A wealthy and well-connected anti-abortion group has gone to court to block the disclosure of its private donors following an investigation by openDemocracy and La Pública.
It comes after a year-long effort by the two news organisations that reveals how three powerful anti-rights nonprofits in Chile are using legal loopholes to protect the identity of funders while influencing politicians to limit reproductive and equal rights for women and LGBTIQ communities.
Two of the groups – Cuide Chile and the Organization for Research, Training and Women’s Studies (ISFEM) – have not declared any private donations at all in their tax returns. The other group – Chile Unido (United Chile) – has declared private donations, but not the source of them. So, earlier this year openDemocracy and La Pública asked Chile’s independent Transparency Council for Chile Unido’s donor information to be made public. The request was granted, but the country’s tax laws allow nonprofits and private foundations to keep donors’ names secret and Chile Unido is appealing the Transparency Council’s decision on those grounds.
