Chile’s political polarization points to largest copper miner

The two main contenders to become Chile’s next president outlined diametrically opposed plans for the world’s largest copper producer on Tuesday as the Latin American nation tries to expand production.

The left-wing candidate Gabriel Boric would give a boost to the state company Codelco with more state funds, while the right-wing José Antonio Kast considers it attractive to open state companies to private capital, according to their respective economic advisers.

The comments came at the Expomin trade fair in Santiago, where representatives of four candidates for next month’s presidential elections laid out their visions for the industry.

The prospect of raising taxes to address inequalities has dominated the political debate over mining, but in Tuesday’s panel the role of the state also gained prominence.

A Boric government would increase the state’s presence by collaborating with the private sector in research and development, offering more financing through development banks and sharing risks and profits in projects managed by private interests, said its adviser, Willy Kracht.

Kast, who has surpassed Boric in some polls, sees how “viable and attractive“The idea of ​​allowing citizens to own a portion of state-owned companies, his advisor Mario Marchese told the panel, without specifying which companies.

Over the years, politicians and business leaders, including incumbent President Sebastián Piñera, have pushed the idea of ​​introducing private equity into Codelco to help finance the investments necessary to maintain its status as the largest copper producer in the world. world.

Marchese’s comments come as Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro raises the idea of ​​privatizing state-owned oil giant Petrobras.

While both sides called for a broader role for the Chilean state refinery Enami, and greater benefits and protections for local communities, they diverged on taxes.

A Boric Administration prefers a mixed system of sliding rates on profits, as well as a new royalty, although it would be mindful not to create a tax burden that jeopardizes the projects, Kracht said. Kast, on the other hand, would seek to encourage the private sector as an engine of development.