Indigenous people of Ecuador present more than 365,000 signatures against extractive activity

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Indigenous organizations of Ecuador presented this Tuesday more than 365,000 signatures before the Constitutional Court to demand their right to be consulted before any mining or oil extraction in the Amazon area is authorized.

An important number of inhabitants of endemic communities of the Amazon jungle, headed by members of the A’i Kofán of Sinangoe and Waraoni of Pastaza, went to the Constitutional Court to present the 365,515 signatures.

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Given this action, it is expected that the Ecuadorian court will pronounce shortly on the request, which has also been supported by other social organizations of the South American country.

“The world has its eyes on Ecuador due to the historical cases of the A’i Kofán de Sinangoe and Waorani de Pastaza communities, who defeated the corporate power and the Ecuadorian State that granted mining and oil concessions in their ancestral territories, without due consultation” states the communiqué published by the signatories of the petition.

The text goes on to detail that the petition is positioned against the intention of the Government headed by Guillermo Lasso “to apply oil and mining policies that propose the expansion of these activities, putting at risk indigenous territories throughout the country, especially in the Amazon”.

For his part, the leader of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon (Confenaie), Marlon Vargas, referred to the precedent set by the A’i Kofán community and stressed that the court has “the historic opportunity” to issue a favorable ruling that guarantees the right of indigenous communities to consultation and “free, prior and informed consent”.

The president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), Leónidas Iza Salazar, referred to the threat of climate change as a product of the system of capitalist exploitation.

The president of the A’i Kofán de Sinangoe Community, Victor Quenamá, also expressed his opinion, stating that the indigenous community does not wish to exploit the forests or use them by miners or heavy machinery, and reaffirmed their desire to defend the rainforest.

For her part, the president of the Waorani Organization of Pastaza, Silvana Nihua, affirmed that they feel supported by the national and international community and expressed her desire that the court supports the indigenous peoples’ request.

It is worth mentioning that the president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, issued a decree that seeks to double the national oil production last July. This action was seen as unconstitutional by several social organizations of the country, as he decided without considering the criteria of the communities that could be affected by the exploitation of crude oil.

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