Environmental politics in Chile: legacies of dictatorship and democracy

Standing at the forefront of Latin America's political and economic liberal isation, Chile is held up as a model for the developing world. First in the region to embrace a boldly neoliberal development strategy Chile's militar y dictatorship also peacefully gave way to stable, civilian rule and compar ative economic success. However, the lens of environmental politics reveals a disturbing underside to the Chilean miracle. Environmental policy, insti tutions and participation are shaped and constrained by ominous legacies of history, dictatorship, and an economic orthodoxy inimical to sustainabilit y. Democratic rule has opened political space, yet new environmental instit utions and procedures exhibit inherited elitist and exclusionary features. Chile's environmental movement likewise demonstrates promise and innovation , but remains grounded in a civil society weakened and atomised by dictator ship and incomplete transition. Still, as the environmental costs of Chile' s resource-extractive, export-led development mount, environmental politics may yet present a vital opportunity for social change.