Latin America Advisor 2024-04-16 – Inter-American Dialogue

LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR

A daily publication Of the dialogue

April 16, 2024

What Do Protests Mean for Ecuador’s Mining Industry?

Indigenous leader Leonidas Iza is leading opposition by Indigenous groups to some mining projects in Ecuador. // File Photo: Facebook Page of Conaie.

Q

Leonidas Iza, the president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities in Ecuador, or Conaie, said March 26 that the organization would be taking a firmer stance against mining activities in the country. Ecuador’s mining chamber said in early March that mining exports totaled a record $3.2 billion in 2023—an increase of almost 20 percent, and clashes recently broke out between police and villagers of Palo Quemado, where a project by Canadian firm Atico Mining is currently underway. How much might Conaie’s protests undermine the mining industry’s expansion in Ecuador? Why are Indigenous communities at odds with the mining industry? How will potential protests, or the threat of them, affect business and investment, as well as Ecuador’s economy generally?

A

John Polga-Hecimovich, associate professor in the political science department at the U.S. Naval Academy: “Despite the fact that Conaie’s political agenda has historically promoted environmental sustainability and opposed extractive industries in Ecuador, the mining and petroleum industries have continued to grow. Indeed, in 2023, mining was Ecuador’s fourth-largest export sector, providing $762.72 million in tax revenue and accounting for nearly 97,000 jobs. Yet resource extraction in Ecuador is a divisive issue, and Indigenous communities have long been at odds with the mining industry. First, Indigenous attitudes are influenced by the philosophy of sumak kawsay, which promotes living in harmony with nature rather than dominating it. Second, Indigenous communities’ physical proximity to mining and oil operations—and the resulting environmental degradation—has…”

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