The Convention is also likely to make water a public good. But another question will bear on the industry even more: Is brine — the saltwater beneath the desert — technically water? Mining companies assert it is not, because it is fit for neither human nor animal consumption.

“There is a clear separation between what is coming from the mountain, that is the continental water, and what you have in the brine in the Salar de Atacama,” Díaz said.

Brine extraction is currently governed by the mining code. The new constitution could change that. It could call brine water.

Crisis in a Bright Lagoon

In the shadow of Lascar, not far from the SQM mine, shimmers a lagoon encrusted in bright white salt. Jordán Jofré Lique, a geologist who works with the Atacama Indigenous Council, walks along its edge. A solitary flamingo crosses the salt crust.

The bird is looking for food, mainly brine shrimp, and this afternoon the lake is unusually dry. Lique, 28, is not sure why. But it worries him. The health of the&nbsp;salar&nbsp;(salt flat in Spanish) constantly worries him, considering two major forces beyond his control: the warming of the planet and the mining industry’s extraction of water here in one of the world’s driest regions. The flamingo gives up its search, unfurls its pale pink wings and flies.

Lique, a Lickanantay man, knows the tracks of the salt flat. His grandfather herded sheep and goats here.

He was once set to go work for a mining company. It was a path to a good salary. Instead, he found himself studying the effects of mining on his people’s land. “Maybe it was an act of God or life’s circumstances,” he said.

Some Indigenous people say mining companies have divided their communities with offers of money and jobs. Lique’s organization is shunned by some people because it accepts research funds from Albemarle, a US&nbsp;company that also mines lithium locally.

His group has installed more than a dozen sensors to measure water levels, salinity and temperature. He is particularly worried about “the mixing zone,” a sensitive ecosystem where freshwater coexists with the saltwater underground. The bright evaporation ponds act like mirrors, which Lique suspects heats the air.

Independent research has found declining soil moisture and ground cover in the salt flat, along with rising daytime temperatures, evidence of a strong correlation between the expansion of lithium mining and the drying of the area.

A government census has recorded a slight decline in the Andean flamingo population in the Atacama since 1997, whereas their numbers remain unchanged elsewhere in Chile. Alejandra Castro, a park ranger in charge of flamingo reserves, suspects climate change.

SQM says its monitors show brine levels decreasing marginally in the mixing zone and that the flora and fauna remain healthy.

The Atacama is full of surprises. Parts of it are so dry, the ground is sharp and craggy, with no vegetation. Then the landscape changes suddenly, giving way to ankle-high shrubs or a forest of towering tamarugo trees. A dirt road twists through the bare ocher hills, depositing you abruptly in a ravine carrying mountain spring water.

Lique sees the compounding effects of climate change. Water on his family’s farm, near the mine, evaporates more quickly. Rains are more extreme. One alfalfa patch did not grow this year. The corn is short.

But Lique is most worried about how the extraction of so much brine could change the delicate equilibrium of sun, earth and water, especially amid climate change. “The best scenario is that it doesn’t get worse than this,” he said. “The worst scenario is that everything dries up.”

Clues to the Future

Dorador, the Constitutional Convention member, walks through a busy market in her hometown, Antofagasta. “The constitution is the most important law in the country,” she tells a man selling mangoes.

He listens politely.

Dorador, 41, describes what the assembly is discussing: water, housing, health care. She explains the timeline: a draft constitution by July, followed by a national vote.

Behind her, a man yells out the price of corn. Another is selling rabbits. One woman vents about shoulder pain. A few tell her they have no time.

Dorador became drawn to the microorganisms that have survived for millions of years in the salt flats. “We can learn a lot of things about climate change studying the&nbsp;salares, because they are already extreme,” she said. “You can find clues of the past and also clues of the future.”

Dorador is vying to be the convention’s president. She wants the constitution to recognize that “humans are part of nature.” She bristles when asked if lithium extraction is necessary to pivot away from fossil fuel extraction. Of course, the world should stop burning oil and gas, she said, but not by ignoring yet-unknown ecological costs. “Someone buys an electric car and feels very good because they’re saving the planet,” she said. “At the same time, an entire ecosystem is damaged. It’s a big paradox.”

Indeed, the questions facing this Convention are not Chile’s alone. The world faces the same reckoning as it confronts climate change and biodiversity loss amid widening social inequities: Does the search for climate fixes require reexamining humanity’s relationship to nature itself?

“We have to face some very complex 21st-century problems,” said Maisa Rojas, a climate scientist at the University of Chile. “Our institutions are, in many respects, not ready.”

Rarely does a country get a chance to lay out its ideals as a nation and write a new constitution for itself. Almost never does the climate and ecological crisis play a central role.

Rarely does a country get a chance to lay out its ideals as a nation and write a new constitution for itself. Almost never does the climate and ecological crisis play a central role. That is, until now, in Chile, where a national reinvention is underway. After months of protests over social and environmental grievances, 155 Chileans have been elected to write a new constitution amid what they have declared a “climate and ecological emergency.” Their work will not only shape how this country of 19 million is governed. It will also determine the future of a soft, lustrous metal — lithium — lurking in the salt waters beneath this vast ethereal desert beside the Andes Mountains. Lithium is an essential component of batteries. And as the global economy seeks alternatives to fossil fuels to slow down climate change, lithium demand — and prices — are soaring. Mining companies in Chile, the world’s second-largest lithium producer after Australia, are keen to increase production, as are politicians who see mining as crucial to national prosperity. They face mounting opposition, though, from Chileans who argue that the country’s very economic model, based on extraction of natural resources, has exacted too high an environmental cost and failed to spread the benefits to all citizens, including its Indigenous people. And so it falls to the Constitutional Convention to decide what kind of country Chile wants to be. Convention members will decide many things, including: How should mining be regulated, and what voice should local communities have over mining? Should Chile retain a presidential system? Should nature have rights? How about future generations? Around the world, nations face similar dilemmas — in the forests of central Africa, in Native American territories in the United States — as they try to tackle the climate crisis without repeating past mistakes. For Chile, the issue now stands to shape the national charter. “We have to assume that human activity causes damage, so how much damage do we want to cause?” said Cristina Dorador Ortiz, a microbiologist who studies the salt flats and is in the Constitutional Convention. “What is enough damage to live well?” Then there is water. Amid a crippling drought supercharged by climate change, the Convention will decide who owns Chile’s water. It will also weigh something more basic: What exactly is water? ‘Sacrifice Zones’ Chile’s current constitution was written in 1980 by people hand-picked by its then military ruler, Augusto Pinochet. It opened the country to mining investments and allowed water rights to be bought and sold. Chile prospered by exploiting its natural riches: copper and coal, salmon and avocados. But even as it became one of Latin America’s richest nations, frustrations mounted over inequality. Mineral-rich areas became known as “sacrifice zones” of environmental degradation. Rivers began drying up. Anger boiled over into huge protests starting in 2019. A national referendum followed, electing a diverse panel to rewrite the constitution. On Dec. 19 came another turning point. Voters elected Gabriel Boric, a 35-year-old former student activist, as president. He had campaigned to expand the social safety net, increase mining royalties and taxes, and create a national lithium company. The morning after his victory, the stock price of the country’s biggest lithium producer, Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile, or SQM, fell 15%. The Father of Volcanoes One-fifth of the world’s lithium is produced by SQM, most of it in the Atacama Desert in the shadow of ancient volcanoes, including the oldest and still active one, Lascar. The Lickanantay, the area’s Indigenous people, call Lascar the father of all volcanoes. From above, the mine looks as if someone has spread a glistening blue and green quilt in the middle of this pale desert. The riches lie in the brine underground. Day and night, SQM pumps out the brine, along with freshwater from five wells. Pipes carry brine to a series of ponds. Then, the sun goes to work. The Atacama has the highest solar radiation levels on Earth. Water evaporates astonishingly fast, leaving mineral deposits behind. Magnesium comes out of the ponds. Also potassium. Lithium remains in a viscous yellow-green pool, which SQM converts into powdery white lithium carbonate for battery-makers abroad. SQM was a state-owned maker of fertilizer chemicals until Pinochet turned it over to his then son-in-law, Julio Ponce Lerou, in 1983. More recently, it has been fined by Chile’s stock market regulator and by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Ponce, no longer chair, retains 30% ownership. Today, SQM is riding a lithium bull market. Carlos Díaz, its vice president for lithium, said the company seeks to increase capacity from 140,000 tons of lithium carbonate to 180,000 tons by 2022. Díaz said the firm wants to “produce lithium as green as possible,” including by reducing saltwater extraction by half by 2030 and by becoming “carbon neutral” by 2040. There is a good reason. Nearby, a copper mine, called Escondida, was fined $93 million for extracting water and causing what a Chilean court called “irreparable damage.” The mining industry is bracing for change. A law to increase royalties is working through the Legislature. And the Constitutional Convention is weighing provisions that could require more local decision-making. Joaquin Villarino, president of the Mining Council, the industry lobby, said both could diminish Chile’s appeal to investors. He voiced particular worry that some of the Convention members appeared to be against mining altogether, though he did not name any. “I hope this is not what we will have in our constitution,” he said, “because Chile is a mining country.” The Convention is also likely to make water a public good. But another question will bear on the industry even more: Is brine — the saltwater beneath the desert — technically water? Mining companies assert it is not, because it is fit for neither human nor animal consumption. “There is a clear separation between what is coming from the mountain, that is the continental water, and what you have in the brine in the Salar de Atacama,” Díaz said. Brine extraction is currently governed by the mining code. The new constitution could change that. It could call brine water. Crisis in a Bright Lagoon In the shadow of Lascar, not far from the SQM mine, shimmers a lagoon encrusted in bright white salt. Jordán Jofré Lique, a geologist who works with the Atacama Indigenous Council, walks along its edge. A solitary flamingo crosses the salt crust. The bird is looking for food, mainly brine shrimp, and this afternoon the lake is unusually dry. Lique, 28, is not sure why. But it worries him. The health of the salar (salt flat in Spanish) constantly worries him, considering two major forces beyond his control: the warming of the planet and the mining industry’s extraction of water here in one of the world’s driest regions. The flamingo gives up its search, unfurls its pale pink wings and flies. Lique, a Lickanantay man, knows the tracks of the salt flat. His grandfather herded sheep and goats here. He was once set to go work for a mining company. It was a path to a good salary. Instead, he found himself studying the effects of mining on his people’s land. “Maybe it was an act of God or life’s circumstances,” he said. Some Indigenous people say mining companies have divided their communities with offers of money and jobs. Lique’s organization is shunned by some people because it accepts research funds from Albemarle, a US company that also mines lithium locally. His group has installed more than a dozen sensors to measure water levels, salinity and temperature. He is particularly worried about “the mixing zone,” a sensitive ecosystem where freshwater coexists with the saltwater underground. The bright evaporation ponds act like mirrors, which Lique suspects heats the air. Independent research has found declining soil moisture and ground cover in the salt flat, along with rising daytime temperatures, evidence of a strong correlation between the expansion of lithium mining and the drying of the area. A government census has recorded a slight decline in the Andean flamingo population in the Atacama since 1997, whereas their numbers remain unchanged elsewhere in Chile. Alejandra Castro, a park ranger in charge of flamingo reserves, suspects climate change. SQM says its monitors show brine levels decreasing marginally in the mixing zone and that the flora and fauna remain healthy. The Atacama is full of surprises. Parts of it are so dry, the ground is sharp and craggy, with no vegetation. Then the landscape changes suddenly, giving way to ankle-high shrubs or a forest of towering tamarugo trees. A dirt road twists through the bare ocher hills, depositing you abruptly in a ravine carrying mountain spring water. Lique sees the compounding effects of climate change. Water on his family’s farm, near the mine, evaporates more quickly. Rains are more extreme. One alfalfa patch did not grow this year. The corn is short. But Lique is most worried about how the extraction of so much brine could change the delicate equilibrium of sun, earth and water, especially amid climate change. “The best scenario is that it doesn’t get worse than this,” he said. “The worst scenario is that everything dries up.” Clues to the Future Dorador, the Constitutional Convention member, walks through a busy market in her hometown, Antofagasta. “The constitution is the most important law in the country,” she tells a man selling mangoes. He listens politely. Dorador, 41, describes what the assembly is discussing: water, housing, health care. She explains the timeline: a draft constitution by July, followed by a national vote. Behind her, a man yells out the price of corn. Another is selling rabbits. One woman vents about shoulder pain. A few tell her they have no time. Dorador became drawn to the microorganisms that have survived for millions of years in the salt flats. “We can learn a lot of things about climate change studying the salares, because they are already extreme,” she said. “You can find clues of the past and also clues of the future.” Dorador is vying to be the convention’s president. She wants the constitution to recognize that “humans are part of nature.” She bristles when asked if lithium extraction is necessary to pivot away from fossil fuel extraction. Of course, the world should stop burning oil and gas, she said, but not by ignoring yet-unknown ecological costs. “Someone buys an electric car and feels very good because they’re saving the planet,” she said. “At the same time, an entire ecosystem is damaged. It’s a big paradox.” Indeed, the questions facing this Convention are not Chile’s alone. The world faces the same reckoning as it confronts climate change and biodiversity loss amid widening social inequities: Does the search for climate fixes require reexamining humanity’s relationship to nature itself? “We have to face some very complex 21st-century problems,” said Maisa Rojas, a climate scientist at the University of Chile. “Our institutions are, in many respects, not ready.”

Chile rewrites its constitution, confronting climate change head-on

Bees have taken the center stage at a protest in Chile, four beekeepers have been detained for protesting in front of the presidential palace, there these beekeepers have set around 60 beehives on the avenue in front of the palace setting over ten thousand bees lose at least seven police officers have been stung when they were trying to move the beehives out of the streets.

Chilean beekepers protest with thousands of bees, at least 7 police stung & hospitalised

Chile has declared "a climate and ecological emergency". 155 Chileans have been picked to rewrite the country's constitution to deal with climate change. Palki Sharma tells you how smaller nations are walking the talk on climate change.

Gravitas: Chile is rewriting its constitution to fight climate change

The wealthiest countries in the world are often considered guardians of the planet, but we know how much damage they have done with their emissions. They are responsible for climate change. Smaller countries that face an existential threat are leading the climate change fight. Chile is rewriting its constitution to combat climate change.

Chile is rewriting its constitution to combat climate change in a bid to protect its ecology

Moving on as wildfires continue to ravage parts of Chile the agriculture minister has now declared an emergency in the region which lies to the south of the Santiago region.

Wildfires ravage Chile, government declares agriculture emergency

Rarely does a country get a chance to lay out its ideals as a nation and write a new constitution for itself. Almost never does the climate and ecological crisis play a central role.

That is, until now, in Chile, where a national reinvention is underway. After months of protests over social and environmental grievances, 155 Chileans have been elected to write a new constitution amid what they have declared a “climate and ecological emergency.”

Their work will not only shape how this country of 19 million is governed. It will also determine the future of a soft, lustrous metal — lithium — lurking in the salt waters beneath this vast ethereal desert beside the Andes Mountains.

Lithium is an essential component of batteries. And as the global economy seeks alternatives to fossil fuels to slow down climate change, lithium demand — and prices — are soaring.

Mining companies in Chile, the world’s second-largest lithium producer after Australia, are keen to increase production, as are politicians who see mining as crucial to national prosperity. They face mounting opposition, though, from Chileans who argue that the country’s very economic model, based on extraction of natural resources, has exacted too high an environmental cost and failed to spread the benefits to all citizens, including its Indigenous people.

And so it falls to the Constitutional Convention to decide what kind of country Chile wants to be. Convention members will decide many things, including: How should mining be regulated, and what voice should local communities have over mining? Should Chile retain a presidential system? Should nature have rights? How about future generations?

Embedded in their discussions is a global dilemma over whether the world can address the climate crisis without repeating past mistakes. “We have to assume that human activity causes damage, so how much damage do we want to cause?” said Cristina Dorador Ortiz, a microbiologist who studies the salt flats and is in the Constitutional Convention. “What is enough damage to live well?”

Then there is water. Amid a crippling drought supercharged by climate change, the Convention will decide who owns Chile’s water. It will also weigh something more basic: What exactly&nbsp;is&nbsp;water?

‘Sacrifice Zones’

Chile’s current constitution was written in 1980 by people hand-picked by its then military ruler, Augusto Pinochet. It opened the country to mining investments and allowed water rights to be bought and sold.

Chile prospered by exploiting its natural riches: copper and coal, salmon and avocados. But even as it became one of Latin America’s richest nations, frustrations mounted over inequality. Mineral-rich areas became known as “sacrifice zones” of environmental degradation. Rivers began drying up.

Anger boiled over into huge protests starting in 2019. A national referendum followed, electing a diverse panel to rewrite the constitution.

On Dec. 19 came another turning point. Voters elected Gabriel Boric, a 35-year-old former student activist, as president. He had campaigned to expand the social safety net, increase mining royalties and taxes, and create a national lithium company.

The morning after his victory, the stock price of the country’s biggest lithium producer, Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile, or SQM, fell 15%.

The Father of Volcanoes

One-fifth of the world’s lithium is produced by SQM, most of it in the Atacama Desert in the shadow of ancient volcanoes, including the oldest and still active one, Lascar. The Lickanantay, the area’s Indigenous people, call Lascar the father of all volcanoes.

From above, the mine looks as if someone has spread a glistening blue and green quilt in the middle of this pale desert.

The riches lie in the brine underground. Day and night, SQM pumps out the brine, along with freshwater from five wells. Pipes carry brine to a series of ponds.

Then, the sun goes to work.

The Atacama has the highest solar radiation levels on Earth. Water evaporates astonishingly fast, leaving mineral deposits behind. Magnesium comes out of the ponds. Also potassium. Lithium remains in a viscous yellow-green pool, which SQM converts into powdery white lithium carbonate for battery-makers abroad.

SQM was a state-owned maker of fertilizer chemicals until Pinochet turned it over to his then son-in-law, Julio Ponce Lerou, in 1983. More recently, it has been fined by Chile’s stock market regulator and by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Ponce, no longer chair, retains 30% ownership.

Today, SQM is riding a lithium bull market. Carlos Díaz, its vice president for lithium, said the company seeks to increase capacity from 140,000 tons of lithium carbonate to 180,000 tons by 2022. Díaz said the firm wants to “produce lithium as green as possible,” including by reducing saltwater extraction by half by 2030 and by becoming “carbon neutral” by 2040.

There is good reason. Nearby, a copper mine, called Escondida, was fined $93 million for extracting water and causing what a Chilean court called “irreparable damage.”

The mining industry is bracing for change. A law to increase royalties is working through the Legislature. And the Constitutional Convention is weighing provisions that could require more local decision-making.

Joaquin Villarino, president of the Mining Council, the industry lobby, said both could diminish Chile’s appeal to investors. He voiced particular worry that some of the Convention members appeared to be against mining altogether, though he did not name any. “I hope this is not what we will have in our constitution,” he said, “because Chile is a mining country.”

The Convention is also likely to make water a public good. But another question will bear on the industry even more: Is brine — the saltwater beneath the desert — technically water? Mining companies assert it is not, because it is fit for neither human nor animal consumption.

“There is a clear separation between what is coming from the mountain, that is the continental water, and what you have in the brine in the Salar de Atacama,” Díaz said.

Brine extraction is currently governed by the mining code. The new constitution could change that. It could call brine water.

Crisis in a Bright Lagoon

In the shadow of Lascar, not far from the SQM mine, shimmers a lagoon encrusted in bright white salt. Jordán Jofré Lique, a geologist who works with the Atacama Indigenous Council, walks along its edge. A solitary flamingo crosses the salt crust.

The bird is looking for food, mainly brine shrimp, and this afternoon the lake is unusually dry. Lique, 28, is not sure why. But it worries him. The health of the&nbsp;salar&nbsp;(salt flat in Spanish) constantly worries him, considering two major forces beyond his control: the warming of the planet and the mining industry’s extraction of water here in one of the world’s driest regions. The flamingo gives up its search, unfurls its pale pink wings and flies.

Lique, a Lickanantay man, knows the tracks of the salt flat. His grandfather herded sheep and goats here.

He was once set to go work for a mining company. It was a path to a good salary. Instead, he found himself studying the effects of mining on his people’s land. “Maybe it was an act of God or life’s circumstances,” he said.

Some Indigenous people say mining companies have divided their communities with offers of money and jobs. Lique’s organization is shunned by some people because it accepts research funds from Albemarle, a U.S. company that also mines lithium locally.

His group has installed more than a dozen sensors to measure water levels, salinity and temperature. He is particularly worried about “the mixing zone,” a sensitive ecosystem where freshwater coexists with saltwater underground. The bright evaporation ponds act like mirrors, which Lique suspects heats the air.

Independent research has found declining soil moisture and ground cover in the salt flat, along with rising daytime temperatures, evidence of a strong correlation between the expansion of lithium mining and the drying of the area.

A government census has recorded a slight decline in the Andean flamingo population in the Atacama since 1997, whereas their numbers remain unchanged elsewhere in Chile. Alejandra Castro, a park ranger in charge of flamingo reserves, suspects climate change. “Each lake system is essential and must deliver its optimal water table levels to sustain future generations of chicks,” Castro said.

SQM says its monitors show brine levels decreasing marginally in the mixing zone and that the flora and fauna remain healthy.

The Atacama is full of surprises. Parts of it are so dry, the ground is sharp and craggy, with no vegetation. Then the landscape changes suddenly, giving way to ankle-high shrubs or a forest of towering tamarugo trees. A dirt road twists through the bare ocher hills, depositing you abruptly in a ravine carrying mountain spring water.

Lique sees the compounding effects of climate change. Water on his family’s farm, near the mine, evaporates more quickly. Rains are more extreme. One alfalfa patch did not grow this year. The corn is short.

But Lique is most worried about how the extraction of so much brine could change the delicate equilibrium of sun, earth and water, especially amid climate change. “The best scenario is that it doesn’t get worse than this,” he said. “The worst scenario is that everything dries up.”

Clues to the Future

Dorador, the Constitutional Convention member, walks through a busy market in her hometown, Antofagasta. “The constitution is the most important law in the country,” she tells a man selling mangoes.

He listens politely.

Dorador, 41, describes what the assembly is discussing: water, housing, health care. She explains the timeline: a draft constitution by July, followed by a national vote.

Behind her, a man yells out the price of corn. Another is selling rabbits. One woman vents about shoulder pain. A few tell her they have no time.

Dorador became drawn to the microorganisms that have survived for millions of years in the salt flats. “We can learn a lot of things about climate change studying the&nbsp;salares, because they are already extreme,” she said. “You can find clues of the past and also clues of the future.”

Dorador is vying to be the convention’s president. She wants the constitution to recognize that “humans are part of nature.” She bristles when asked if lithium extraction is necessary to pivot away from fossil fuel extraction. Of course the world should stop burning oil and gas, she said, but not by ignoring yet-unknown ecological costs. “Someone buys an electric car and feels very good because they’re saving the planet,” she said. “At the same time, an entire ecosystem is damaged. It’s a big paradox.”

Indeed, the questions facing this Convention are not Chile’s alone. The world faces the same reckoning as it confronts climate change and biodiversity loss amid widening social inequities: Does the search for climate fixes require reexamining humanity’s relationship to nature itself?

“We have to face some very complex 21st-century problems,” said Maisa Rojas, a climate scientist at the University of Chile. “Our institutions are, in many respects, not ready.”

Rarely does a country get a chance to lay out its ideals as a nation and write a new constitution for itself. Almost never does the climate and ecological crisis play a central role. That is, until now, in Chile, where a national reinvention is underway. After months of protests over social and environmental grievances, 155 Chileans have been elected to write a new constitution amid what they have declared a “climate and ecological emergency.” Their work will not only shape how this country of 19 million is governed. It will also determine the future of a soft, lustrous metal — lithium — lurking in the salt waters beneath this vast ethereal desert beside the Andes Mountains. Lithium is an essential component of batteries. And as the global economy seeks alternatives to fossil fuels to slow down climate change, lithium demand — and prices — are soaring. Mining companies in Chile, the world’s second-largest lithium producer after Australia, are keen to increase production, as are politicians who see mining as crucial to national prosperity. They face mounting opposition, though, from Chileans who argue that the country’s very economic model, based on extraction of natural resources, has exacted too high an environmental cost and failed to spread the benefits to all citizens, including its Indigenous people. And so it falls to the Constitutional Convention to decide what kind of country Chile wants to be. Convention members will decide many things, including: How should mining be regulated, and what voice should local communities have over mining? Should Chile retain a presidential system? Should nature have rights? How about future generations? Embedded in their discussions is a global dilemma over whether the world can address the climate crisis without repeating past mistakes. “We have to assume that human activity causes damage, so how much damage do we want to cause?” said Cristina Dorador Ortiz, a microbiologist who studies the salt flats and is in the Constitutional Convention. “What is enough damage to live well?” Then there is water. Amid a crippling drought supercharged by climate change, the Convention will decide who owns Chile’s water. It will also weigh something more basic: What exactly is water? ‘Sacrifice Zones’ Chile’s current constitution was written in 1980 by people hand-picked by its then military ruler, Augusto Pinochet. It opened the country to mining investments and allowed water rights to be bought and sold. Chile prospered by exploiting its natural riches: copper and coal, salmon and avocados. But even as it became one of Latin America’s richest nations, frustrations mounted over inequality. Mineral-rich areas became known as “sacrifice zones” of environmental degradation. Rivers began drying up. Anger boiled over into huge protests starting in 2019. A national referendum followed, electing a diverse panel to rewrite the constitution. On Dec. 19 came another turning point. Voters elected Gabriel Boric, a 35-year-old former student activist, as president. He had campaigned to expand the social safety net, increase mining royalties and taxes, and create a national lithium company. The morning after his victory, the stock price of the country’s biggest lithium producer, Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile, or SQM, fell 15%. The Father of Volcanoes One-fifth of the world’s lithium is produced by SQM, most of it in the Atacama Desert in the shadow of ancient volcanoes, including the oldest and still active one, Lascar. The Lickanantay, the area’s Indigenous people, call Lascar the father of all volcanoes. From above, the mine looks as if someone has spread a glistening blue and green quilt in the middle of this pale desert. The riches lie in the brine underground. Day and night, SQM pumps out the brine, along with freshwater from five wells. Pipes carry brine to a series of ponds. Then, the sun goes to work. The Atacama has the highest solar radiation levels on Earth. Water evaporates astonishingly fast, leaving mineral deposits behind. Magnesium comes out of the ponds. Also potassium. Lithium remains in a viscous yellow-green pool, which SQM converts into powdery white lithium carbonate for battery-makers abroad. SQM was a state-owned maker of fertilizer chemicals until Pinochet turned it over to his then son-in-law, Julio Ponce Lerou, in 1983. More recently, it has been fined by Chile’s stock market regulator and by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Ponce, no longer chair, retains 30% ownership. Today, SQM is riding a lithium bull market. Carlos Díaz, its vice president for lithium, said the company seeks to increase capacity from 140,000 tons of lithium carbonate to 180,000 tons by 2022. Díaz said the firm wants to “produce lithium as green as possible,” including by reducing saltwater extraction by half by 2030 and by becoming “carbon neutral” by 2040. There is good reason. Nearby, a copper mine, called Escondida, was fined $93 million for extracting water and causing what a Chilean court called “irreparable damage.” The mining industry is bracing for change. A law to increase royalties is working through the Legislature. And the Constitutional Convention is weighing provisions that could require more local decision-making. Joaquin Villarino, president of the Mining Council, the industry lobby, said both could diminish Chile’s appeal to investors. He voiced particular worry that some of the Convention members appeared to be against mining altogether, though he did not name any. “I hope this is not what we will have in our constitution,” he said, “because Chile is a mining country.” The Convention is also likely to make water a public good. But another question will bear on the industry even more: Is brine — the saltwater beneath the desert — technically water? Mining companies assert it is not, because it is fit for neither human nor animal consumption. “There is a clear separation between what is coming from the mountain, that is the continental water, and what you have in the brine in the Salar de Atacama,” Díaz said. Brine extraction is currently governed by the mining code. The new constitution could change that. It could call brine water. Crisis in a Bright Lagoon In the shadow of Lascar, not far from the SQM mine, shimmers a lagoon encrusted in bright white salt. Jordán Jofré Lique, a geologist who works with the Atacama Indigenous Council, walks along its edge. A solitary flamingo crosses the salt crust. The bird is looking for food, mainly brine shrimp, and this afternoon the lake is unusually dry. Lique, 28, is not sure why. But it worries him. The health of the salar (salt flat in Spanish) constantly worries him, considering two major forces beyond his control: the warming of the planet and the mining industry’s extraction of water here in one of the world’s driest regions. The flamingo gives up its search, unfurls its pale pink wings and flies. Lique, a Lickanantay man, knows the tracks of the salt flat. His grandfather herded sheep and goats here. He was once set to go work for a mining company. It was a path to a good salary. Instead, he found himself studying the effects of mining on his people’s land. “Maybe it was an act of God or life’s circumstances,” he said. Some Indigenous people say mining companies have divided their communities with offers of money and jobs. Lique’s organization is shunned by some people because it accepts research funds from Albemarle, a U.S. company that also mines lithium locally. His group has installed more than a dozen sensors to measure water levels, salinity and temperature. He is particularly worried about “the mixing zone,” a sensitive ecosystem where freshwater coexists with saltwater underground. The bright evaporation ponds act like mirrors, which Lique suspects heats the air. Independent research has found declining soil moisture and ground cover in the salt flat, along with rising daytime temperatures, evidence of a strong correlation between the expansion of lithium mining and the drying of the area. A government census has recorded a slight decline in the Andean flamingo population in the Atacama since 1997, whereas their numbers remain unchanged elsewhere in Chile. Alejandra Castro, a park ranger in charge of flamingo reserves, suspects climate change. “Each lake system is essential and must deliver its optimal water table levels to sustain future generations of chicks,” Castro said. SQM says its monitors show brine levels decreasing marginally in the mixing zone and that the flora and fauna remain healthy. The Atacama is full of surprises. Parts of it are so dry, the ground is sharp and craggy, with no vegetation. Then the landscape changes suddenly, giving way to ankle-high shrubs or a forest of towering tamarugo trees. A dirt road twists through the bare ocher hills, depositing you abruptly in a ravine carrying mountain spring water. Lique sees the compounding effects of climate change. Water on his family’s farm, near the mine, evaporates more quickly. Rains are more extreme. One alfalfa patch did not grow this year. The corn is short. But Lique is most worried about how the extraction of so much brine could change the delicate equilibrium of sun, earth and water, especially amid climate change. “The best scenario is that it doesn’t get worse than this,” he said. “The worst scenario is that everything dries up.” Clues to the Future Dorador, the Constitutional Convention member, walks through a busy market in her hometown, Antofagasta. “The constitution is the most important law in the country,” she tells a man selling mangoes. He listens politely. Dorador, 41, describes what the assembly is discussing: water, housing, health care. She explains the timeline: a draft constitution by July, followed by a national vote. Behind her, a man yells out the price of corn. Another is selling rabbits. One woman vents about shoulder pain. A few tell her they have no time. Dorador became drawn to the microorganisms that have survived for millions of years in the salt flats. “We can learn a lot of things about climate change studying the salares, because they are already extreme,” she said. “You can find clues of the past and also clues of the future.” Dorador is vying to be the convention’s president. She wants the constitution to recognize that “humans are part of nature.” She bristles when asked if lithium extraction is necessary to pivot away from fossil fuel extraction. Of course the world should stop burning oil and gas, she said, but not by ignoring yet-unknown ecological costs. “Someone buys an electric car and feels very good because they’re saving the planet,” she said. “At the same time, an entire ecosystem is damaged. It’s a big paradox.” Indeed, the questions facing this Convention are not Chile’s alone. The world faces the same reckoning as it confronts climate change and biodiversity loss amid widening social inequities: Does the search for climate fixes require reexamining humanity’s relationship to nature itself? “We have to face some very complex 21st-century problems,” said Maisa Rojas, a climate scientist at the University of Chile. “Our institutions are, in many respects, not ready.”

Gabriel Boric, 35, is set to become Chile's youngest-ever president, completing a stunning rise for the Andean nation's progressive left ten years after leading student rallies seeking better education.&nbsp;

He has capitalised on public outrage over Chile's market-oriented economic model, which is largely credited with fuelling decades of strong economic expansion while also fuelling inequality.&nbsp;

Who is Gabriel Boric?

Boric was born and raised in Magallanes, Chile's southernmost area.

He became involved in student activism when he was in high school, and in 2011, while studying law at the University of Chile, he was chosen president of the student union.

He never finished his degree, instead of winning the election to Chile's congress in 2013 and completing two terms as a deputy, becoming one of the country's first congresspeople to represent a political party outside of Chile's two main coalitions.

Watch:&nbsp;35-yr-old leftist millennial becomes Chile's new President

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As an independent, he was elected to Congress, representing Magallanes.

Boric claims that the centrists, who had previously held power in the country, were not bold enough to address the country's deep-seated inequalities.

Meanwhile, some members of the far-left have alarmed voters by voicing sympathy for dictatorial leftist regimes in Venezuela and Nicaragua.&nbsp; 
 
<img alt="Chilean president-elect Gabriel Boric addresses supporters. (AFP Photo)" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b0766883-b15b-42c2-aab1-5dc13891cc95" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Untitled%20design%20%288%29_74.jpg" /> 
 
Chilean president-elect Gabriel Boric addresses supporters. (AFP Photo)

A liberal left-wing face

He's more polished today than he was when he was a student leader, with thick black hair and a clipped beard.

Boric was a dark-horse contender for the presidency, despite being a well-known face of the left in Chile.

Boric has recently sought to separate himself from some of the far-left factions in his alliance's most radical viewpoints, including the Communist Party's backing for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's regime.

A leader with huge support

There has been a flood of online memes supporting him, fueled by his youthful supporters.

Two high-profile fans are Chilean-American actor Pedro Pascal from "The Mandalorian" and Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal.

Michelle Bachelet, the former two-term president of Chile and currently the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, endorsed Boric, stating he would set Chile on a "road of progress for all, of greater freedom, equality, and human rights."

Leftists from all throughout the region congratulated Boric.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

Gabriel Boric, 35, is set to become Chile's youngest-ever president, completing a stunning rise for the Andean nation's progressive left ten years after leading student rallies seeking better education.

Gabriel Boric, 35, is set to become Chile's youngest-ever president, completing a stunning rise for the Andean nation's progressive left ten years after leading student rallies seeking better education. He has capitalised on public outrage over Chile's market-oriented economic model, which is largely credited with fuelling decades of strong economic expansion while also fuelling inequality. Who is Gabriel Boric? Boric was born and raised in Magallanes, Chile's southernmost area. He became involved in student activism when he was in high school, and in 2011, while studying law at the University of Chile, he was chosen president of the student union. He never finished his degree, instead of winning the election to Chile's congress in 2013 and completing two terms as a deputy, becoming one of the country's first congresspeople to represent a political party outside of Chile's two main coalitions. Watch: 35-yr-old leftist millennial becomes Chile's new President As an independent, he was elected to Congress, representing Magallanes. Boric claims that the centrists, who had previously held power in the country, were not bold enough to address the country's deep-seated inequalities. Meanwhile, some members of the far-left have alarmed voters by voicing sympathy for dictatorial leftist regimes in Venezuela and Nicaragua. Chilean president-elect Gabriel Boric addresses supporters. (AFP Photo) A liberal left-wing face He's more polished today than he was when he was a student leader, with thick black hair and a clipped beard. Boric was a dark-horse contender for the presidency, despite being a well-known face of the left in Chile. Boric has recently sought to separate himself from some of the far-left factions in his alliance's most radical viewpoints, including the Communist Party's backing for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's regime. A leader with huge support There has been a flood of online memes supporting him, fueled by his youthful supporters. Two high-profile fans are Chilean-American actor Pedro Pascal from "The Mandalorian" and Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal. Michelle Bachelet, the former two-term president of Chile and currently the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, endorsed Boric, stating he would set Chile on a "road of progress for all, of greater freedom, equality, and human rights." Leftists from all throughout the region congratulated Boric. (With inputs from agencies)

Who is Gabriel Boric, the leftist millennial elected Chile's youngest president?

Chile has elected its next President, 35-year-old Gabriel Boric has become the youngest-ever President. He is also referred to as the most left-wing President Chile ever elected.

The most left-wing President of Chile: Meet Gabriel Boric, a 35-year-old millennial

Chile has elected a 'leftist millennial' as its new President. A 35-yr-old Gabriel Boric will be the youngest President in Chile's history. He is also being called the most 'left-wing' President till date. Why? Palki Sharma explains.

Gravitas: 35-yr-old leftist millennial becomes Chile's new President

Gabriel Boric, a leftist former student leader and leftist millennial who rose to prominence during anti-government protests has become Chile's youngest President. He is also referred to as the most left-wing President Chile ever elected.

Gabriel Boric labeled as 'most-left wing' President of Chile

Chile has elected its next president. The country witnessed fierce competition between Boric and Kast. The 35-year-old lawmaker Boric has now become the youngest-ever president.

Chile chooses youngest-ever president Gabriel Boric

Chile has chosen its next president. The country witnessed a fierce competition between Boric and Kast.

Gabriel Boric elected as new President of Chile

Chile is set to choose its next president, the country witnesses fierce competition between Boric and Kast. Chilean election offers a stark choice amid a leftist or an admirer of Pinochet.

Chile election offers stark choice between Boric and Kast | Presidential Polls

The word ‘daredevil’ doesn’t even do justice when it is used to describe the stunt performed by a former Chilean pilot.

Sebastián “Ardilla” Álvarez, a former Chilean Air Force pilot whose nickname means “Squirrel”, recently became the first person to fly in and out of an active volcano, CNN reported.

However, this is not the surprising factor.

That Álvarez was in a wingsuit while flying through an active volcano potentially makes him the first person in history to have even attempted such a feat.

The whole dramatic stunt was posted on YouTube, showing the 36-year-old accomplishing the death-defying feat last month at Villarrica, a volcano in Chile—which has been dubbed “the Devil’s House” by the indigenous Mapuche tribe for its frequent eruptions.

The aim was to show the beauty of Chile and to push the limits of the flare manoeuvre, a key component in the discipline of&nbsp;wingsuit flying, Alvarez said.

“This is by far the most extreme project I’ve ever done,” Álvarez told CNN. “That’s for sure. Especially because of all of the factors — it was an active volcano, it was at high altitude, cold, windy and so there were a lot of things that I needed to take care of.

Leaping from a helicopter at more than 3,500 meters in altitude, Álvarez would attempt to use the wingsuit to reach speeds of more than 280 km/h and then fly into and out of the 200-meter wide crater of the volcano.

It took Álvarez more than a year to prepare for the stunt. He said that he gradually got to know the volcano – its rhythms, the intensity of the smoke columns, the smell of the sulphur, the wind speed, the weather, the air space and so much more.

“Mentally, it was to me really hard because, again, my mind doesn’t want to be there, but you need to kind of force it to make it happen. I really enjoy doing these projects because I really like to push the sport a little bit more,” he added.

(With inputs from agencies)

The word ‘daredevil’ doesn’t even do justice when it is used to describe the stunt performed by a former Chilean pilot. Sebastián “Ardilla” Álvarez, a former Chilean Air Force pilot whose nickname means “Squirrel”, recently became the first person to fly in and out of an active volcano, CNN reported.

The word ‘daredevil’ doesn’t even do justice when it is used to describe the stunt performed by a former Chilean pilot. Sebastián “Ardilla” Álvarez, a former Chilean Air Force pilot whose nickname means “Squirrel”, recently became the first person to fly in and out of an active volcano, CNN reported. However, this is not the surprising factor. That Álvarez was in a wingsuit while flying through an active volcano potentially makes him the first person in history to have even attempted such a feat. The whole dramatic stunt was posted on YouTube, showing the 36-year-old accomplishing the death-defying feat last month at Villarrica, a volcano in Chile—which has been dubbed “the Devil’s House” by the indigenous Mapuche tribe for its frequent eruptions. The aim was to show the beauty of Chile and to push the limits of the flare manoeuvre, a key component in the discipline of wingsuit flying, Alvarez said. “This is by far the most extreme project I’ve ever done,” Álvarez told CNN. “That’s for sure. Especially because of all of the factors — it was an active volcano, it was at high altitude, cold, windy and so there were a lot of things that I needed to take care of. Leaping from a helicopter at more than 3,500 meters in altitude, Álvarez would attempt to use the wingsuit to reach speeds of more than 280 km/h and then fly into and out of the 200-meter wide crater of the volcano. It took Álvarez more than a year to prepare for the stunt. He said that he gradually got to know the volcano – its rhythms, the intensity of the smoke columns, the smell of the sulphur, the wind speed, the weather, the air space and so much more. “Mentally, it was to me really hard because, again, my mind doesn’t want to be there, but you need to kind of force it to make it happen. I really enjoy doing these projects because I really like to push the sport a little bit more,” he added. (With inputs from agencies)

Ex-Chilean pilot becomes first person to fly in and out of active volcano

In a positive change, Chile joins Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, Costa Rica and Uruguay in allowing same-sex marriage in the country. Both houses of Chile's parliament has passed the legislation, and President Piñera is expected to sign it before the end of his term.

Chile becomes the latest nation in Latin America to legalise same-sex marriage, Congress gives nod

Lawmakers in Chile on Tuesday legalized same-sex marriage, a landmark victory for gay rights activists that underscores how profoundly the country’s politics and society have shifted in the past decade.

By overwhelming majorities in both chambers, lawmakers put the unions of same-sex couples on par with others, making Chile the 31st nation to allow same-sex marriage and taking a significant step toward consolidating it as the norm in Latin America.

President Sebastían Piñera, a longtime opponent of same-sex marriage, startled the political establishment in June by coming out in favor of such unions. He urged Congress to prioritize passing a bill that had languished for years, ensuring the legislation will be among the last achievements of a turbulent presidency.

The measure will be signed into law at the final stretch of Chile’s presidential race, in which the leading candidates are bitterly at odds on a vast array of issues, including same-sex marriage.

While the movement for same-sex marriage has advanced slowly in much of the world in recent years, the vast majority of Latin Americans now live in countries where those unions are legal. In some large nations, including Brazil and Mexico, the right has been conferred by the courts.

The fight to extend the right to marriage to same-sex couples in Chile began in September 2010, when César Peralta and Hans Arias, a couple who were raising two children, walked into a government office in Santiago and asked to be married, knowing full well their request would be denied.

It was the first salvo of a legal battle that unfolded for more than a decade before judges at home and abroad.

Chile’s new law will enable same-sex parents to have parental rights over the biological or adopted children of a spouse and creates standard rules on inheritance and other financial matters.

Peralta and Arias split up in 2014. But Peralta said the dissolution of the relationship does not make Tuesday’s victory any less significant. While they were in the public spotlight, the couple endured ridicule and criticism, including from Chileans who said they should not be allowed to raise Peralta’s two biological children.

“I’m proud of what I’ve done,” he said. “I confronted people who said the state should take away my children.”

Lawmakers in Chile on Tuesday legalized same-sex marriage, a landmark victory for gay rights activists that underscores how profoundly the country’s politics and society have shifted in the past decade.

Lawmakers in Chile on Tuesday legalized same-sex marriage, a landmark victory for gay rights activists that underscores how profoundly the country’s politics and society have shifted in the past decade. By overwhelming majorities in both chambers, lawmakers put the unions of same-sex couples on par with others, making Chile the 31st nation to allow same-sex marriage and taking a significant step toward consolidating it as the norm in Latin America. President Sebastían Piñera, a longtime opponent of same-sex marriage, startled the political establishment in June by coming out in favor of such unions. He urged Congress to prioritize passing a bill that had languished for years, ensuring the legislation will be among the last achievements of a turbulent presidency. The measure will be signed into law at the final stretch of Chile’s presidential race, in which the leading candidates are bitterly at odds on a vast array of issues, including same-sex marriage. While the movement for same-sex marriage has advanced slowly in much of the world in recent years, the vast majority of Latin Americans now live in countries where those unions are legal. In some large nations, including Brazil and Mexico, the right has been conferred by the courts. The fight to extend the right to marriage to same-sex couples in Chile began in September 2010, when César Peralta and Hans Arias, a couple who were raising two children, walked into a government office in Santiago and asked to be married, knowing full well their request would be denied. It was the first salvo of a legal battle that unfolded for more than a decade before judges at home and abroad. Chile’s new law will enable same-sex parents to have parental rights over the biological or adopted children of a spouse and creates standard rules on inheritance and other financial matters. Peralta and Arias split up in 2014. But Peralta said the dissolution of the relationship does not make Tuesday’s victory any less significant. While they were in the public spotlight, the couple endured ridicule and criticism, including from Chileans who said they should not be allowed to raise Peralta’s two biological children. “I’m proud of what I’ve done,” he said. “I confronted people who said the state should take away my children.”

Chile legalises same-sex marriage at fraught political moment

A unique ''weaponised'' dinosaur has been discovered by scientists in Chile. It has a battle ax for a tail.

Known as Stegouros elengassen, the armoured dinosaur belongs to the late Cretaceous period.

The study, published in Nature, offers new clues about the origin of these tank-like dinosaurs.

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The bony tail, which is approximately 6.5 feet or 2 metres in size, is shaped like a club that was wielded by Aztec warriors. The highly unusual tail that has stumped researchers.

According to the study's main author, Sergio Soto Acuña, "The tail is extremely strange, as it is short for a dinosaur and the posterior half is encased in dermal bones (bones that grow in the skin) forming a unique (tail) weapon."

"That was the main surprise,” said Alexander Vargas, one of the paleontologists. “This structure is absolutely amazing."

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/fixing-fossil-mix-up-scientists-unearth-longest-dinosaur-that-ever-lived-on-earth-429803">Also read |Fixing fossil mix-up,&nbsp;scientists unearth&nbsp;longest dinosaur that ever lived on Earth</a>

"The tail was covered with seven pairs of osteoderms ... producing a weapon absolutely different from anything we know in any dinosaur," added the researcher during a presentation of the discovery at the University of Chile.

The remains of the dinosaur were discovered during excavations in 2018 at Cerro Guido, a site known to harbor numerous fossils.

Paleontologists have discovered 80 percent of the dinosaur's skeleton and estimate that the animal lived in the area 71 to 74.9 million years ago.&nbsp;

The animal could represent a hitherto unknown lineage of armored dinosaur never seen in the southern hemisphere but already identified in the northern part of the continent.

(With inputs from agencies)

A unique ''weaponised'' dinosaur has been discovered by scientists in Chile. It has a battle ax for a tail. Known as Stegouros elengassen, the armoured dinosaur belongs to the late Cretaceous period.

A unique ''weaponised'' dinosaur has been discovered by scientists in Chile. It has a battle ax for a tail. Known as Stegouros elengassen, the armoured dinosaur belongs to the late Cretaceous period. The study, published in Nature, offers new clues about the origin of these tank-like dinosaurs. Also read | Kyhytysuka: A pure carnivorous 'fish lizard' from 130 million years ago discovered The bony tail, which is approximately 6.5 feet or 2 metres in size, is shaped like a club that was wielded by Aztec warriors. The highly unusual tail that has stumped researchers. According to the study's main author, Sergio Soto Acuña, "The tail is extremely strange, as it is short for a dinosaur and the posterior half is encased in dermal bones (bones that grow in the skin) forming a unique (tail) weapon." "That was the main surprise,” said Alexander Vargas, one of the paleontologists. “This structure is absolutely amazing." Also read |Fixing fossil mix-up, scientists unearth longest dinosaur that ever lived on Earth "The tail was covered with seven pairs of osteoderms ... producing a weapon absolutely different from anything we know in any dinosaur," added the researcher during a presentation of the discovery at the University of Chile. The remains of the dinosaur were discovered during excavations in 2018 at Cerro Guido, a site known to harbor numerous fossils. Paleontologists have discovered 80 percent of the dinosaur's skeleton and estimate that the animal lived in the area 71 to 74.9 million years ago. The animal could represent a hitherto unknown lineage of armored dinosaur never seen in the southern hemisphere but already identified in the northern part of the continent. (With inputs from agencies)

Battle axe for a tail? Scientists discover unique 'weaponised' dinosaur

A mountain of discarded clothing including Christmas sweaters, skii boots cuts a strange sight in Chile's Atacama, the driest desert in the world, which is increasingly suffering from pollution created by fast fashion.

Chile's desert becomes a dumping ground for fast fashion

The clear skies of Chile's arid the Atacama Desert are a favorite for those studying the composition of the universe, but now experts are looking to take the next step: detecting the existence of life on other planets.

Giant Magellan telescope in Chile's desert searches for a new life beyond Earth

For the second consecutive day, Chile registered more than 2,000 cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), with 2,056 new infections in the last 24 hours, the highest figure since July, the Ministry of Health reported on Saturday.

"In recent days, we have seen an increase in the number of new cases of coronavirus and we are very attentive to the evolution of the epidemiological situation," said Chilean Health Minister Enrique Paris.

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"In the framework of this scenario, it is essential that people have adequate protection against the virus, especially with the booster dose, which has demonstrated effectiveness in avoiding hospitalization and admission to ICUs," he added.

The official called on the population to go to vaccination centers, saying, "We have enough doses and, in fact, (on Friday), a new shipment with 225,810 doses from the Pfizer-BioNTech laboratory arrived in our country, with which we surpassed the 39 million doses that have arrived in Chile since this campaign began.

"The total number of people who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the country increased on Saturday to 1,680,017, with another 11 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 37,662."

For the second consecutive day, Chile registered more than 2,000 cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), with 2,056 new infections in the last 24 hours, the highest figure since July, the Ministry of Health reported on Saturday.

For the second consecutive day, Chile registered more than 2,000 cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), with 2,056 new infections in the last 24 hours, the highest figure since July, the Ministry of Health reported on Saturday. "In recent days, we have seen an increase in the number of new cases of coronavirus and we are very attentive to the evolution of the epidemiological situation," said Chilean Health Minister Enrique Paris. Also Read | Memes helped people cope up with Covid pandemic-related stress, says US study "In the framework of this scenario, it is essential that people have adequate protection against the virus, especially with the booster dose, which has demonstrated effectiveness in avoiding hospitalization and admission to ICUs," he added. The official called on the population to go to vaccination centers, saying, "We have enough doses and, in fact, (on Friday), a new shipment with 225,810 doses from the Pfizer-BioNTech laboratory arrived in our country, with which we surpassed the 39 million doses that have arrived in Chile since this campaign began. "The total number of people who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the country increased on Saturday to 1,680,017, with another 11 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 37,662."

Chile registers highest number of daily cases of COVID-19 since July

One person died and 17 others were injured on Sunday as riot police clashed with protesters in the Chilean capital during a rally by the indigenous Mapuche community.

About a thousand activists -- many wearing ponchos and traditional headbands, and playing ceremonial drums -- marched near Plaza Italia in the center of Santiago, demanding autonomy for the Mapuche.

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When police moved in to disperse the protest with water cannon and tear gas, protesters responded with sticks and stones in a confrontation that lasted about 40 minutes, according to an AFP photographer at the scene.

"A hooded group constantly attacked the police with fireworks", said Enrique Monras Alvarez, chief of the police of the metropolitan area.

"One of (the fireworks) hit one of the protesters, who was with the police."

Police bodycam footage showed Denisse Cortes, a lawyer with the Ombudsman's Office, had walked over to speak to the officers when the missile struck.

The 43-year-old was rushed to hospital, where she was operated on.

"Unfortunately, the patient died during the intervention in the afternoon," said a hospital statement.

The Prosecutor's Office had opened an investigation into "this disproportionate violence," said Rodrigo Delgado, minister of the interior.

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Chilean police said in a statement that 17 police officers were also hurt in the clashes.

A total of 10 people were arrested.

The Chilean state has long been accused of discrimination against the Mapuche people, the country's largest indigenous group, who centuries ago controlled vast areas of Chile but have since been marginalized.

Considered the earliest inhabitants of parts of Chile, the Mapuche fought against the Spanish conquerors and later the Chilean army after the country's independence in the 19th century.

Their numbers were reduced to only 700,000, a fraction of Chile's current population of 17 million.

One person died and 17 others were injured on Sunday as riot police clashed with protesters in the Chilean capital during a rally by the indigenous Mapuche community.

One person died and 17 others were injured on Sunday as riot police clashed with protesters in the Chilean capital during a rally by the indigenous Mapuche community. About a thousand activists -- many wearing ponchos and traditional headbands, and playing ceremonial drums -- marched near Plaza Italia in the center of Santiago, demanding autonomy for the Mapuche. Also Read | Thousands protest against Tunisia leader with government awaited When police moved in to disperse the protest with water cannon and tear gas, protesters responded with sticks and stones in a confrontation that lasted about 40 minutes, according to an AFP photographer at the scene. "A hooded group constantly attacked the police with fireworks", said Enrique Monras Alvarez, chief of the police of the metropolitan area. "One of (the fireworks) hit one of the protesters, who was with the police." Police bodycam footage showed Denisse Cortes, a lawyer with the Ombudsman's Office, had walked over to speak to the officers when the missile struck. The 43-year-old was rushed to hospital, where she was operated on. "Unfortunately, the patient died during the intervention in the afternoon," said a hospital statement. The Prosecutor's Office had opened an investigation into "this disproportionate violence," said Rodrigo Delgado, minister of the interior. Also Read | 'Mind your uterus': Protests erupt in US against anti-abortion laws Chilean police said in a statement that 17 police officers were also hurt in the clashes. A total of 10 people were arrested. The Chilean state has long been accused of discrimination against the Mapuche people, the country's largest indigenous group, who centuries ago controlled vast areas of Chile but have since been marginalized. Considered the earliest inhabitants of parts of Chile, the Mapuche fought against the Spanish conquerors and later the Chilean army after the country's independence in the 19th century. Their numbers were reduced to only 700,000, a fraction of Chile's current population of 17 million.

1 dead, 17 hurt in Chile as police clash with indigenous protesters

Chilean authorities have declared a red alert in the Tiltil commune in the Santiago Metropolitan Region and evacuated residents due to a forest fire that started on Wednesday.

Forest fires destroy at least 12 homes and 100 hectares in Chile

In a rare development, few parts of the Atacama desert in Chile, which is generally regarded as the driest place on earth, were under deep snow. Although it snows from time to time in the desert, snowfall this late in August is extremely rare.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Atacama?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Atacama</a> Desert has been experiencing unusual amount of snow. The cold front that came through the region dumped nearly 32 inches of snow on the desert -- more snow then the region has seen in the last half-century. Atacama <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/desert?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#desert</a> is known asone of the driest place on Earth <a href="https://t.co/qmqJPnssxI">pic.twitter.com/qmqJPnssxI</a>
— Amazing Paper (@JohanesZijlstra) <a href="https://twitter.com/JohanesZijlstra/status/1431251992538660867?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 27, 2021</a></blockquote>
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People in the town of San Pedro de Atacama, about 750 miles from the capital, Santiago, were amazed by the spectacle.&nbsp;

This is being considered as the heaviest rainfall in a period of three decades.&nbsp;

Also, it has raised fears the melting ice could cause flooding in the region.&nbsp;

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WATCH: Snow in the desert? Rare snowfall in August blankets swathes of Chile's Atacama desert <a href="https://t.co/BtboWarc1K">pic.twitter.com/BtboWarc1K</a>
— Reuters India (@ReutersIndia) <a href="https://twitter.com/ReutersIndia/status/1431320607862378497?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 27, 2021</a></blockquote>
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While speaking with&nbsp;Reuters, Northern Regional Meteorological Centre, Daniel Diaz, said, "This does not occur yearly. Maybe a relatively important snowfall like the one today can happen every two or three years. For this time of the year, late August, is something relatively unusual because this is usually seen in June and July."

Locals and motorists seized the opportunity to play with the snow and build snowmen.

"This is wonderful. I'm 30-years-old, and this is the first time I see snow," exclaimed a resident of El Salvador. 
&nbsp;

In a rare development, few parts of the Atacama desert in Chile, which is generally regarded as the driest place on earth, were under deep snow. Although it snows from time to time in the desert, snowfall this late in August is extremely rare.

In a rare development, few parts of the Atacama desert in Chile, which is generally regarded as the driest place on earth, were under deep snow. Although it snows from time to time in the desert, snowfall this late in August is extremely rare. The #Atacama Desert has been experiencing unusual amount of snow. The cold front that came through the region dumped nearly 32 inches of snow on the desert -- more snow then the region has seen in the last half-century. Atacama #desert is known asone of the driest place on Earth pic.twitter.com/qmqJPnssxI — Amazing Paper (@JohanesZijlstra) August 27, 2021 × People in the town of San Pedro de Atacama, about 750 miles from the capital, Santiago, were amazed by the spectacle. This is being considered as the heaviest rainfall in a period of three decades. Also, it has raised fears the melting ice could cause flooding in the region. WATCH: Snow in the desert? Rare snowfall in August blankets swathes of Chile's Atacama desert pic.twitter.com/BtboWarc1K — Reuters India (@ReutersIndia) August 27, 2021 × While speaking with Reuters, Northern Regional Meteorological Centre, Daniel Diaz, said, "This does not occur yearly. Maybe a relatively important snowfall like the one today can happen every two or three years. For this time of the year, late August, is something relatively unusual because this is usually seen in June and July." Locals and motorists seized the opportunity to play with the snow and build snowmen. "This is wonderful. I'm 30-years-old, and this is the first time I see snow," exclaimed a resident of El Salvador.

Rare snowfall in Atacama desert surprises residents of Chile

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera hailed the production of the first green hydrogen molecule in the country, setting the goal of becoming a leader in the clean energy sector.

Chile produces its first green hydrogen molecule

The main workers' union at the&nbsp;world's biggest&nbsp;copper&nbsp;mine,&nbsp;Chile's Escondida, announced Friday it had&nbsp;reached&nbsp;an&nbsp;agreement&nbsp;with Anglo-Australian giant BHP to&nbsp;avoid&nbsp;a&nbsp;strike.

The union, which counts more than 2,000 members, said it had obtained "almost unanimous" approval for a new collective&nbsp;agreement&nbsp;proposed by management, cancelling a&nbsp;strike&nbsp;notice that it had filed on July 31.

BHP had already said earlier in the week that negotiations had ended, "resulting in the final content of the collective contract and closing conditions," however the&nbsp;agreement&nbsp;had yet to be accepted by the union.

Neither BHP nor the union published the financial details of the deal, although the company confirmed in a bulletin that the negotiated conditions would be in force for 36 months.

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"This afternoon, after almost unanimous acceptance by our base, we formalised the signing of our new collective contract, which includes the gains obtained during collective bargaining," the union said.

Local media reported that the&nbsp;agreement&nbsp;included a bonus for each union member of $23,000, as well as nearly $4,000 for extra days worked, in addition to other provisions.

Workers at the Escondida&nbsp;mine&nbsp;had announced their intention to&nbsp;strike&nbsp;after insisting their demands for a one-off bonus to recognize their work during the coronavirus pandemic had not been met.

In 2017, Escondida workers staged a 44-day&nbsp;strike&nbsp;-- the longest ever in the Chilean mining industry -- that lost BHP $740 million and provoked a 1.3 percent fall in the country's GDP.

Chile&nbsp;is the&nbsp;world's&nbsp;largest&nbsp;copper&nbsp;producer, with 5.6 million tons a year that make up 28 percent of global output, much of which is sold to China, the&nbsp;world's biggest consumer.

Mining makes up 10-15 percent of&nbsp;Chile's GDP and half of its exports.

The main workers' union at the world's biggest copper mine, Chile's Escondida, announced Friday it had reached an agreement with Anglo-Australian giant BHP to avoid a strike.

The main workers' union at the world's biggest copper mine, Chile's Escondida, announced Friday it had reached an agreement with Anglo-Australian giant BHP to avoid a strike. The union, which counts more than 2,000 members, said it had obtained "almost unanimous" approval for a new collective agreement proposed by management, cancelling a strike notice that it had filed on July 31. BHP had already said earlier in the week that negotiations had ended, "resulting in the final content of the collective contract and closing conditions," however the agreement had yet to be accepted by the union. Neither BHP nor the union published the financial details of the deal, although the company confirmed in a bulletin that the negotiated conditions would be in force for 36 months. Also read | Businesses in Portland, Oregon, close early amid scorching heat "This afternoon, after almost unanimous acceptance by our base, we formalised the signing of our new collective contract, which includes the gains obtained during collective bargaining," the union said. Local media reported that the agreement included a bonus for each union member of $23,000, as well as nearly $4,000 for extra days worked, in addition to other provisions. Workers at the Escondida mine had announced their intention to strike after insisting their demands for a one-off bonus to recognize their work during the coronavirus pandemic had not been met. In 2017, Escondida workers staged a 44-day strike -- the longest ever in the Chilean mining industry -- that lost BHP $740 million and provoked a 1.3 percent fall in the country's GDP. Chile is the world's largest copper producer, with 5.6 million tons a year that make up 28 percent of global output, much of which is sold to China, the world's biggest consumer. Mining makes up 10-15 percent of Chile's GDP and half of its exports.

Agreement reached to avoid strike at world's largest copper mine in Chile

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