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Fight for the Amazon
In the near future, the government of Ecuador will make a fateful decision that will have a lasting impact on the future of the Amazon and its indigenous population.
After repeated delays, the government will auction off large areas of the eastern part of the country to oil companies for oil exploration and exploitation. The process is known as 'block leasing,' and this will be the ninth round since it was introduced.
As this series of 'On the Record' goes out, it is still unclear how much land will be leased. For most of 2001 it had been assumed that 13 new 'blocks' would be auctioned, 11 of which would be in the Amazon. Just before Christmas came word that the area would be reduced, and the number of new blocks could be as few as four, perhaps with another four offshore. The final decision is expected soon.
If the past is any indication, any new exploitation will be too much. Certainly, it will bring large amounts of foreign investment to Ecuador, but the benefits will likely be offset by the destruction of natural resources, the loss of Ecuador's indigenous culture, and the increased impoverishment of its people.
The activities of the oil industry in Ecuador amount to an astonishing assault on one of the richest bioregions on the planet. In the 30 years since Texaco first started drilling in Ecuador's Amazonian region, oil exploration has polluted and exhausted vast areas, and some indigenous communities have been pushed to the brink of extinction. Regardless of the scope of the new round of leasing, it is certain to continue the destructive process and open up remote areas to exploration where no oil prospector has set foot and no road has been built.
This series of 'On the Record' tells the story of the poisoning of Ecuador's Amazon jungle by oil companies. It tells of the contamination of the waters and the resulting sickness in indigenous communities.
The series also profiles organizations such as the Amazon Defense Front and indigenous groups that are educating and galvanizing their communities. These groups are putting themselves, often quite literally, in harm's way to stop the depredations of the oil industry. If they can succeed, there is still hope that a healthy and sustainable way of life in the Amazon may be saved.
Argument for Oil: A Source of Revenue
Ecuador is a small South American country, approximately the size of Colorado, whose Amazon region has been described as an 'epicenter of biodiversity.' The eastern, lowland half of the country is called the Oriente. It constitutes only two percent of the Amazon Basin but is home to around five percent of all the plant species on Earth. In this tiny area there are two-thirds as many bird species as in all of North America. The Oriente is also home to eight distinct indigenous peoples -- some descended from the Incas and other groups that were present in the jungle even before the Incas arrived.
Ecuador presents a stark illustration of the arguments for and against a development policy based on oil.
The argument for oil is straightforward. Ecuador produces other products for exports, notably bananas, but the earnings from such exports are not remotely comparable to that of oil. Without oil there would be no roads, schools, and hospitals. According to Petroecuador, the state-owned oil company, the new round of leasing will generate at least $200 million in revenue and attract over $2 billion in private investment.
Supporters of oil also argue that it is absurd and even demeaning to suggest that Ecuador's indigenous peoples want to turn their backs on oil and remain outside of the mainstream of development. Rather, oil supporters assert, all the evidence points to the reverse -- that indigenous communities want to participate and enjoy the fruits of modernization. This is the reason that instead of hiding from the future, indigenous representative bodies have become powerful players in national politics.
Moreover, goes the argument, these indigenous organizations are not monolithically opposed to oil. Some are open to oil development, even in the southern Oriente, the region most affected by the new round of leasing. They have no choice. They know that the world is catching up with them, whether they like it or not. It is a familiar argument -- the kind often advanced by defenders of globalization.
Argument Against Oil: Environmental Devastation
The argument for stopping oil development -- or at least halting the new round of leasing -- is also compelling.
First, there is the impact on the global environment. At a time when the dangers of global warming are becoming increasingly clear, it seems questionable at best to base an economy on the production of fossil fuels.
Second, there is the impact on Ecuador's own environment. Since the late 1960s, oil exploration and development have had a devastating effect on Ecuador's Amazon region and its human population. Oil companies cut thousands of kilometers of exploration roads into the jungle, opening it up to the arrival of over 250,000 'colonos' (settlers). This influx overwhelmed the indigenous population. Oil companies have also dumped billions of gallons of toxic wastes into the environment, injuring the health of colonos and indigenous alike. Huge amounts of oil have spilled from ruptured pipelines, causing further pollution.
In some parts of the Oriente -- especially in the northern part of the region where the oil companies first started drilling in 1972 -- the environmental damage is such that people have been forced to flee to the cities. Ethnicities that once numbered in the tens of thousands, such as the Huaoranis and Cofans, have been reduced to impoverished pockets, numbering in the hundreds. One group, the Tetetes, has disappeared completely.
Those who remain lack safe drinking and bathing water. Their livestock die from drinking water contaminated by hydrocarbons. Birth defects, skin rashes, and gastro-intestinal disorders are common in some communities of the Oriente. The town of San Carlos is plagued by one of the highest rates of cancer in Ecuador.
This devastation is a clear violation of basic human rights in general and of recent Ecuadorian law in particular, which calls for indigenous people to be consulted and for their rights to be respected.
Nor does it make economic sense. By destroying the Amazon, the companies are destroying a far more valuable long-term resource than oil. At the present rate of deforestation, there will be no more Amazon jungle in Ecuador in 40 years. What is more, Ecuador's oil reserves are not expected to last that long, and in the meantime most of the oil produced is being squandered on gas-guzzling vehicles in North America.
In addition to damaging the Amazon, oil development has also damaged the health of Ecuador's economy by introducing a vicious cycle of borrowing and overspending. Oil sales provide almost 40 percent of Ecuador's income [1], but at the same time the country's foreign debt has risen from around $200 million in the early 1970s to over $13 billion today [2], leaving Ecuador with one of the highest levels of debt per capita in all of Latin America. Half of Ecuador's budget goes to servicing this debt.[3]
Meanwhile, Ecuador's population -- not only the inhabitants of the Oriente but also those of the Andes and the coastal region -- is becoming increasingly impoverished. With a debt burden that stifles any prospects for economic revival, economic growth has dropped sharply. Inflation has doubled in less than ten years [4], and over 70 percent of the population now lives in poverty.[5]
In addition to damaging the Amazon, oil development has also damaged the health of Ecuador's economy by introducing a vicious cycle of borrowing and overspending. Oil sales provide around 40 percent of Ecuador's income, but at the same time the country's foreign debt has risen from around $200 million in the early 1970s to over $13 billion. This leaves Ecuador with one of the highest levels of debt per capita in all of Latin America. Half of Ecuador's budget goes to servicing this debt.
Meanwhile, Ecuador's population -- not only the inhabitants of the Oriente but also those of the Andes and the coastal region -- is becoming increasingly impoverished. With a debt burden that stifles any prospects for economic revival, economic growth has dropped sharply. Inflation has doubled in ten years, and 70 percent of the population now lives in poverty.
The statistics are grimmer among the indigenous people, who account for approximately 40 percent of Ecuador's population. Ninety percent of them live in poverty, and many of their communities lack decent transportation, power and water supplies, basic health care, and sufficient education. Almost 20 years of structural adjustment programs sponsored by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have only added to the misery of ordinary Ecuadorians.
Weighing these two arguments, for and against oil, the case can surely be made that the cost is too high. Moreover, for supporters of oil there is an alternative to developing new fields. Instead of launching into new areas and causing more devastation, a rational oil policy would focus on improving the present system: repairing leaking pipelines, increasing productivity of existing oil fields, and updating obsolete equipment.
Before any further oil exploration takes place in the Oriente, Ecuador must develop a national consensus on how to exploit its remaining reserves. Until it is able to do this, the government should declare a moratorium on new drilling in the Oriente, as has been proposed by various environmental organizations. This would give the indigenous inhabitants a chance to propose safer, cleaner, alternative forms of development like eco-tourism.
History of Protests
In addition to all of the other problems it has caused, oil development has also contributed to a drastic erosion of confidence in the democratic process in Ecuador. This is one of many social and political costs that rarely feature on the balance sheet when the contribution of oil is being assessed.
When Ecuadorians have a quarrel with their government, they take to the streets instead of parliament. This has been the story of the last decade, and it continues as this series is being produced. In January 2001, thousands of Ecuadorians protested in what was billed as a 'peaceful uprising' against hikes in the price of fuel and transportation that were ordered by the IMF. Two weeks of demonstrations, strikes, and road blockages brought the country to a standstill and forced the government to negotiate with the leadership of the uprising. The negotiations led to a compromise and a rollback in prices.
But the confrontation is far from over. In January 2002 -- almost a year to the day after the momentous protests of 2001 -- the government again announced a sharp rise in the price of gasoline, utility rates, and domestic gas. This brought students out on the streets in the city of Cuenca. The police killed a protester, which set off nationwide protests. One grassroots leader even threatened a 'national uprising.' Ecuador is once again ready to explode at any moment.
Ecuadorian society has paid a very high price for the government's disastrous policies and its dependence on oil. The costs are harder to measure than the income from oil, but they have damaged Ecuador's long-term viability as surely as they have destroyed the Amazon.
Ecuador's Indigenous Peoples: Facing a Dilemma
The threat from oil has forced Ecuador's indigenous peoples to organize themselves at the local, regional, and national levels. In this series, we profile several of the groups such as ONHAE (Organization of the Huaorani Nation of the Ecuadorian Amazon) and OPIP (the Organization of Indigenous Peoples of Pastaza) that have led the fight against oil in the Oriente.
While there are factions and disagreements within Ecuador's indigenous movement, this series nevertheless finds that there is wide agreement among indigenous peoples about the damage caused by oil and the need to limit any future activities by the oil companies.
The series also finds that indigenous activists face a common dilemma in deciding whether to resist the oil companies or to negotiate with them. On the one hand, resistance is difficult and even dangerous. On the other, negotiations invariably mean that the companies try and 'divide and conquer' by lavishing gifts on individual villages and undercutting the authority of the chosen representatives from groups like OPIP and ONHAE.
The same dilemma also faces international allies of the indigenous peoples. In the past, some have tried to negotiate directly with the oil companies, but with disastrous results. Today, they are focusing on supporting indigenous groups with training and education to help them negotiate from a position of strength if they so decide.
This could open the way to an alternative, saner, model of development. Working with sympathetic partners and allies from abroad, Ecuador's indigenous peoples have developed many environmentally friendly, sustainable development programs. The indigenous groups have articulated these programs quite clearly. Now it only remains for the government to take them seriously.
It is worth noting that the companies also face a dilemma. Legally speaking, indigenous peoples do not have the right to block oil exploration because the state owns the sub-soil resources. But years of bad publicity and protests have made the companies wary and much more inclined to take indigenous concerns seriously. The indigenous peoples are not completely at the mercy of oil interests.
The Advocacy Project Goes to Ecuador
This series of 'On the Record' profiles these organized communities, their ideas for alternative development, and their efforts to prevent the destruction of their environment. In fighting to defend their own lives, they are trying to defend the life of the planet.
The series originated with a request from the Center for Economic and Social Rights (Centro de Derechos Economicos y Sociales -- CDES). CDES is a leading Ecuadorian human rights organization based in Quito, and its mission is to use human rights activism to confront basic development problems. Under this broad framework, CDES focuses on issues of debt, multilateral banks, and free trade. Most relevant to this series of On the Record, CDES provides grassroots organizations with training and legal assistance that gives local communities in the Amazon new tools for continuing their struggle.
As its name implies, CDES uses economic and social rights as a practical tool in the struggle for human rights in Ecuador. CDES emphasizes that the rights to health, food, housing, work, and education are as important as more commonly advocated civil and political rights such as the freedom of speech and assembly. Economic and social rights also impose a legal obligation on governments that have undertaken to defend them.
It is worth noting that poverty and hunger kill more people in Ecuador than do all the death squads in Latin America combined. CDES states that such suffering is not pre-ordained, but the result of policy -- and distorted priorities. There is, for example, no economic reason for the absence of basic health programs in Ecuador. Poor health is a clear violation of international human rights norms. Yet the health sector is just one of many areas where Ecuador falls short of international standards in protecting the economic and social rights its citizens.
In the spring of 2001, CDES invited The Advocacy Project to Ecuador. The organization requested the Advocacy Project's assistance in designing a new website, and the Advocacy Project sent its technical director, Teresa Crawford. Field writer Peter Lippman accompanied Ms. Crawford to profile CDES and its affiliated organizations and to research human rights campaigns in Ecuador.
While preparing for this work, The Advocacy Project learned of the existence of Intercom-Ecuanex, a nonprofit Internet service provider and communications consultant with a human rights orientation. Our Ecuador project broadened to include a profile of this organization, whose goals resonate closely with our own. Intercom's attempts to make Internet capabilities more accessible to community advocates will be described in the last issue of this series of 'On the Record.'
Organization of the Series
This series of 'On the Record' will comprise eleven issues. It will be accompanied by a web map of Ecuador, an illustrated web version of the series, and a glossary of organizations (with links) mentioned in the series.
The series is organized as follows:
Notes:
[1] 'Ecuador Unveils 2002 Budget Draft,' <http://www.gtamericas.com/country/ecuador/ Ecuador>
[2] U.S. Agency for International Development, Ecuador information web page
[3] Chris Jochnick, 'Perilous Prosperity,' New Internationalist magazine (June 2001)
[4] Government of Ecuador website: <http://www.ecuador.org/econ.html>
[5] Latinamerica Press, Vol. 33, No. 16 (May 7, 2001).
In the next issue: Ecuador's Troubled History
Issue 1: Series Launch
On the Record - The Fight for the Amazon
Vol. 16, Iss. 1
February 25, 2001
Series Launch
Indigenous people of Ecuador challenge the oil invaders
Contents:
- Argument for Oil: A Source of Revenue
- Argument Against Oil: Environmental Devastation
- History of Protests
- Ecuador's Indigenous Peoples: Facing a Dilemma
- The Advocacy Project Goes to Ecuador
- Organization of the Series
Fight for the Amazon
In the near future, the government of Ecuador will make a fateful decision that will have a lasting impact on the future of the Amazon and its indigenous population.
After repeated delays, the government will auction off large areas of the eastern part of the country to oil companies for oil exploration and exploitation. The process is known as 'block leasing,' and this will be the ninth round since it was introduced.
As this series of 'On the Record' goes out, it is still unclear how much land will be leased. For most of 2001 it had been assumed that 13 new 'blocks' would be auctioned, 11 of which would be in the Amazon. Just before Christmas came word that the area would be reduced, and the number of new blocks could be as few as four, perhaps with another four offshore. The final decision is expected soon.
If the past is any indication, any new exploitation will be too much. Certainly, it will bring large amounts of foreign investment to Ecuador, but the benefits will likely be offset by the destruction of natural resources, the loss of Ecuador's indigenous culture, and the increased impoverishment of its people.
The activities of the oil industry in Ecuador amount to an astonishing assault on one of the richest bioregions on the planet. In the 30 years since Texaco first started drilling in Ecuador's Amazonian region, oil exploration has polluted and exhausted vast areas, and some indigenous communities have been pushed to the brink of extinction. Regardless of the scope of the new round of leasing, it is certain to continue the destructive process and open up remote areas to exploration where no oil prospector has set foot and no road has been built.
This series of 'On the Record' tells the story of the poisoning of Ecuador's Amazon jungle by oil companies. It tells of the contamination of the waters and the resulting sickness in indigenous communities.
The series also profiles organizations such as the Amazon Defense Front and indigenous groups that are educating and galvanizing their communities. These groups are putting themselves, often quite literally, in harm's way to stop the depredations of the oil industry. If they can succeed, there is still hope that a healthy and sustainable way of life in the Amazon may be saved.
Argument for Oil: A Source of Revenue
Ecuador is a small South American country, approximately the size of Colorado, whose Amazon region has been described as an 'epicenter of biodiversity.' The eastern, lowland half of the country is called the Oriente. It constitutes only two percent of the Amazon Basin but is home to around five percent of all the plant species on Earth. In this tiny area there are two-thirds as many bird species as in all of North America. The Oriente is also home to eight distinct indigenous peoples -- some descended from the Incas and other groups that were present in the jungle even before the Incas arrived.
Ecuador presents a stark illustration of the arguments for and against a development policy based on oil.
The argument for oil is straightforward. Ecuador produces other products for exports, notably bananas, but the earnings from such exports are not remotely comparable to that of oil. Without oil there would be no roads, schools, and hospitals. According to Petroecuador, the state-owned oil company, the new round of leasing will generate at least $200 million in revenue and attract over $2 billion in private investment.
Supporters of oil also argue that it is absurd and even demeaning to suggest that Ecuador's indigenous peoples want to turn their backs on oil and remain outside of the mainstream of development. Rather, oil supporters assert, all the evidence points to the reverse -- that indigenous communities want to participate and enjoy the fruits of modernization. This is the reason that instead of hiding from the future, indigenous representative bodies have become powerful players in national politics.
Moreover, goes the argument, these indigenous organizations are not monolithically opposed to oil. Some are open to oil development, even in the southern Oriente, the region most affected by the new round of leasing. They have no choice. They know that the world is catching up with them, whether they like it or not. It is a familiar argument -- the kind often advanced by defenders of globalization.
Argument Against Oil: Environmental Devastation
The argument for stopping oil development -- or at least halting the new round of leasing -- is also compelling.
First, there is the impact on the global environment. At a time when the dangers of global warming are becoming increasingly clear, it seems questionable at best to base an economy on the production of fossil fuels.
Second, there is the impact on Ecuador's own environment. Since the late 1960s, oil exploration and development have had a devastating effect on Ecuador's Amazon region and its human population. Oil companies cut thousands of kilometers of exploration roads into the jungle, opening it up to the arrival of over 250,000 'colonos' (settlers). This influx overwhelmed the indigenous population. Oil companies have also dumped billions of gallons of toxic wastes into the environment, injuring the health of colonos and indigenous alike. Huge amounts of oil have spilled from ruptured pipelines, causing further pollution.
In some parts of the Oriente -- especially in the northern part of the region where the oil companies first started drilling in 1972 -- the environmental damage is such that people have been forced to flee to the cities. Ethnicities that once numbered in the tens of thousands, such as the Huaoranis and Cofans, have been reduced to impoverished pockets, numbering in the hundreds. One group, the Tetetes, has disappeared completely.
Those who remain lack safe drinking and bathing water. Their livestock die from drinking water contaminated by hydrocarbons. Birth defects, skin rashes, and gastro-intestinal disorders are common in some communities of the Oriente. The town of San Carlos is plagued by one of the highest rates of cancer in Ecuador.
This devastation is a clear violation of basic human rights in general and of recent Ecuadorian law in particular, which calls for indigenous people to be consulted and for their rights to be respected.
Nor does it make economic sense. By destroying the Amazon, the companies are destroying a far more valuable long-term resource than oil. At the present rate of deforestation, there will be no more Amazon jungle in Ecuador in 40 years. What is more, Ecuador's oil reserves are not expected to last that long, and in the meantime most of the oil produced is being squandered on gas-guzzling vehicles in North America.
In addition to damaging the Amazon, oil development has also damaged the health of Ecuador's economy by introducing a vicious cycle of borrowing and overspending. Oil sales provide almost 40 percent of Ecuador's income [1], but at the same time the country's foreign debt has risen from around $200 million in the early 1970s to over $13 billion today [2], leaving Ecuador with one of the highest levels of debt per capita in all of Latin America. Half of Ecuador's budget goes to servicing this debt.[3]
Meanwhile, Ecuador's population -- not only the inhabitants of the Oriente but also those of the Andes and the coastal region -- is becoming increasingly impoverished. With a debt burden that stifles any prospects for economic revival, economic growth has dropped sharply. Inflation has doubled in less than ten years [4], and over 70 percent of the population now lives in poverty.[5]
In addition to damaging the Amazon, oil development has also damaged the health of Ecuador's economy by introducing a vicious cycle of borrowing and overspending. Oil sales provide around 40 percent of Ecuador's income, but at the same time the country's foreign debt has risen from around $200 million in the early 1970s to over $13 billion. This leaves Ecuador with one of the highest levels of debt per capita in all of Latin America. Half of Ecuador's budget goes to servicing this debt.
Meanwhile, Ecuador's population -- not only the inhabitants of the Oriente but also those of the Andes and the coastal region -- is becoming increasingly impoverished. With a debt burden that stifles any prospects for economic revival, economic growth has dropped sharply. Inflation has doubled in ten years, and 70 percent of the population now lives in poverty.
The statistics are grimmer among the indigenous people, who account for approximately 40 percent of Ecuador's population. Ninety percent of them live in poverty, and many of their communities lack decent transportation, power and water supplies, basic health care, and sufficient education. Almost 20 years of structural adjustment programs sponsored by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have only added to the misery of ordinary Ecuadorians.
Weighing these two arguments, for and against oil, the case can surely be made that the cost is too high. Moreover, for supporters of oil there is an alternative to developing new fields. Instead of launching into new areas and causing more devastation, a rational oil policy would focus on improving the present system: repairing leaking pipelines, increasing productivity of existing oil fields, and updating obsolete equipment.
Before any further oil exploration takes place in the Oriente, Ecuador must develop a national consensus on how to exploit its remaining reserves. Until it is able to do this, the government should declare a moratorium on new drilling in the Oriente, as has been proposed by various environmental organizations. This would give the indigenous inhabitants a chance to propose safer, cleaner, alternative forms of development like eco-tourism.
History of Protests
In addition to all of the other problems it has caused, oil development has also contributed to a drastic erosion of confidence in the democratic process in Ecuador. This is one of many social and political costs that rarely feature on the balance sheet when the contribution of oil is being assessed.
When Ecuadorians have a quarrel with their government, they take to the streets instead of parliament. This has been the story of the last decade, and it continues as this series is being produced. In January 2001, thousands of Ecuadorians protested in what was billed as a 'peaceful uprising' against hikes in the price of fuel and transportation that were ordered by the IMF. Two weeks of demonstrations, strikes, and road blockages brought the country to a standstill and forced the government to negotiate with the leadership of the uprising. The negotiations led to a compromise and a rollback in prices.
But the confrontation is far from over. In January 2002 -- almost a year to the day after the momentous protests of 2001 -- the government again announced a sharp rise in the price of gasoline, utility rates, and domestic gas. This brought students out on the streets in the city of Cuenca. The police killed a protester, which set off nationwide protests. One grassroots leader even threatened a 'national uprising.' Ecuador is once again ready to explode at any moment.
Ecuadorian society has paid a very high price for the government's disastrous policies and its dependence on oil. The costs are harder to measure than the income from oil, but they have damaged Ecuador's long-term viability as surely as they have destroyed the Amazon.
Ecuador's Indigenous Peoples: Facing a Dilemma
The threat from oil has forced Ecuador's indigenous peoples to organize themselves at the local, regional, and national levels. In this series, we profile several of the groups such as ONHAE (Organization of the Huaorani Nation of the Ecuadorian Amazon) and OPIP (the Organization of Indigenous Peoples of Pastaza) that have led the fight against oil in the Oriente.
While there are factions and disagreements within Ecuador's indigenous movement, this series nevertheless finds that there is wide agreement among indigenous peoples about the damage caused by oil and the need to limit any future activities by the oil companies.
The series also finds that indigenous activists face a common dilemma in deciding whether to resist the oil companies or to negotiate with them. On the one hand, resistance is difficult and even dangerous. On the other, negotiations invariably mean that the companies try and 'divide and conquer' by lavishing gifts on individual villages and undercutting the authority of the chosen representatives from groups like OPIP and ONHAE.
The same dilemma also faces international allies of the indigenous peoples. In the past, some have tried to negotiate directly with the oil companies, but with disastrous results. Today, they are focusing on supporting indigenous groups with training and education to help them negotiate from a position of strength if they so decide.
This could open the way to an alternative, saner, model of development. Working with sympathetic partners and allies from abroad, Ecuador's indigenous peoples have developed many environmentally friendly, sustainable development programs. The indigenous groups have articulated these programs quite clearly. Now it only remains for the government to take them seriously.
It is worth noting that the companies also face a dilemma. Legally speaking, indigenous peoples do not have the right to block oil exploration because the state owns the sub-soil resources. But years of bad publicity and protests have made the companies wary and much more inclined to take indigenous concerns seriously. The indigenous peoples are not completely at the mercy of oil interests.
The Advocacy Project Goes to Ecuador
This series of 'On the Record' profiles these organized communities, their ideas for alternative development, and their efforts to prevent the destruction of their environment. In fighting to defend their own lives, they are trying to defend the life of the planet.
The series originated with a request from the Center for Economic and Social Rights (Centro de Derechos Economicos y Sociales -- CDES). CDES is a leading Ecuadorian human rights organization based in Quito, and its mission is to use human rights activism to confront basic development problems. Under this broad framework, CDES focuses on issues of debt, multilateral banks, and free trade. Most relevant to this series of On the Record, CDES provides grassroots organizations with training and legal assistance that gives local communities in the Amazon new tools for continuing their struggle.
As its name implies, CDES uses economic and social rights as a practical tool in the struggle for human rights in Ecuador. CDES emphasizes that the rights to health, food, housing, work, and education are as important as more commonly advocated civil and political rights such as the freedom of speech and assembly. Economic and social rights also impose a legal obligation on governments that have undertaken to defend them.
It is worth noting that poverty and hunger kill more people in Ecuador than do all the death squads in Latin America combined. CDES states that such suffering is not pre-ordained, but the result of policy -- and distorted priorities. There is, for example, no economic reason for the absence of basic health programs in Ecuador. Poor health is a clear violation of international human rights norms. Yet the health sector is just one of many areas where Ecuador falls short of international standards in protecting the economic and social rights its citizens.
In the spring of 2001, CDES invited The Advocacy Project to Ecuador. The organization requested the Advocacy Project's assistance in designing a new website, and the Advocacy Project sent its technical director, Teresa Crawford. Field writer Peter Lippman accompanied Ms. Crawford to profile CDES and its affiliated organizations and to research human rights campaigns in Ecuador.
While preparing for this work, The Advocacy Project learned of the existence of Intercom-Ecuanex, a nonprofit Internet service provider and communications consultant with a human rights orientation. Our Ecuador project broadened to include a profile of this organization, whose goals resonate closely with our own. Intercom's attempts to make Internet capabilities more accessible to community advocates will be described in the last issue of this series of 'On the Record.'
Organization of the Series
This series of 'On the Record' will comprise eleven issues. It will be accompanied by a web map of Ecuador, an illustrated web version of the series, and a glossary of organizations (with links) mentioned in the series.
The series is organized as follows:
- Issue 2: Ecuador's Troubled History: A look back at 30 years of unrest, at least part of which is due to oil development.
- Issue 3: Poisoning of San Carlos: A visit to the heart of the polluted Amazon.
- Issue 4: Risky Business: A profile of the oil industry in Ecuador.
- Issue 5: Recourse to Law: Ecuador's indigenous representatives have taken their case to New York City in an attempt to win damages for pollution -- but so far, without much success.
- Issue 6: Dining with the Devil: Some indigenous communities try to negotiate with oil companies but find themselves subjected to 'divide and conquer' tactics.
- Issue 7: Profiles of Resistance: The nations of the Shuar, Achuar, and Quichua resist oil development.
- Issue 8: Profiles of Resistance: The Huaorani and the Zapara communities, driven to the brink of extinction by oil.
- Issue 9: Colombia Connection: Colombia's dirty war against subversion and the drug trade spills over into Ecuador, adding to the woes caused by oil.
- Issue 10: Debt and Development: Indigenous peoples promote clean alternatives to oil development in the form of debt-for-nature swaps, carbon taxes, and sustainable community development.
- Issue 11: Democratizing Communications: A profile of Intercom-Ecuanex, a promoter of Internet solutions for grassroots community organizations.
Notes:
[1] 'Ecuador Unveils 2002 Budget Draft,' <http://www.gtamericas.com/country/ecuador/ Ecuador>
[2] U.S. Agency for International Development, Ecuador information web page
[3] Chris Jochnick, 'Perilous Prosperity,' New Internationalist magazine (June 2001)
[4] Government of Ecuador website: <http://www.ecuador.org/econ.html>
[5] Latinamerica Press, Vol. 33, No. 16 (May 7, 2001).
In the next issue: Ecuador's Troubled History
Back
- News Service
- Multimedia
- Global Issues
- On The Record Archive
- Youth Against AIDS
- Palestine - Civil Society Under Siege
- Bosnia - Postwar Refugee Return
- Ecuador – The Fight for the Amazon
- Issue 1: Series Launch
- Issue 2: Ecuador's Troubled History
- Issue 3: The Poisoning of San Carlos
- Issue 4: Risky Business: the Oil Industry in Ecuador
- Issue 5: Legal Battles
- Issue 6: The Dilemma of Negotiating with Oil Companies
- Issue 7: Profiles of Resistance
- Issue 8: Profiles of Resistance II
- Issue 9: The Colombia Connection
- Issue 10: Debt and Development
- Issue 11: Democratizing Communications for Ecuador
- Kosovo – The Birth and Rebirth of Civil Society
- Nigeria – Girls for Sale
- Kosovo – Rebuilding After the War
- Cambodia - Civil Society and the Tribunal
- Central America - Life After Hurricane Mitch
- Guatemala – The Rio Negro Campaign
- Southeast Asia – Violence Against Women
- Covering the UN
- Civil Society in Albania
- Afghanistan's Women & Girls
- Africa – Pygmies
- Bangladesh – Empowering the Blind
- Bosnia – War and Recovery
- Ecuador and Oil
- Guatemala – Indigenous Advocacy
- India – The Global Movement for Children
- Kosovo – Civil Society after the War
- Nepal – Democracy and Discrimination
- Nigeria – Trafficking to Europe
- Occupied Palestinian Territories
- Peru – The Search for Truth and Justice
- Roma and Gypsies
- Serbia – Fighting Repression
- Sri Lanka – Rebuilding After the Tsunami
- The World Bank and Human Rights
- UK Travellers and Dale Farm
- AP Diaries and Staff Blogs
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