The Poor Definition of the National Lithium Strategy

What the Government announced is absolutely insufficient. Moreover, it is a childish announcement, lacking perspective and foresight, without strategy and without a clear destination. Lithium, for Chile, is much more than just money; we must not fall into the trap of viewing lithium as an end in itself; it is merely a means to achieve something greater: resources for the well-being of Chileans.

As clearly seen in the responses following the announcement on Thursday, April 20, the long-awaited National Lithium Strategy left no one satisfied, except for the Government and those who prioritize ideology over common sense. The reason is abundantly clear: It is not a strategy, or if it is, it is a poorly crafted strategy.The Government’s announcement was limited to defining that the State of Chile would have a preeminent role in the exploitation of lithium in Chile. Where is the purpose, and where are the strategic objectives, the metrics to evaluate whether we are doing well or poorly, where is the ambition as the Republic of Chile regarding the role we want to play in the world, where is the foresight and vision for the future?

We are aware that we have significant reserves of a scarce resource that today, and especially in the future, will play an absolutely relevant role in global technological development, as this resource is linked to the capacity for electrical energy storage. That is the starting point. That is the current reality. We did not do anything to create that reality; we only began to capture global attention because in other countries, technological development determined that, for the future, raw materials that exist abundantly in our country were required. From that diagnosis, we must define a desired end state. We need to establish an ambition or a prospective vision that guides our efforts, gives meaning to our decisions, and also to the investments being made today.

This is not the first time it has happened to us. It happened with nitrate or saltpeter, and it also happened and is happening with copper. In both cases, we exhausted ourselves discussing: who should be the exploiter of the resource, Chilean or foreign, private or state, with royalty or without it? How much should they pay in taxes? None of those questions were strategically the most relevant. If we look back today, the case analysis of the Arab countries blessed with oil abundance, combined with the experiences of countries around the world, including Latin America, with oil abundance, and we consider the quality of life of their people, we must start to seriously worry.

How do we describe Chile in 2050? How do we achieve that?

But we must conduct that prospective analysis comprehensively, considering all the variables of the equation and all the ingredients of the mix. This analysis must include the geopolitical factor regarding the relevant powers in the world, the global economy and the role we play in it, the Indo-Pacific environment, with a democratic India that has already surpassed a communist China in population, and a United States that may be far from ceasing to be the technological, innovative, and knowledge leader of the world. Where and how will we align ourselves? We are the southernmost country in the world, small compared to our neighbors and our South American environment, but great in our decisions, our convictions, our alliances, and our ventures.

We have not yet begun to discuss what we want with lithium. We have not yet started to discuss what we want to become based on lithium. We know we are a country with lithium. But we are not clear on what we want to do with it and from it. The Government’s definition is ideological, just as the positions of leftist governments have been when facing these definitions. That is fine; they are the elected Government, and democracy must be respected. However, if we start to favor the Chinese Communist Party due to ideological affinity, all red flags should be raised. If we choose inefficiency in administration, as long as it is state-owned and not private, due to ideological affinity, all red flags should be raised. If we choose to empower unions over the owners, who are all Chileans, all red flags should be raised.

We need to promote a broad discussion and contrast of ideas regarding lithium. We need to examine both the successes and the mistakes of our history. What works and what does not work.

What the Government announced is absolutely insufficient. Moreover, it is a childish announcement, lacking perspective and foresight, without strategy and without a clear destination. Lithium, for Chile, is much more than just money; we must not fall into the trap of viewing lithium as an end in itself; it is merely a means to achieve something greater: resources for the well-being of Chileans.

To define a strategy, an objective or purpose must be established, along with the means and the manner in which it will be carried out, and guess what, it seems that lithium is more of a means to achieve a purpose than the opposite, as it is not an end in itself.

Richard Kouyoumdjian
Vice President of AthenaLab

Source: El Mostrador