“We consider this appointment unacceptable, which occurs right in the middle of the push for the large-scale Hydrogen industry in the region and in the country, which will involve territories with large interventions and socio-environmental impacts, especially for Magallanes. In this sensitive context, the role of the environmental authority will be critical to protect territories, ecosystems and communities, ensuring strict compliance with environmental regulations. Since Mr. Rebolledo comes directly from an incumbent company in the development of the aforementioned industry, all legitimacy and impartiality that is essential for a State authority with respect to its environmental policy is mortgaged,” they added.
Enrique Rebolledo Toro, who took over as head of the Regional Secretariat of the Environment on Friday, March 8, is an environmental civil engineer from the University of La Frontera, with a degree in Engineering Sciences with an internship at the Technical University of Berlin, and has graduates in Life Cycle Analysis, Public Management, and Public Policies.
“In his career, the professional played the role of person in charge of Environment and Tourism in the Municipality of Primavera, Tierra del Fuego, between 2017 and 2022. But his experience is not limited only to municipal management, but also includes university teaching, environmental inspections and specialized consultancies in the environmental field. Currently Rebolledo Toro is also the director of the Fire Brigade of the Primavera commune,” they stated from the Magallanes Regional Presidential Delegation after the appointment.
In that sense, the organizations added that “it is also particularly serious that when reporting his appointment in the official communication from his department, his time at the TEG Chile company has been explicitly omitted from his work history. This lack of information violates every principle of transparency regarding the integrity of people who hold public positions and, above all, erodes trust between citizens and both national and regional institutions.”
Furthermore, they pointed out that “the signatory organizations declare that, given this possible conflict of interest in the exercise of the functions of the new head, the Regional Ministerial Secretariat of the Environment of Magallanes would not be providing citizens with the minimum guarantees of impartiality, making “This appointment is a politically and socially unsustainable act.”