The company Colbún (in partnership with ENEL/Endesa) promoted the construction of the Angostura dam in the late '90s in an atmosphere of transversal dissatisfaction among Mapuche Pehuenche communities in the Biobío region. Productive potential, tourism, and environment protection conciliated through collaboration with affected communities lying at the premises in the argumentation by the project promoters. Something that seems not to be translated into reality nowadays. The local Mapuche Pehuenche and neighbouring communities complained [1] [2] [5] that the dam (with an installed potential of 316MW) would inundate a sacred land of high ecological value and asked for its inclusion in the list of World Human Heritage. The Biobio region has long suffered destructive interventions, that include the other three hydroelectric projects Palmucho (32 MW), Ralco (690 MW), Pangue (467 MW). The social movements that at once organized in objection to the reservoir ended up being criminalized, delegitimize, and annihilated through police intervention, while communities were been resettled without proper consultation [1]. |