Divide and Conquer

Regardless of your "side" in this debate over mine or no mine, it is undeniable that a chasm has been cut through the Huasco Valley community of 70,000 inhabitants. We focused our inquiry on the opinions and interests of townspeople closest to the mine. While the residents of Vallenar, the biggest city in the watershed, have strong opinions, the small farmers and business people of the towns directly below the Pascua Lama site (Chollay, Conay, Alto del Carmen, San Felix, Los Perales, La Pampa, El Transito, etc) have a closer connection to the water: it flows through their backyards in canals and they open small gates each day to allow it into their fields. They are closely connected to the source.

A common and very effective practice among major extraction companies when gaining the all-necessary community support is to divide and conquer. Sure, that term makes it sound like a Visigoth raid, but the literal accuracy retains value. From our many discussions with all types of valley residents we heard the same distrusting undertone: those people who are in favor of the project have benefited in some way from the company. Stories abound about households receiving an ice-cream maker or a telephone or computer after attending a town meeting with the company. These tales might be sensational urban legend with no basis to legitimize the claims.

In Alto del Carmen, the biggest town in the Transito and del Carmen Valleys, Barrick has an office with 2-3 full-time staff. We met with Carlos, a resident of San Felix and now an employee of the company. Carlos spoke in length about the community programs Barrick has and will continue to offer in the area. He described the cooking and pottery classes that teach local people traditional Diaguita customs. (No one we met had attended a class and many scoffed at the idea that learning pottery could be considered a benefit from a multi-billion dollar project.) He described the training and scholarship programs Barrick sponsors to encourage local employment at the mine. When asked about the handouts of gifts, what locals call "Coima" for corruption, Carlos chuckled and described an instance in which the company bought a specilized walker for a young boy with a muscular problem, asking if that was "coima." He then insisted on Barrick's strict policy of not giving money to, say, a school that formally requested a computer. Rather, Barrick buys a computer and gives it to the school once it finds the request valid. However, this policy of giving only services and materials, not money, apparently does not extend to larger sums of money. The Junta de Vigilancia, Huasco Valley's water regulatory committee made up of elected locals and water users, negotiated with Barrick to ensure a safe water protection system at the mine. They also secured a $60 million contract with Barrick for water improvements within the Huasco Valley. The sum is being paid out in $3 million increments each year for 20 years and managed by the nine-member committee (more on the Junta later). The 2006 payment, according to the director of the Junta, is currently awaiting allocation in the committee's bank account. In cash.

This he-said-she-said ping-pong match of local accusations versus company policies never ceases. It's easy to understand how years of such ambiguousness and contradiction can lead a person to become mistrustful of everyone.

Anna Huanchequay, president of the local Diaguita people, seems to be taking the brunt of that confusion...