The Current Reform of the Chilean Water Code: An Attempt to Contest the Commoditised Treatment of Water

Abstract

The Chilean regulation of water resources was framed in a context in which neoliberal policies were applied by the military government (1973-1990). The Chilean Water Code (1981) is characterised by its privatised approach enabling the possibility to grant water rights and subject these rights to the general rules for trading commodities. The operability of a water market has generated criticisms amidst water stakeholders. Although there have been relevant amendments that have improved the current regulation (2005), some consequences derived of the commoditisation of the resource are part of the reasons why the Chilean government is attempting to attain the parliamentary approval of a substantive amendment of the Water Code (2014-2017). The objective is to try to introduce more solidarity in the allocation and management of this vital resource for life. The tension of the debate evinces the difficulties that nature commoditisation triggers. This work briefly depicts the general discussion currently undergoing regarding water regulation in Chile, contending that an appropriate balance between the interests at stake is needed. This is, recognising the relevance of the operability of the water market but with regulatory nuances that shall consider a human rights perspective in the treatment of water.