Overview
- Congress’s Energy and Mines Commission approved, by a 17–3 vote with one abstention, a proposal to extend the miner formalization registry through December 31, 2027, sending it to the Plenary.
- Prime Minister Ernesto Álvarez said the government has not taken a position and will hear specialists in the Council of Ministers before deciding whether to back or observe the measure.
- Álvarez warned that if the Plenary reincorporates more than 50,000 miners previously excluded from the registry, the executive would in principle veto the norm and could take the case to the Constitutional Court.
- He described the registry’s effect as limited, noting it has helped some good‑faith operators but has also been abused to shield illegal mining, and he cited projections that about 5,000 artisanal miners could formalize next year.
- Informal miners have gathered around Congress, and the prime minister said the votes in the Plenary are presumed to be sufficient for approval based on support shown in committee.