Original article: Asesoría reservada y fallos a favor: El vínculo entre Patricio Walker, Dominga y los ministros del Tribunal Ambiental

Hidden Advisorship and Favorable Rulings: The Connection Between Patricio Walker, Dominga, and Environmental Court Ministers

In the complex judicial and political maze that has defined the fate of the mining-port project Dominga for eight years, the name of former senator Patricio Walker (Christian Democracy) has come to light. He has served not only as a confidential strategic advisor to Andes Iron—the company behind the project—but also maintains long-standing close ties with two ministers of the First Environmental Court who have issued key rulings in its favor.

Records from the company owned by the Délano and Garcés families, accessed by Reportea, reveal a classified expense labeled as «strategic.» These are monthly payments intended for the lawyer and former Senate president. For 2022, the company budgeted to transfer him $5 million monthly, totaling $60 million annually—a sum that, over the years, would have multiplied significantly due to the duration of the advisorship.

The exact date of this professional relationship remains undisclosed. However, Walker confirmed his role to the cited media: «Since 2019, I have worked in the academic and private sectors… As a lawyer in the Environmental Law field at the law firm Vergara, Galindo, Correa. Andes Iron is one of the clients to whom I have provided professional advice in environmental law, a role that continues to this day,» he stated.

When asked about specific details—the monthly amount, the start date, or whether he informed Andes Iron of his ties with the ministers—Walker cited confidentiality: «Regarding your other questions, it is inappropriate for me to comment on them as some relate to information regarding the private lives of third parties, and others are subject to confidentiality clauses.»

Andes Iron, for its part, declined to answer questions posed by Reportea.

Patricio Walker’s Connections with Environmental Court Ministers

What Walker’s advisorship kept under wraps, and which is not found in judicial files, is his deep historical relationship with two ministers who have made decisions on Dominga in the First Environmental Court: Marcelo Hernández Rojas and Cristián López Montecinos.

Over a decade ago, the three coincided in the leadership structure with which the DC governed the Aysén Region. While Walker was a senator (2010-2018), Marcelo Hernández served as the regional director of the Agricultural Development Institute (Indap) from 2014 to 2017. Cristián López, meanwhile, was the governor of Coyhaique appointed by Michelle Bachelet’s second government.

Photos from that era show them together during the inauguration of projects, anniversaries of state institutions, and party events. In December 2014, they celebrated an anniversary of Indap led by Hernández. In 2016, they commemorated the agrarian reform of the Frei Montalva government. In November 2015, Walker and López were speakers at a training event for DC youth in Aysén; the senator discussed «youth motivation» while the governor addressed current affairs.

This connection extended beyond politics, as all three focused their careers on environmental law. Walker joined the Vergara, Galindo, and Correa law firm, while Hernández and López ascended to environmental courts—a crucial destination for Dominga.

The relationship transitioned to the university classrooms. Patricio Walker teaches courses in the Regulatory Law Master’s program at the Catholic University and in law postgraduates at the Universidad del Desarrollo (UDD). It is common for him to invite his former allies as guest speakers.

In 2025, during the processing of Dominga’s resources, Walker published a photo on his LinkedIn with Cristián López, whom he invited to his class at UC. «My students were very pleased. Impossible to end the semester better,» he wrote.

With Marcelo Hernández, meetings at UDD have been frequent. Public records show at least three invitations: on December 2, 2023, in November 2024, and on November 21, 2025. In all instances, Walker is photographed alongside the minister, posing with students.

When asked by Reportea about this connection, Walker affirmed, «Naturally, I have never raised any professional matters with them,» adding that he has coincided with them in «strictly academic» activities.

Favorable Rulings for Dominga

It is at the First Environmental Court, located in Antofagasta, where Dominga has achieved its most significant victories after being rejected three times by the Committee of Ministers.

After the Committee of Ministers’ first rejection in 2017, Andes Iron filed an appeal. The drafting minister of the ruling was Marcelo Hernández, who even visited the project area in February 2018. During that visit, according to the minutes, the company’s lawyer acknowledged that the damage to the Humboldt Penguin National Reserve would be «perpetual» and only compensable. Nonetheless, on April 27, 2018, the court—backed by Hernández’s vote—accepted the claim and ordered a new evaluation, reversing the earlier rejection.

Following another rejection from the Committee of Ministers in January 2023, Andes Iron appealed once more. Since the Supreme Court had mandated that the ministers from the 2018 ruling not review the case, Cristián López, then a titular minister of the Second Environmental Court, served as an alternate member of the court. In December 2024, the court issued a strong ruling against the government, overturning the Committee of Ministers’ decision as «illegal» and ordering a new vote within 15 days.

López voted in favor. On February 17, 2025, the court, again with the minister’s vote, annulled another rejection from the Committee, citing procedural flaws.

These rulings, criticized by the government and environmental organizations, have been pivotal in keeping the project alive, bringing it to the brink of final approval.

The Silence of the Ministers

In response to inquiries from Reportea, the ministers dodged direct answers. From the First Environmental Court, where Hernández is a titular minister, they stated in writing that after the April 2018 ruling, the minister «did not participate again in the litigation related to Dominga.» There was no comment regarding his connection with Walker.

Regarding Cristián López, now in the Second Environmental Court, his court limited its response to stating: «The court’s communication policy establishes that ministers do not make personal statements to the media.»

Criminal Investigation for Bribery and Influence Trafficking

As these relationships come to light, the Public Ministry has opened a criminal investigation for bribery and influence trafficking focused on Dominga, following the revelation by Reportea that Andes Iron paid $255.5 million to the law firm of lawyers Eduardo Lagos and Mario Vargas—currently in preventive detention accused of paying bribes to Supreme Court ministers—for reports containing information sourced from the internet.

The legal battle over the mining-port project has transformed from a debate about environmental impact and economic development into a case that encompasses political power networks, justice, and business interests. The secretive advisorship of a figure like Patricio Walker, his undeclared links with ministers who ruled in favor of his client, and the investigation for possible bribery raise further doubts about the transparency of the process.