Godoy Faúndez, AlexHernando, AndrésCorrea, CReyes, L2021-09-292021-09-292012En:Chile: Environmental, Political and Social Issues, 2012 Cap 5 pp:113-145.http://hdl.handle.net/11447/4738Concepts like environmental convservation, sustainability and sustainable development are not currently considered primary concerns in most of Latin-America and the Caribbean. This omission can partly be attributed to the lack of environmental history in this area. By the 1950s, the concept of environmental conservation was introduced to our legal and technical vocabulary due to influences of conservationism associated with academic-intellectual national elites. These elites formed an eco-spiritual movement closer to socialism ideology than to eco-centric ideas, as a natural outcome of the late 60s and early 70s culture. The military governments, which took power during the 70s and 80s, persecuted people associated with socialist ideologies, resulting in a dispersal of members and ideas resulting in the loss of environmental concepts and ideas for over 10 years. The economic reforms of the 1980s and the adoption of the neoliberal paradigm increased the importance of the exploitation of natural resources. These reforms increased economic development yet led to the concern regarding the environmental impacts. As a response a new institutional network was created. New institutions allowed the establishment of various institutes and centers that funded research as a response to the neoliberal economic model. Introducing ecological concepts, their main concern was the indiscriminate exploitation of natural resources. The focus was mainly on profits and environmental issues related to agriculture and mining resources (Vallejos, J.P.; 1994). During the 1990s, new intellectuals associated with Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) emerged. The focus was for the promotion of democracy and social justice, rescuing their social influence from the original socialist thinking. This also meant a turning point in the collective conscience about the environment by introducing a social component, Nevertheless, environmental concern was often used according to their personal agendas. The "institutionalization" created by new intellectuals disappointed with the socialist approach and instrumentalization, adopted equality issues and development concern thus putting an end to its ideological use. However, it is acknowledged that these trends have set the overall development of the new legal institutions, which, since the return to democracy and the incorporation of highly technical professionals to high public positions and private management, led to the passing of laws such as Law on Environmental Framework Law No. 19,300 in Chile.enMedioambienteChilePolíticas medioambientalesGobiernoAspecto socialAspecto económicoBook chapter