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Government responds to China over Rucalhue: "We will not accept violence that jeopardizes investments"

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La Moneda responded to the challenge from the Chinese government following the attack on the construction of the Rucalhue hydroelectric plant in Santa Bárbara, Biobío region, where masked individuals burned more than 50 vehicles.

It is worth noting that the affected company, Rucalhue Energía SpA, is a subsidiary of the conglomerate "China International Water & Electric Corp CWE," which prompted the reaction from the Asian country.

Through its embassy in Santiago, Xi Jinping's government called on President Gabriel Boric to conduct a "thorough investigation and implement effective and concrete measures to ensure the safety of both personnel and projects of Chinese companies in Chile."

When asked about the challenge, Interior Minister Álvaro Elizalde reiterated the government's condemnation of the attack on the construction of the Rucalhue hydroelectric plant in Santa Bárbara, Biobío region.

"We want to be very firm—we will not accept any form of pressure, blackmail, or especially violence that could imply any investment, large or small, being halted in our country," he stated.

"Therefore, all necessary initiatives will be carried out to ensure strict respect for the rule of law, as befits Chilean democracy," he added.

"These events will be clarified, their perpetrators will face justice, and at the same time, we will take all necessary initiatives to ensure this project—like any other—moves forward, because under no circumstances can we tolerate this kind of violence. Therefore, these acts will not go unpunished," he concluded.

On this matter, acting government spokesperson Aisén Etcheverry emphasized the lawsuits the government will file under the Anti-Terrorism Law, as well as the measures already implemented, such as the state of emergency.

"These are very serious events, ones that the government, of course, condemns," the spokesperson stated, adding that "we have deployed a policy in the Southern Macrozone that is important to assess in its full scope and analyze the results it is yielding."

"These results, the product of coordinated work between the police and the Armed Forces, have allowed us to reduce violent incidents in the Southern Macrozone by nearly 70% compared to 2021. And when we look at 2024 in Araucanía, Los Ríos, and Los Lagos, compared to 2023, the decrease was close to 48%," she noted.

In this context, responding to China's challenge after the events in Rucalhue, acting spokesperson Etcheverry stressed that "as a government, we provide conditions that are recognized nationally and internationally for the development of investment projects."

"Chile has a functioning institutional framework in this area, where the rule of law is upheld, where lawsuits are filed and pursued by the Prosecutor's Office, where courts do their part, and where, as a government, we are permanently focused on addressing these challenges with strategies that are also yielding results," she emphasized.

"We are confident and committed to ensuring that this project, like many other investment projects from different parts of the world, can develop properly and contribute to the growth of our economy," she added.

Source:BiobioChile