This Friday, from Quillón, in the Ñuble Region, and in the context of the deployment of the Government for the implementation of early aid measures and announcements about reconstruction in areas affected by fires, President Gabriel Boric reflected on the need to raise a “different” regulation of the forest industry, in relation to the responsibility that some have attributed to this industry, for monoculture plantations.
According to the President, “I have proposed to the parliamentarians, to the mayor, that we have to have a longer-term discussion regarding the forestry industry, a different regulation. Today we are all committed together to combat the emergency, the public sector and private sector, but there must be a regulation that allows all preventions to be established (…) We have to generate everything within our reach to prevent and reduce the level of risk, and in that, the private and public sectors have to work together.”
But President Boric’s call to promote a “debate on better regulation” in this matter caused immediate discomfort in the business world, represented by the Sociedad de Fomento Febril (Sofofa), which through a statement called it “inappropriate and outside out of context” the statements of the Head of State, and made a call to “take care of trust at a time when unity is required” and recalled the contribution of the forestry industry in fighting fires.
The trade association chaired by Richard von Appen called on the government authorities to have a “high vision” regarding the situation, warning that “what corresponds at this time is to work together (…) to control the situation as soon as possible and avoid comments that all they do is damage the confidence that the country needs to face these tragic circumstances.”
In this context, another voice emerged from La Moneda to support the President’s statements. This is the Minister of Economy, Nicolás Grau, who, in the midst of his deployment in the Araucanía Region, stated that “I have no doubt that a debate on better regulation is coming, particularly with respect to the forestry industry, to that these situations that we are experiencing, in what can be prevented, be done ”.
In this regard, the head of Economy added that “the forestry industry is an important industry for the country and so are other industries, other vocations and other interests in the regions with which there must be a harmonious relationship”. Statements that emerge later that the presidential delegate of the Araucanía Region, José Montalva, informed that Grau will from now on be the “liaison” minister in the area”, replacing the head of Social Development, Giorgio Jackson, who will return to Santiago.
Asked about the reason for the change, Montalva assured that “it is because we have to deepen economic matters, we have to work. Minister Jackson was seen deployed on the ground (…) and one or two of the affected communes were missing, but He had absolute knowledge of what is happening and I am sure that from Santiago he has a great capacity to respond, because he has collected what is happening on the ground, what the families feel”. In addition, and as he explained, “with the arrival of Minister Grau, not only are some unions that are interested talking to me, the minister tells us that the first thing will be to talk with the unions, the actors to create the instruments that are at the as the region needs”.
