(October 10, 2019) We have seen days filled with agitation. We have been surprised by our own capacity to fight and resist, and we have demonstrated to the world that the Indigenous movement and the Ecuadorian peoples are one single force, and, from the place that history has granted us, we have made the power tremble. We have stated our position: this does not end until the IMF leaves Ecuador. 

On September 6th, the Institute for Policy Studies and Earthworks released a report (attached to this post) with worrisome conclusions regarding the ongoing consultation process around Canadian mining company Pan American Silver's Escobal mine.

Originally posted on The Manila Standard, October 08, 2019 by Tony La Viña

​"Such sentiments must be respected and not disregarded by the national government."

(Quito, Ecuador) Indigenous peoples across Ecuador have mobilized against the central government’s neoliberal policies and extractive practices, as have workers unions, student unions and a diverse group of civil society. Our civil disobedience has included marches, road blocks, and the detention of military and police personnel accused of violence and aggression within indigenous territories. Currently, over 20,000 indigenous peoples from the Andes to the Amazon are marching to the capital city of Quito in indefinite protest.

MiningWatch expresses growing concern for the “State of Exception” (State of Emergency) declared by Ecuadorian president Lenin Moreno on October 3rd which seeks to grant exceptional powers to the police and military forces to repress Indigenous and civil society mobilizations against the so-called “paquetazo” (package) of austerity measures.

Originally posted in The Manila Standard, October 05, 2019 by Tony La Viña​

"In fact, the mine should be closed."

On Sept. 24 2019, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau endorsed the interim renewal of OceanaGold’s financial and technical assistance agreement [FTAA].

Author: Carlos Zorilla. To the human eye, the mostly dark-green Confusing Rocket Frog is not as attractive as the Harlequin Longnose Frog. Both amphibians are found in a patch of forest in Ecuador’s Intag region and nowhere else on the planet. The Harlequin’s discovery in 2016 was amazing enough, since the it hadn’t been seen since 1989 (the IUCN still lists it as extinct). But, even so, quite a bit was known about it. Being endemic to an area which today is threatened by a large-scale copper mining project, the Harlequin shares the same potential fate as the much rarer Confusing Rocket Frog, which was rediscovered in August of 2019. The finding, by Ecuador’s Jambatu Center, is so recent, that nothing has been written up in journals yet*.

(Intag, Ecuador) With the presence of approximately 2,000 people representing the 7 parishes that make up the Intag area, the Intag-wide assembly “In Defence of Our Territory” was held this Friday, September 20, 2019 in the community of Pucará, Apuela Parish.

The assembly was attended by Yacu Pérez, Prefect of Azuay; Monsignor Geovanny Paz, Bishop of Latacunga; and the Ombudsman of Imbabura, Katherine Andrade, who all addressed the attendees with emotional and deep reflections on the national mining problem.

London (AFP) - The global mining industry is increasingly showing a commitment towards greater respect for human rights and the environment, but is accused of wanting to improve its reputation without seeking real progress.

Wildcat miners, including children, are risking their lives daily to unearth metals and minerals they sell to mining companies. In return, they earn a subsistence wage but not the working rights of a legal and salaried mining group employee.

The global mining industry is increasingly showing a commitment towards greater respect for human rights and the environment, but is accused of wanting to improve its reputation without seeking real progress.

Wildcat miners, including children, are risking their lives daily to unearth metals and minerals they sell to mining companies. In return, they earn a subsistence wage but not the working rights of a legal and salaried mining group employee.