"Lawyer sues Codelco’s Andina Division, accuses state‑owned company of cover‑up in serious case involving violation of fundamental rights", 24 November 2025

Lawyer José Villagrán Reyes filed a civil lawsuit for damages on Wednesday, 19 November 2025, against the state‑owned company Codelco, following a series of serious incidents that occurred at its Andina Division during 2024...

The legal action was submitted to the First Civil Court of Los Andes and seeks to hold the copper company financially liable for damages which, according to the claimant, arose from events attributable to the operation of the division located in Chile’s Valparaíso Region...

Although details of the alleged incidents were not publicly disclosed, the claim aims to establish Codelco’s civil liability for the harm caused, which—according to Villagrán—significantly affected the psychological integrity of his client...

Asked about the origin of the conflict, the lawyer stated that “…everything allegedly occurred within the framework of a habitual practice at Codelco’s Andina Division of vetoing certain individuals or establishing blacklists that prevent specific people from working at the division, not only directly for Codelco but also barring those who provide services to contractor companies, which, in order to obtain or maintain contracts, comply with this harmful practice.”...

Villagrán explained that his client “was barred from working at Andina in 2025, but prior to that there had been a series of violent actions by Andina personnel; specifically, three senior executives engaged in systematic workplace harassment, with the prohibition on hiring her being the final act of a serious campaign of persecution.”...

The lawyer added that, in his view, the most serious aspect was the institutional response, because “the state‑owned company, having been informed of these acts that violate fundamental rights, carried out an investigation under the Karin Law with the aim of covering up and protecting its executives, and failed to assist the victim, thereby effectively endorsing the violation of my client’s fundamental rights.”...

Villagrán further stated that “we have abundant documentary evidence originating from public bodies, which clearly demonstrates the concealment and containment of information by Andina.”...

Regarding the objective of the lawsuit, he said that “what is being sought is the payment of compensation by Andina and the dismissal of the aggressors, given that they caused severe psychological harm to the victim.”...