Chile's left-wing presidential candidate advocates state-owned lithium company to attack the "mistake" of privatization

Chilean left-wing presidential candidate Gabriel Borrick, who took the lead in the survey ahead of the second round of voting on December 19, spoke on Wednesday about his plans for a state-owned lithium company. and attacked the Andean country's "historic mistake" in privatizing its resources.

Chile, located in the "lithium triangle" of South America, has the world's largest reserves of ultra-light battery metal, which is the key to the booming development of electric vehicles. Prices are rising because of the expected strong demand.

Chile is a regional bastion of market-friendly policies and privatization in recent decades and the second largest producer after Australia. Its main mine operators include Albemarle Corp and local participant SQM.

"Chile can no longer make the historic mistake of privatizing resources, for which we will create the National Lithium Company," Baldrick wrote on Twitter. "

He said the move would help create jobs and put a "Chilean seal" on products.

"Lithium is the mineral of the future, used in millions of electronic devices."

Mr. Baldrick had previously included his plan to create a state-owned lithium company in his campaign plan, but he remained relatively silent on the subject on the eve of the first round of voting on November 21, when he ranked second in the vote.

Boric will face his far-right rival Jose Antonio Custer (Jose Antonio Kast) in the final, and surveys show that the left takes the lead.

Chile is also the world's largest copper producer, and lawmakers are discussing plans to raise royalties for mining companies to support the treasury and finance social spending needed to recover from the impact of the covid-19 pandemic.

Chile's state-owned Codelco is the world's largest copper producer, although many other private companies are also mining copper in Chile.