Overview
- Lawmakers voted 60–36 with 8 abstentions to extend the registry through December 31, 2026 in an initial vote.
- Contested clauses to restore 50,565 purged registrations and halt new exclusions were rejected and removed from the draft.
- The measure now awaits a second vote expected in the Permanent Commission starting December 16, with a year-end deadline to avoid a lapse.
- Environment Minister Miguel Ángel Espichán called the one-year window prudent, as Minem advanced nine technical fixes endorsed by ex-minister Jorge Montero.
- Confemin says a year is insufficient and plans to mobilize for the second vote, while watchdogs and editorials warn the extension could perpetuate environmental harm and criminal economies.