Watered -Down Democracy

"The Water Users Cooperative, representing 2,000 farmers of the Huasco Valley, is fully supportive of the project. Chile is a democratic country and the media play an important role in the public discussion of the community concerns and interests. There has already been an extensive and open discussion of issues including the participation of farmers."

That was taken directly from the Barrick website in response to a chain email Barrick deems misleading. The Water Users Cooperative is also known as the Junta de Vigilancia. A few things should be known about the Junta, especially when it is used in the same paragraph as "democracy."

Yes, the Junta represents the 2,000 farmers with water rights in the Huasco Valley. No, they do not fully support the project, according to their Director with whom we spoke in Vallenar on January 29th. Rather, once it got approval from the government they wanted to monitor the project as much as possible.

The Junta formed after the Pascua Lama project had long been in development. After the mine was approved, the Junta agreed to work with Barrick on a water treatment study and to oversee the approval of the protection devices planned for the mine. Barrick also agreed to pay the Junta $60 million dollars over 20 years: $3 million a year deposited into the Junta bank account. The Junta signed off on the Barrick plans.

The Junta offers a unique take on democracy. The 2,000 members of the Junta share 12,000 acciones. Acciones represent the water rights for each farmer. One accion equals one hour of water usage. One accion costs roughly $2,000, though prices vary in different places. Acciones are limited to available water on each members' land, but acciones can be bought and sold between members. Therefore, in a community dominated by a handful of prominent agricultural industrialists producing grapes and olives (further west toward the coast), the acciones tend to collect in the hands of the landed wealthy.

One accion also equals one vote and the Junta elects its own nine-person officials. The resulting board of directors for the Junta represents the most influential, powerful, accion-rich members. They are supposed to speak for the remaining small farmers, many of whom have 1/2 to 1 accion for their family-sized, self-supporting avocado, grape, or mango farms.

Votes can literally be bought in this form of small-town democracy.

Many locals wonder what $60 million can buy.