WSJ has a very paternalistic view of Chilean politics. Lithium extraction (and mining) pollutes water and uses a ton of it. In Atacama, the driest desert in the planet, it is already extremely scarce for local populations. Chile is not blowing up anything. A sovereign nation can do as it pleases with its natural resources and take any measures to protect its natural environment and population. Anyway, a lithium electric car revolution is a myth, lithium is too scarce to be a scalable solution.