Open Letter: Over 100 Academics Condemn Iván Poduje’s Disparaging Remarks About Life

Original article: Carta abierta: más de 100 académicas y académicos denuncian “desprecio hacia la vida” por dichos de Poduje

«Dismissing the choice between ‘lauchas’ and people not only diminishes and infantilizes the necessary rigor in facing this tragedy but also reveals a contempt for life, unworthy of someone about to take on a crucial role in the country’s development,» criticized professionals aimed at the future Minister of Housing and Urbanism, Iván Poduje.

Over a hundred academics from various universities across the country have criticized statements made by Iván Poduje, the future Minister of Housing and Urbanism in the administration of elected President José Antonio Kast, in which he attacked environmental advocates and highlighted «a disregard for life.»

During a seminar organized by the Chilean Association of Municipalities (ACHM) at the University of Bío-Bío in Concepción, Poduje engaged in a heated discussion with university academic Leonardo Agurto after criticizing the pace of reconstruction efforts following the fires in Viña del Mar, claiming the process was stalled due to environmental activism that prioritizes trees over people.

«Environmental fanatics in the government are halting housing reconstruction because they found a tree. We have a Cancer Hospital that has been on hold for 18 months because they found a ‘laucha’ nest,» Poduje said during his presentation.

He revealed that the administration plans to implement significant changes to the functioning of the National Monuments Council.

«If the council members want to be Indiana Jones and remove findings that cost us 80 billion, benefiting archaeologists within the council and their external friends, they will need to find a place to store those findings because we will not accept delays in hospitals or housing for warehouse findings,» he stated.

The tense exchange took place when Agurto raised concerns about the Chilean Wood Corporation (Corma). In response, Poduje retorted, «What are you saying? Are you blaming Corma for the problems with the fires?»

Agurto countered with, «Who else?» to which Poduje replied, «Make your complaint to the Prosecutor’s Office, stand over there and file your complaint… I’ve dealt with activists like you who stall projects to protect fauna and flora.»

«You give more importance to trees than to people, and we will confront this and go to court if necessary,» threatened the future Secretary of State for Kast.

In their statement, the professionals emphasized that the seminar had a cordial, transversal, and collaborative atmosphere in light of the catastrophic fires affecting Greater Concepción until Poduje «disparaged an investigator from that institution who had spoken up to defend nature, suggesting that he—and, by extension, other scientists—’care more about trees than about people’.

They warned that this episode «is not an isolated incident but part of a worrying trend that seeks to create a dangerous, ideological, and extremist narrative that forces a choice between people and other living beings as if human life did not depend on nature.»

«Dismissing the choice between ‘lauchas’ and people not only reduces and infantilizes the necessary rigor in facing this tragedy but also reveals a contempt for life, unworthy of someone about to assume a crucial role in the country’s development,» they questioned.

Furthermore, they argued that Poduje’s remarks contradict the democratic and pluralistic debate that should take place at such seminars, where the «University opens its doors to receive territorial actors such as mayors, entrepreneurs, former ministers, authorities, professionals, academics, among others.»

They recalled that the recent disaster caused by forest fires has severely impacted the regions of Bío-Bío and Ñuble, resulting in fatalities, destroyed families, devastated flora and fauna, damaged ecosystems, and entire communities left homeless. They asserted that the magnitude of the tragedy highlights the need for public decisions to be based on robust scientific evidence and a comprehensive view of development.

«In this process, academia plays a necessary, urgent, and fundamental role,» they emphasized.

According to the professionals, Poduje’s behavior towards the university scholar «not only represents a lack of respect for a researcher and for science in general but also strains dialogue and collaboration between the state and universities, institutions that play an essential role in anticipating, understanding, and mitigating the risks we face as a country.»

«Universities are not spaces for superficial ideological confrontation but platforms for rigorous analysis and critical reflection that contribute to the common good,» they stressed.

In the text, considering that Poduje will be the next Minister of Housing, the academics expressed that this style of politics that belittles evidence, knowledge, and environmental concerns cannot be overlooked, especially at a time when Chilean society and particularly the Bío-Bío region requires «unity, intersectoral cooperation, data-driven leadership, dialogue, and democratic respect.»

«We hope that future ministers and public authorities fulfill the role for which they were democratically elected and commit to establishing respectful dialogue with the academic community, distancing themselves from personal disqualifications and ideological attacks,» they concluded.