The right in Chile has not come so close to winning the presidency since Gen. Augusto Pinochet stepped down in March 1990, bringing a 17-year dictatorship to an end.
The United States has chastised Chile for failing to protect patents, especially for pharmaceuticals. The European Union also has its eye on the South American nation for possible violations.
According to business leaders, the year's first declaration of "pre-emergency" for air pollution meant 3.9 million dollars in losses. They urge President Bachelet to take action.
The construction of a 36-meter telephone tower would harm the majestic scenic beauty of Torres del Paine Park, in the extreme south of Chile, says Greenpeace.
Increasingly vocal groups oppose mining for gold and silver along the Chile-Argentina border because the project would mean removing three glaciers in the Andes Mountains.
Salmon farming in Chile, second in the world only to Norway, represents 30,000 direct jobs. But NGOs denounce the industry's labor practices.
Indigenous leaders, who continue their demands for their communities' rights over ancestral lands, continue to be stigmatized as ''terrorists'' in Chile, say rights activists.
Ecologists argue that a cellulose factory caused the mass die-off of black-necked swans (Cygnus melancoryphus) in southern Chile. But the accused respond that the activists lack proof.
The substitution of concrete for wood in the construction of sleeper cars for the Chilean railroad is worrying owners of native forest parcels.
Latin America obtains more than 20 percent of its energy from ostensibly renewable sources. But much of it comes from hydroelectric dams, which can harm ecosystems.
The number and size of protected areas in private hands have grown, but they still lack official recognition and there are no incentives for them, say NGOs. There are more than 375 thousand hectares of privately run reserves in Chile -- a tiny area compared to the 14.1 million hectares under public protection.
Faced with cuts in natural gas supplies from Argentina, environmentalists in Chile call for diversification of energy sources, while officials consider moving up the operational start date for a controversial hydroelectric dam on the Bío-bío River.
Leaders of environmental NGOs in Chile are calling for reform of the environmental law enacted in March 1994. They are demanding the creation of a truly "green" environment ministry.
Chilean salmon farmers deny their fish are carcinogenic, contrary to what was reported in Science magazine. Ecologists and consumers are demanding more rigorous standards to certify salmon that is safe to eat.
Politicians say the declaration of protection for Pumalín Park, in southern Chile, is a violation of national security. The park is the property of a U.S. millionaire.
Environmentalists say the payment of more than a million dollars to four indigenous women who had opposed construction of the Ralco hydroelectric dam is a blow to democracy. The energy plant is to begin operations in 2004.
"Eternal ice" no longer exists in Latin America. Peru's glacier on Huascarán Mountain, one of the most famous in the Andes, has shrunk 40 percent in the past 30 years.
An exclusive ecological community in Chile is protesting the relocation of poor residents to a nearby area. The matter is to be resolved in August.
A debate about diversifying Chile’s sources of energy has been ignited by fears that a La Nina-spawned drought could lead to rationing of electricity.
Bathers are no longer safe even in the waters of Latin America's most beautiful beaches -- the culprit is contamination.
“Weed” might relieve pain, control nausea and reduce stress, but in Latin America, only a handful of scientists and politicians advocate legalising marijuana for medical use.