What Is the Fate of Chile's HidroAysén Project?

Copyright © 2011, Inter-American Dialogue, used with permission from the publishers.A court ruling in Chile on June 20 suspended the controversial HidroAysén project, a proposed plan to dam two rivers and build five hydroelectric plants in Patagonia, The New York Times reported. While environmental groups hope that the ruling is the first step in canceling the dams, a lawyer for the project told local newspaper La Tercera that the ruling was "purely formal" and made no decision about the complex's legality. Does Chile's booming demand for energy outweigh the detriments of the project, as the government has claimed? Are there adequate alternatives to supply the necessary power for the country's economic development and, if so, what are they? Will the project likely be continued despite a high disapproval rate among Chileans