Bachelet wants to give government more power over water rights
Bachelet wants to give government more power over water rights
By Juan José Lagorio - Monday, October 28, 2013
Chile's presidential frontrunner Michelle Bachelet has proposed a larger government role in the use and distribution of water rights, as the country faces growing water scarcity and a severe drought.
In her government plan, Bachelet has pledged constitutional reform to declare water as a "national resource of public use" and to recognize water as part of the "public domain, full, absolute, exclusive, inalienable, and imprescriptible"; a resource that the government has the right to earn royalties on.
Bachelet has claimed that she would create legislation to allow the government to change water rights according to social needs, and would name a presidential delegate to identify solutions to water scarcity.
Some of these proposals are already being discussed in Congress, while the ones tied to constitutional reform would take longer and face an uphill battle as special majorities are needed.
More:
http://www.bnamericas.com/news/waterandwaste/bachelet-wants-to-give-government-more-power-over-water-rights