Yo bebo leche y agua. The Chicago Boys are Chilean economists who studied at the University of Chicago. Inspired by Milton Friedman, a renowned economist, they created a guide to the introduction of neoliberalism in Chile - ‘El Ladrillo’ (meaning ‘the brick’). Cyanotype process with glacier water. Ice on laser print. Archive image: Chicago Boys. Source: Memoria Chilena, Biblioteca Nacional de Chile. 16/02/2024, Puerto Guadal, Chile, © 2024 Stella Meyer and Sarah Schneider.
Yo bebo leche y agua. The Guadalinos get their drinking water from Lago General Carrera. They do not have their own water rights, but obtain it from the local drinking water committee APR (Comité de Agua Potable Rural). The APR owns water rights at one point in the lake and is the administrator and distributor of the water in the village. 4.2.2023, Puerto Guadal, Chile, © 2023 Stella Meyer and Sarah Schneider.
Yo bebo leche y agua. Three thousand trips around the world with 0.5 litre bottles of water - that's how much water is available to Waters of Patagonia every year for its water bottling business. The company owns water rights to Lago Jorge Montt, a lake created by the melting of the glacier. It also holds a patent to determine the age of the water, meaning that a Stardust water can be enjoyed alongside the Da Vinci water. 9.1.2024, Jorge Montt glacier, Chile, © 2024 Stella Meyer and Sarah Schneider.
Yo bebo leche y agua. The Laguna La Manga is not only a source of drinking water for the rural inhabitants but also a local recreation area. 5 February 2023, Puerto Guadal, Chile, © 2024 Stella Meyer and Sarah Schneider.
Yo bebo leche y agua. ‘From our house, we saw Edelaysén destroying everything every day. In the end, we try everything we can to protect the river.’ Cristobal Weber McKay and Franny Parkinson are founders of the Los Maquis Libres movement. Together with a lawyer, they have been involved in a lawsuit against the Canadian power generation company Edelaysén for almost five years. They are to bear the consequences for the environmental damage caused. 19 August 2022, Puerto Guadal, Chile, © 2022 Stella Meyer and Sarah Schneider.
Yo bebo leche y agua. In the beginning, many people joined the Los Maquis Libres movement. Soon, however, the city council of Chile Chico began to put pressure on them. And the mayor banned them from speaking on the radio. As a result, many people who held public office left the movement, fearing for their jobs. 14.03.2022, Villa Cerro Castillo, Chile, © 2022 Stella Meyer and Sarah Schneider.
Yo bebo leche y agua. In 2019, the Canadian power generation company Edelaysén began building a hydropower plant on the Los Maquis river. The construction went far beyond the previously published plans and even led to the construction of roads and the destruction of a forest. The waterfall is a very important recreational area for residents and a popular destination for tourists. For this reason, volunteers from the surrounding area joined forces to form the counter-movement ‘Los Maquis Libres’ and have been taking legal action against the company ever since. 5 February 2024, Puerto Guadal, Chile, © 2024 Stella Meyer and Sarah Schneider.
Yo bebo leche y agua. On 4 September 2022, 62% of Chileans voted against a new constitution that would have provided for both a revision of the water law and changes in the area of environmental protection.
‘It cannot be that one person or one company owns the water. How can it be that you have the water under your nose but are not allowed to use it?’, Cristobal Weber McKay (32). 4 September 2022, Santiago de Chile, Chile, © 2022 Stella Meyer and Sarah Schneider.
Yo bebo leche y agua. ‘I'm afraid of the future. Knowing that at some point there won't be enough water for us. I wish we had a greater awareness of the nature that surrounds us. But people are not sufficiently informed. And schools don't bother to change that either.’ Diego Martin. 31.1.2023, Puerto Guadal, Chile, © 2023 Stella Meyer and Sarah Schneider.
Yo bebo leche y agua. Water bottling companies often argue that they are saving the valuable glacier water from entering the sea in order to use it as drinking water. This luxury product is then tasted by wealthy people at water fairs around the world before being sold exclusively and at high prices. This picture is staged. 23 January 2024, Puerto Guadal, Chile, © 2024 Stella Meyer and Sarah Schneider.
