The largest indigenous group in Ecuador announced on Thursday that it was getting ready to stage protests in mining regions in an effort to halt extractive activities close to its communities.
During a meeting, a group opposed to mining and the CONAIE indigenous organisation, which organised the protests that shut down the nation for nearly two weeks last year, decided against expanding mining in Ecuador due to the negative social and environmental effects.
According to CONAIE leader Leonidas Iza, the groups decided to “prepare conditions of territorial defence” in areas with mining companies present. He added that the measures would be progressive.
Iza said, without mentioning a potential start date for protests, ‘We want to say to trans-national mining companies, to mining business people in our country: don’t invest more in mining because we are going to defend our land.’
Indigenous and environmental groups claim that the administration of conservative President Guillermo Lasso has broken promises made after protests last year to halt mining in ancestral indigenous territories until a law outlining requirements for community consultation on projects is passed by the legislature.
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