The Legal Struggle Against Extractivism: Chile’s Socio-Environmental Movements

As environmental harms become increasingly visible and politically salient, conflicts over extractive projects have moved to the forefront of contemporary politics. While the global push toward an energy transition appears promising, socio-environmental conflicts are far from disappearing. Focusing on Chile, a country long associated with extractive development, Smart demonstrates that governments across the political spectrum—from neoliberal to progressive—have continued to anchor their economic model in extractive industries, justifying them on the grounds that they are sources of employment and fiscal revenue needed for funding redistributive policies.