Hacienda Accelerates Projects, Including One Benefiting Quiroz’s Brother, Despite Sernageomin’s Mass Removal Concerns

Original article: Hacienda destraba proyectos y uno favorece al hermano de Quiroz, pero Sernageomin lo objetó por “remociones en masa”

The environmental permit acceleration mechanism initiated by the Ministry of Hacienda has led to the approval of the Alto Santorini real estate project in Concón, which involves architect Víctor Quiroz, brother of the minister Jorge Quiroz. This decision comes despite the National Geology and Mining Service (Sernageomin) raising a technical objection due to the risk of «mass removals» in the area, raising questions about potential conflicts of interest and transparency in the process.

The strategy by José Antonio Kast’s administration to unblock investments, personally led by Minister Jorge Quiroz, consists of a monitoring system for the Environmental Impact Assessment System (SEIA) and the formation of a Project Committee comprised of the Undersecretaries of Economy, Interior, Environment, and Hacienda. This committee, which meets periodically and is overseen by the Hacienda office, lacks public minutes to document its discussions or agreements, leading to suspicion about its prioritization criteria.

The Project of Quiroz’s Brother

According to a report by CIPER, Alto Santorini involves an investment of US$43.6 million (approximately $40 billion) and aims to be constructed near the dunes of Concón. Víctor Quiroz is not only the lead architect for the project through his firm Quiroz y Puelma Arquitectos but also serves as a lobbyist and holds a significant stake in the venture. Official records show that he is part of a company with his wife and children, controlling 50% of another firm that holds 24% of the Alto Santorini project. Thus, the Quiroz family effectively owns 12% of the initiative.

The environmental processing of this project has been marked by numerous suspensions and delays. In 2023, following a sinkhole incident that impacted a building in the Reñaca dunes area, the evaluation process was halted, resuming in July 2024 when the company submitted new information to the Valparaíso Environmental Evaluation Service (SEA). Eleven institutions raised observations regarding its Environmental Impact Study, and project representatives requested two extensions to respond to these concerns, pushing the timeline to March 31 of this year, twenty days after Jorge Quiroz became Minister of Hacienda following Kast’s election to La Moneda.

According to the investigative outlet, with his brother now in the cabinet, Víctor Quiroz ramped up his lobbying efforts, meeting in June with Manuel Millones, the presidential delegate for Valparaíso and head of the Evaluation Committee that approved the project. The businessman recorded ten meetings with regional authorities in the months leading up to the SEA’s favorable decision.

Sernageomin’s Technical Objection

Despite political backing for the project, Sernageomin maintained its technical objections, stating that the land posed «a danger of mass removals including landslides, collapses, and fallings» and requested a specific study on this issue.

After reviewing the new response from the real estate company, the service replied on April 28, indicating that it was «not possible to fundamentally rule out significant impacts or risks to the safety of the population.»

However, CIPER reported that the SEA of Valparaíso chose not to take Sernageomin’s findings into account, arguing that «geomorphology is not a protected object in the SEIA» and that mass removals are «a natural phenomenon that can be exacerbated by human action, but whose triggering is based on natural conditions.»

On July 8, the SEA declared the project environmentally favorable, although it included the observation as a condition within a «Contingency and Emergency Prevention Plan for mass removals» that the company must present, indicating that the potential risks of a sinkhole in the area have not been precisely determined.

The Hacienda Mechanism and Its Transparency Gaps

The plan advocated by Minister Quiroz aims to monitor the timelines of environmental processing and assist in adhering to deadlines set by law for each agency.  From the Ministry of Hacienda, it was explained that this is an «internal information system that compiles public and freely accessible information available in the SEIA», and that its purpose is to know the status of investment projects. However, there are no public records of the recommendations or agreements from the committee of undersecretaries.

Michel Figueroa, director of Chile Transparente, warned CIPER that «we are unaware of the criteria being considered and used to prioritize one project over another,» which could «leave the door open to influence peddling, undue influence, or even situations of conflict of interest that may not be recorded. “

President José Antonio Kast highlighted in his public account that, thanks to this mechanism, 60% of investments awaiting resolution of complaints have been addressed. However, Minister Quiroz has been involved in discussions regarding the controversial miscellaneous bill or mega-economic-tax reform that includes benefits for real estate companies through tax incentives, without disclosing in his Asset Declaration that his brother is part of one of the largest architecture firms in Viña del Mar, linked to major construction and real estate projects.

CIPER reported that it attempted to contact Víctor Quiroz through available numbers in the project records and his architectural firm’s email, but received no response before the publication of the report.