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From the Editors: Ecuador Boils Over Again
Last week, on February 22, President Gustavo Noboa of Ecuador declared a state of emergency in the province of Sucumbios, in the northern part of the Amazon. At first this was interpreted as a response to the breakdown of peace talks in neighboring Colombia. Ecuador is preparing for the influx of thousands of new Colombian refugees.
But Noboa quickly squashed that report. The reason for taking this drastic action, he said, was to deal with a rash of protests and strikes that have paralyzed Sucumbios and appear to spreading. So far, he appears to have failed. On Saturday the blockages had reached neighboring Orellana province. By Tuesday 60 wells and five refineries had been shut down in the two provinces. In one week, the oil companies lost almost $2 million in missed production.
The protesters have their sights set on two targets. First there is the government's oil policy. As noted in the last issue of On the Record, the government is committed to doubling the production of oil, even at the cost of destroying the Amazon. It has already thrown down the gauntlet by starting construction of a new pipeline which will traverse no fewer than eleven environmentally-protected areas.
This has infuriated environmentalists on both sides of the Atlantic. In Ecuador, greens have prevented the pipeline from entering the Mindo Cloud Reserve, which is one of the most fabled bird sanctuaries in the world. On the other side of the Atlantic, German Greens are boycotting the bank that is funding the pipeline consortium.
The new pipeline has also alarmed local communities that lie in its path. Several of them have come out in protest, demanding more local benefits from the expected of oil profits and compensation against the damage that is sure to happen. Instead of calling in the troops, many local mayors fully support with the demonstrators.
And as has happened so often in Ecuador's recent past, the spark has quickly spread to other sectors of the economy. Thousands of citizens staged a two-day strike last week in protest against the government's plan to sell of the state-owned electricity company. They fear that this will put many workers out of a job and also push up the price of electricity.
These protests have yet to acquire the momentum and scale that toppled the government two years ago, but they are further proof that distrust of government is now deeply embedded in Ecuadorian life. This distrust is deep, bitter and corrosive. Ecuador is paying a heavy price for its blind determination to exploit oil at all costs.
In the past, Ecuador's powerful indigenous movement has played a critical role in mobilizing opposition to the government, as Peter Lippman reports in the second issue of this series.
CONAIE, the national indigenous confederation, has kept a relatively low profile during the current crisis, but its leaders have warned that this may well change. Indigenous people make up 40% of Ecuador's population, and they have been most affected by oil contamination - as the next issue in this series will demonstrate. But oil is not their only enemy. Indigenous people have also borne the brunt of discrimination and poverty caused by the government's misguided policies.
Time and again, under pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ecuador has imposed 'austerity measures' in an effort to cut public expenditure and 'reform' the economy. These measures translate into the abolition of fuel subsidies, transportation rate increases, and currency devaluations. They fall squarely on the poor, many of whom are also indigenous.
The one consolation is that the upheavals of this last tumultuous decade have forced indigenous communities to organize, to choose leaders, and -- finally -- to resist. Oil has helped to turn Ecuador's indigenous movement into one of the strongest in Latin America.
Anger in Ecuador, Germany and Italy as Pipeline Threatens Renowned Bird Sanctuary
Protests against Ecuador's new pipeline are under way on both sides of the Atlantic as this issue of On the Record goes out, demonstrating the depth of opposition to Ecuador's oil strategy and its impact on the environment. Even the World Bank has expressed misgivings at the likely impact of the pipeline.
The Heavy Crude Pipeline (Oleoducto de Crudos Pesados, or OCP) is intended to increase the transport of oil from the Oriente region in Ecuador to depots on the Pacific coast. It has been a lightening rod for critics ever since it was pushed through in the face of opposition from environmentalists worldwide last year.
The course of the OCP follows the old pipeline from the rainforest over the Andes to the coast, diverging for a stretch in the mountains. Along the way, it crosses through 11 protected zones, including the Mindo-Nambillo Cloud Forest Reserve.
Furious protesters are staging the first-ever 'tree-sit' in Latin America in an effort to stop the pipeline entering the reserve, a fragile zone of biodiversity that serves as a refuge for hundreds of bird species. Early in January, several activists built platforms in the trees in the reserve and started camping there, while others chained themselves to the tree bases. In spite of threats by the police, they remain today, vowing to stay until the route is changed.
Although the Mindo protest is largely about the environment, many of the towns along the pipeline route are demanding a greater share in the benefits from the increased flow of oil or compensation for the probable pollution. Last week, locals in the towns of Lago Agrio and Cascales brought traffic to a halt when they demanded 'compensatory projects' such as road paving and municipal sewage construction.
In Cascales canton protestors blocked access to the Bermejo well, shutting down its operations. They also dug trenches and placed mounds of sand and burning tires in the roads, blocking the main routes north to Lago Agrio and south to Papallacta. Closer to Quito, residents of the municipality of Nono briefly blockaded the access roads to OCP construction sites in January, demanding more compensation.
Strikes have also taken place in the town of Esmeraldas on the coast. A few days ago, over 700 pipeline construction workers went on strike briefly in Esmeraldas, demanding higher pay, hazard wages, and job security. This was the third time they had struck.
Some of these protests have the support of the local mayors. Maximo Abad, the mayor of Lago Agrio, criticized the OCP for 'arrogance and irresponsibility' for failing to offer projects that will benefit his city. Meanwhile, traffic is at a virtual standstill in Sucumbios, and protestors vow to remain on the roads 'until dialogue is accepted.'
Environmental investigators from Greenpeace International have also visited Esmeraldas to hear complaints. Esmeraldas was the scene of a terrible fire in 1998 that raged through the town after a pipeline leading to a refinery burst and sent a flood of flaming oil down the slopes, straight through the poorest neighborhood.
At a recent meeting with Greenpeace, residents of Esmeraldas complained that the OCP was being built on unstable land and that the OCP consortium had not conducted the necessary environmental studies in advance. They also warned that fishing reserves, a mainstay of the local livelihood, will be destroyed by contamination from the new oil depot.
The Greenpeace team traveled along the construction route and expressed shock at the environmental destruction, which was described by Michaela Braun as 'chilling.' Ms. Braun said that heavy machines were engaged in construction on steep slopes in seismic zones around Papallacta, east of Quito, without any precautionary measures having been taken.
Similar concerns have even been raised by officials from the National Directorate for Environmental Protection, which together with the energy ministry's auditing department have declared that some builders are not complying with appropriate environmental management procedures and called for postponement of construction at Mindo. The officials noted that poor construction practices in this area have already caused several slides, and that watersheds face the threat of further destruction.
Meanwhile protests have spread to the other side of the Atlantic. Opponents of the pipeline are picketing in Germany outside the Westdeutsche Landesbank (WestBL), which is lending $900 million of the $1.1 billion finance for the pipeline. Ms. Braun from Greenpeace said that she was 'shocked that a publicly funded German bank would finance a project that would not be authorized in Germany.'[1]
The state of North Rhine-Westphalia owns a 43 percent share in WestBL, and many of the citizens of this state appear to feel that their government should not be subsidizing the destruction of the Ecuadorian rainforest. The Green Party, a member of the coalition that governs the state, supports the protests and is demanding that the government come out against the loan. The North Rhine-Westphalia environmental minister, who is also a Green Party member, has come out strongly against the pipeline. This week, German environmentalists began a statewide campaign to boycott WestBL.
Environmentalists are also protesting in Italy, home of another bank that is helping to fund the pipeline. They are pressuring Agip, an Italian oil company that is active in the Oriente and is participating in the construction of the pipeline.
Even the World Bank has expressed concern about the dangers of the pipeline. Both the OCP consortium and WestBL made statements last fall that the construction project complied with World Bank environmental guidelines. However, the World Bank is not directly involved in the pipeline project, and it has written to the OCP consortium expressing 'deep concern' that the OCP will cause serious damage to the rainforest surrounding Mindo.
The government appears to be listening to the protests. The OCP consortium has announced that construction in Mindo will be postponed until after the rainy season in April, and Ecuador's minister of the environment has called for new geological studies.
But the overall reaction of the government remains contemptuous. Late last week Ecuadorian President Gustavo Noboa was quoted as saying: 'It is not possible for us to let four or five Germans from Greenpeace tell Ecuadorians who are dying of hunger that we have to die of hunger, while people from the first world come to the third world rosy and well-fed.'' (2)
More Protests as Privatization Proposal Raises Fears of Unemployment, Higher Prices
Most of Ecuador was shut down for two days last week by thousands of workers who fear losing their jobs if the government sells off state-owned electricity companies. Consumers worried about price rises joined the workers in their protests.
Students led a crowd of 4,000 protestors in the town of Cuenca where Damian Pena, a fellow student, was killed by police during a demonstration held in January. The bus system was paralyzed in Riobambo, and in the coastal city of Portoviejo demonstrators threw stones at shop windows. Protestors intermittently blockaded the Pan-American Highway and other major arterials throughout the country, marching and burning tires. Schools in five provinces and several hospitals in Quito were also shut down, in strikes for higher wages.
Most of this unrest has been generated by a proposal by the Ecuadorian government to sell a 51 percent share in 17 electrical companies. These companies are in debt to the tune of more than $500 million, and are losing $170 million each year, which makes a rise in the price of electricity almost inevitable if they are sold off to the private sector. The Constitutional Tribunal has described the proposed sale as unconstitutional.
The shutdowns of last Wednesday and Thursday were led by the Patriotic Front, a coalition of campesino and worker organizations. The turn-out was less dramatic than the uprising of January, 2001 but it has served as a warning of what lies ahead if living standards continue to stagnate. The indigenous organizations participated only sporadically, but CONAIE -- the leading nation-wide indigenous federation -- has also threatened widespread protests if the government proceeds with the sale.
At the end of the week the protests spread to the provinces of Sucumbios and Orellana, the northern provinces of Ecuador's Amazon region, where they merged with protests already under way against the construction of the new OCP pipeline. As of last Saturday, traffic was brought to a standstill along most of the main roads of the two provinces.
Special Report: Ecuador's Troubled History
General strikes and mass mobilizations have taken place many times throughout the 1990s. The first major protest, in June 1990, took the form of mass mobilization and was supported by CONFENIAE (the Amazon's regional confederation of indigenous communities). Thousands of poor people blocked roads, occupied government buildings, and brought the Ecuadorian economy to a temporary halt.
In the next few years there were recurring demonstrations and takeovers, often prompted by grievances over oil. In 1992 several indigenous communities protested after Maxus oil company leased exploration rights to oil block 16, which includes Huaorani territory and part of Yasuni National Park. The oil company and the government had not consulted the affected communities. Maxus responded to the pressure by negotiating with local indigenous communities.
During this same period, the Organization of Indigenous Peoples of Pastaza (OPIP) carried on a protracted effort to register indigenous-owned land.
In early 1994, CONFENIAE and CONAIE led protests against the seventh round of oil lease auctions. On that occasion, protestors occupied the office of the Ministry of Energy and Mines. This led to a meeting between the minister and CONAIE. They agreed to form a commission on oil monitoring policies.
In 1996 the indigenous people established the first indigenous political party, known as Pachakutik. Eight indigenous representatives were elected to the National Congress in 1996. It was proof of the growing sophistication of the indigenous movement.
Conditions deteriorated for the poor and indigenous of Ecuador in the second half of the 1990s, and governments were toppled almost annually. President Abdala Bucaram, elected in 1996, was deposed the next year by Congress for 'mental incapacity' after a two-day general strike was held protesting his austerity measures. Bucaram had brought corruption in government to new heights.
Jamil Mahuad was elected president in 1998, a year that saw inflation rise to 60 percent. By the end of 1999 President Mahuad was under investigation for stealing millions from his own campaign funds, and his austerity measures only compounded the resentment. The country was torn by protests that resulted in the declaration of martial law in early January 2000.
Instead of backing down, the demonstrators, led by CONAIE, blocked provincial highways and moved toward Quito. Students, women's groups, and unions threw their weight behind the peaceful uprising, which spread to other major cities. Activists created 'People's Parliaments' throughout the country to provide a non-violent outlet of expression to religious and environmental organizations, student and youth groups, women's organizations, and other elements of civil society. The People's Parliaments called for civil disobedience until the president, his administration, Congress, and the Supreme Court were all removed.
By the middle of January, demonstrators began peacefully occupying Quito, and the highway blockades cut off the supply of food to the cities. Ten thousand indigenous people and peasants avoided or ignored military blockades and checkpoints to join Quito residents in large-scale marches. Ultimately thousands of protestors surrounded the National Congress building and the Presidential Palace, and took them over on January 21, 2000. Similar actions took place in other cities.
With the takeover of the National Congress and the Presidential Palace, the Ecuadorian government fled Quito. A Government of National Salvation was formed with the indigenous president of CONAIE, a former president of the Supreme Court, and an army officer, General Mendoza, at its head.
This government lasted only four hours, until General Mendoza pulled out and threatened severe repression of the protestors. Mahuad was overthrown, but Vice President Gustavo Noboa was installed in his place, signaling a new regime much like the last. The people of Ecuador had made their power felt, but they were tricked at the last minute in what has since been called a military coup.
In the aftermath of the coup, however, Ecuadorian activists did not back off. The grievances that fueled the rebellion had not been addressed. While the coup was a setback, the protests went on. Austerity measures continued to spark demonstrations throughout the spring, and President Noboa showed no more sympathy for the poor than his predecessor had.
Throughout 2000, economic conditions worsened. Inflation approached 100 percent, and oil developers continued to ravage the Amazon. The price of cooking fuel doubled. Gasoline increased by 25 percent. Transportation costs went up by 75 percent. The average income of an indigenous person was $2.00 a day.
The new round of austerity measures hit the poor hard, and when the IMF scheduled a mission to Quito in January 2001, activist leaders decided to call another mass mobilization. Ecuadorians were also angry about the increasing tension along Ecuador's border with Colombia, as well as the establishment of a U.S. airbase at Manta on the Pacific coast.
On January 21, indigenous groups led by CONAIE, together with campesinos and students, blocked bridges and roads into Quito and other cities throughout the country. Police in Quito responded to the demonstrations with teargas and beatings. Within a week there were as many as 13,000 demonstrators clogging the streets in the capital, and 6,000 indigenous activists occupied the Salesian University (Universidad Politecnica Salesiana).
Military troops surrounded the university, cut off the water and electricity, and began cutting off food and medical supplies. Hundreds of demonstrators were arrested and dozens were injured. Military intelligence agents arrested CONAIE president Antonio Vargas and other leaders.
The protestors did not fall back but responded with continued demonstrations. They called for reduction of taxes and repeal of the IMF-supported austerity measures. Unionists, farmers, students, academics, women's groups, and environmentalists all joined the indigenous core of demonstrators. Activists declared a hunger strike, warning that 50 new protestors would join the strike each day until the government agreed to negotiate.
Women members of several organizations occupied the offices of the National Council of Modernization, the body responsible for structural adjustment policies. The mayor of Quito released Antonio Vargas from jail. But on February 2, the government declared a state of emergency and sent military forces into Quito to break up the demonstrations. Freedom of association and movement were suspended.
Blockades and marches took place in many other parts of Ecuador at the same time. In Tena, the capital of the Amazon province of Napo, army troops fired on a crowd of demonstrators, killing two and wounding twenty.
The next day, 5,000 indigenous demonstrators returned to the same spot. They forced the military to retreat to the airport and then burned down the air traffic control tower to prevent a possible air reinforcement of troops. In Riobamba, 10,000 marchers occupied the central square, while others took over the radio station and read communiques. Overall, five people were killed in the Oriente.
Seeing no movement on the part of the government, the leaders of the protests called a general strike for February 7. As the crisis mounted and with much of the country shut down, President Noboa finally agreed to negotiate. On February 7, 2001, the two sides signed an accord that would reduce the price of gas, freeze fuel prices for a year, allow a half-fare price on public transportation for students and the elderly, keep Ecuador from participating in Plan Colombia, and increase investment in social development funds. It was a signal victory.
The people of Ecuador, led by the indigenous communities, have shown that they are a powerful political force. Twice in two years, the government of Ecuador has been compelled to listen. But the crisis is far from over. The February 7, 2001, agreement called for the creation of working groups to review indigenous demands, but by July indigenous representatives had abandoned the discussions, declaring that the government had backtracked on its promises.
A year has passed since the 'levantamiento' (peaceful uprising) of 2001. Conditions for the indigenous and other poor people of Ecuador have, if anything, only deteriorated in that time. And as was noted earlier in this issue, the familiar cycle of price hikes and protest has begun again. The new pipeline, government corruption, price hikes, and the upcoming oil lease auction all ensure that 2002 will be a tumultuous year for Ecuador.
The struggle continues -- proof of the inflammable combination of oil development and misguided economic policies.
References
[1] 'Activists Chained to Trees to Block Pipeline,' IPS, February 20, 2002.
[2] 'Ecuador Says Foreign Activists Won't Stop Oil Line,' Reuters, February 21, 2002.
Resources
Center for Economic and Social Rights report, 'Rights Violations in the Ecuadorian Amazon'
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 1999 'Yana Curi' report
For a very useful map of Ecuador with provinces, towns, indigenous areas, and the block system, visit the PetroEcuador website. Click on 'mapas,' then on 'Mapa Catastral,' then on 'Provincias,' 'Bloques,' and 'Novena Ronda' (Ninth Round).
For more information, see our Ecuador resource list.
Glossary
Block--A concessionary piece of territory where exploration and drilling rights are leased by the Ecuadorian government to an oil company.
CONAIE--Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Amazon, led by Antonio Vargas.
CONFENIAE--Confederation of the Nationalities Indigenous to the Amazon of Ecuador.
FDA--Amazon Defense Front (Frente de Defensa de la Amazonia).
HUAORANI, ZAPARA, SIONA, COFAN, AND SECOYA--Pre-Incan indigenous communities of Ecuador whose numbers are threatened by oil development.
IMF--International Monetary Fund.
Manta-- Port city on the Pacific, location of U.S. air base covering operations for Plan Colombia.
Mindo-- A small Andean town not far from Quito, on the slope of Mt. Pichincha. Location of the Mindo Cloud Forest Reserve, through which the new pipeline is set to pass.
OPIP--Organization of Indigenous Peoples of Pastaza.
Oriente--The Ecuadorian Amazon; eastern half of Ecuador.
Pastaza--A central province of the Oriente.
Plan Colombia--An economic and military plan to eradicate drug activity in Colombia and strengthen the state. The United States has contributed $1.3 billion to this plan since 2000. Spillover effects are being felt in Ecuador.
Yasuni Park--A national park in the central Oriente inhabited by Huaorani; part of it is protected.
In the next issue: The Poisoning of San Carlos
Issue 2: Ecuador's Troubled History
On the Record - The Fight for the Amazon
Vol. 16, Iss. 2
February 28, 2001
Ecuador's Troubled History
Contents:
- In the News:
- Anger in Ecuador, Germany and Italy as Pipeline Threatens Renowned Bird Sanctuary
- More Protests as Privatization Proposal Raises Fears of Unemployment, Higher Prices
- Special Report: Ecuador's Troubled History
- Thirty years of protest against oil and poverty take a heavy toll on democracy
- References
- Resources
- Glossary
From the Editors: Ecuador Boils Over Again
Last week, on February 22, President Gustavo Noboa of Ecuador declared a state of emergency in the province of Sucumbios, in the northern part of the Amazon. At first this was interpreted as a response to the breakdown of peace talks in neighboring Colombia. Ecuador is preparing for the influx of thousands of new Colombian refugees.
But Noboa quickly squashed that report. The reason for taking this drastic action, he said, was to deal with a rash of protests and strikes that have paralyzed Sucumbios and appear to spreading. So far, he appears to have failed. On Saturday the blockages had reached neighboring Orellana province. By Tuesday 60 wells and five refineries had been shut down in the two provinces. In one week, the oil companies lost almost $2 million in missed production.
The protesters have their sights set on two targets. First there is the government's oil policy. As noted in the last issue of On the Record, the government is committed to doubling the production of oil, even at the cost of destroying the Amazon. It has already thrown down the gauntlet by starting construction of a new pipeline which will traverse no fewer than eleven environmentally-protected areas.
This has infuriated environmentalists on both sides of the Atlantic. In Ecuador, greens have prevented the pipeline from entering the Mindo Cloud Reserve, which is one of the most fabled bird sanctuaries in the world. On the other side of the Atlantic, German Greens are boycotting the bank that is funding the pipeline consortium.
The new pipeline has also alarmed local communities that lie in its path. Several of them have come out in protest, demanding more local benefits from the expected of oil profits and compensation against the damage that is sure to happen. Instead of calling in the troops, many local mayors fully support with the demonstrators.
And as has happened so often in Ecuador's recent past, the spark has quickly spread to other sectors of the economy. Thousands of citizens staged a two-day strike last week in protest against the government's plan to sell of the state-owned electricity company. They fear that this will put many workers out of a job and also push up the price of electricity.
These protests have yet to acquire the momentum and scale that toppled the government two years ago, but they are further proof that distrust of government is now deeply embedded in Ecuadorian life. This distrust is deep, bitter and corrosive. Ecuador is paying a heavy price for its blind determination to exploit oil at all costs.
In the past, Ecuador's powerful indigenous movement has played a critical role in mobilizing opposition to the government, as Peter Lippman reports in the second issue of this series.
CONAIE, the national indigenous confederation, has kept a relatively low profile during the current crisis, but its leaders have warned that this may well change. Indigenous people make up 40% of Ecuador's population, and they have been most affected by oil contamination - as the next issue in this series will demonstrate. But oil is not their only enemy. Indigenous people have also borne the brunt of discrimination and poverty caused by the government's misguided policies.
Time and again, under pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ecuador has imposed 'austerity measures' in an effort to cut public expenditure and 'reform' the economy. These measures translate into the abolition of fuel subsidies, transportation rate increases, and currency devaluations. They fall squarely on the poor, many of whom are also indigenous.
The one consolation is that the upheavals of this last tumultuous decade have forced indigenous communities to organize, to choose leaders, and -- finally -- to resist. Oil has helped to turn Ecuador's indigenous movement into one of the strongest in Latin America.
- This series of 'On the Record' is 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, all of which can be found on The Advocacy Project website.
Anger in Ecuador, Germany and Italy as Pipeline Threatens Renowned Bird Sanctuary
Protests against Ecuador's new pipeline are under way on both sides of the Atlantic as this issue of On the Record goes out, demonstrating the depth of opposition to Ecuador's oil strategy and its impact on the environment. Even the World Bank has expressed misgivings at the likely impact of the pipeline.
The Heavy Crude Pipeline (Oleoducto de Crudos Pesados, or OCP) is intended to increase the transport of oil from the Oriente region in Ecuador to depots on the Pacific coast. It has been a lightening rod for critics ever since it was pushed through in the face of opposition from environmentalists worldwide last year.
The course of the OCP follows the old pipeline from the rainforest over the Andes to the coast, diverging for a stretch in the mountains. Along the way, it crosses through 11 protected zones, including the Mindo-Nambillo Cloud Forest Reserve.
Furious protesters are staging the first-ever 'tree-sit' in Latin America in an effort to stop the pipeline entering the reserve, a fragile zone of biodiversity that serves as a refuge for hundreds of bird species. Early in January, several activists built platforms in the trees in the reserve and started camping there, while others chained themselves to the tree bases. In spite of threats by the police, they remain today, vowing to stay until the route is changed.
Although the Mindo protest is largely about the environment, many of the towns along the pipeline route are demanding a greater share in the benefits from the increased flow of oil or compensation for the probable pollution. Last week, locals in the towns of Lago Agrio and Cascales brought traffic to a halt when they demanded 'compensatory projects' such as road paving and municipal sewage construction.
In Cascales canton protestors blocked access to the Bermejo well, shutting down its operations. They also dug trenches and placed mounds of sand and burning tires in the roads, blocking the main routes north to Lago Agrio and south to Papallacta. Closer to Quito, residents of the municipality of Nono briefly blockaded the access roads to OCP construction sites in January, demanding more compensation.
Strikes have also taken place in the town of Esmeraldas on the coast. A few days ago, over 700 pipeline construction workers went on strike briefly in Esmeraldas, demanding higher pay, hazard wages, and job security. This was the third time they had struck.
Some of these protests have the support of the local mayors. Maximo Abad, the mayor of Lago Agrio, criticized the OCP for 'arrogance and irresponsibility' for failing to offer projects that will benefit his city. Meanwhile, traffic is at a virtual standstill in Sucumbios, and protestors vow to remain on the roads 'until dialogue is accepted.'
Environmental investigators from Greenpeace International have also visited Esmeraldas to hear complaints. Esmeraldas was the scene of a terrible fire in 1998 that raged through the town after a pipeline leading to a refinery burst and sent a flood of flaming oil down the slopes, straight through the poorest neighborhood.
At a recent meeting with Greenpeace, residents of Esmeraldas complained that the OCP was being built on unstable land and that the OCP consortium had not conducted the necessary environmental studies in advance. They also warned that fishing reserves, a mainstay of the local livelihood, will be destroyed by contamination from the new oil depot.
The Greenpeace team traveled along the construction route and expressed shock at the environmental destruction, which was described by Michaela Braun as 'chilling.' Ms. Braun said that heavy machines were engaged in construction on steep slopes in seismic zones around Papallacta, east of Quito, without any precautionary measures having been taken.
Similar concerns have even been raised by officials from the National Directorate for Environmental Protection, which together with the energy ministry's auditing department have declared that some builders are not complying with appropriate environmental management procedures and called for postponement of construction at Mindo. The officials noted that poor construction practices in this area have already caused several slides, and that watersheds face the threat of further destruction.
Meanwhile protests have spread to the other side of the Atlantic. Opponents of the pipeline are picketing in Germany outside the Westdeutsche Landesbank (WestBL), which is lending $900 million of the $1.1 billion finance for the pipeline. Ms. Braun from Greenpeace said that she was 'shocked that a publicly funded German bank would finance a project that would not be authorized in Germany.'[1]
The state of North Rhine-Westphalia owns a 43 percent share in WestBL, and many of the citizens of this state appear to feel that their government should not be subsidizing the destruction of the Ecuadorian rainforest. The Green Party, a member of the coalition that governs the state, supports the protests and is demanding that the government come out against the loan. The North Rhine-Westphalia environmental minister, who is also a Green Party member, has come out strongly against the pipeline. This week, German environmentalists began a statewide campaign to boycott WestBL.
Environmentalists are also protesting in Italy, home of another bank that is helping to fund the pipeline. They are pressuring Agip, an Italian oil company that is active in the Oriente and is participating in the construction of the pipeline.
Even the World Bank has expressed concern about the dangers of the pipeline. Both the OCP consortium and WestBL made statements last fall that the construction project complied with World Bank environmental guidelines. However, the World Bank is not directly involved in the pipeline project, and it has written to the OCP consortium expressing 'deep concern' that the OCP will cause serious damage to the rainforest surrounding Mindo.
The government appears to be listening to the protests. The OCP consortium has announced that construction in Mindo will be postponed until after the rainy season in April, and Ecuador's minister of the environment has called for new geological studies.
But the overall reaction of the government remains contemptuous. Late last week Ecuadorian President Gustavo Noboa was quoted as saying: 'It is not possible for us to let four or five Germans from Greenpeace tell Ecuadorians who are dying of hunger that we have to die of hunger, while people from the first world come to the third world rosy and well-fed.'' (2)
- The fourth issue of this series will contain more background and a first-hand account of the Mindo protest.
More Protests as Privatization Proposal Raises Fears of Unemployment, Higher Prices
Most of Ecuador was shut down for two days last week by thousands of workers who fear losing their jobs if the government sells off state-owned electricity companies. Consumers worried about price rises joined the workers in their protests.
Students led a crowd of 4,000 protestors in the town of Cuenca where Damian Pena, a fellow student, was killed by police during a demonstration held in January. The bus system was paralyzed in Riobambo, and in the coastal city of Portoviejo demonstrators threw stones at shop windows. Protestors intermittently blockaded the Pan-American Highway and other major arterials throughout the country, marching and burning tires. Schools in five provinces and several hospitals in Quito were also shut down, in strikes for higher wages.
Most of this unrest has been generated by a proposal by the Ecuadorian government to sell a 51 percent share in 17 electrical companies. These companies are in debt to the tune of more than $500 million, and are losing $170 million each year, which makes a rise in the price of electricity almost inevitable if they are sold off to the private sector. The Constitutional Tribunal has described the proposed sale as unconstitutional.
The shutdowns of last Wednesday and Thursday were led by the Patriotic Front, a coalition of campesino and worker organizations. The turn-out was less dramatic than the uprising of January, 2001 but it has served as a warning of what lies ahead if living standards continue to stagnate. The indigenous organizations participated only sporadically, but CONAIE -- the leading nation-wide indigenous federation -- has also threatened widespread protests if the government proceeds with the sale.
At the end of the week the protests spread to the provinces of Sucumbios and Orellana, the northern provinces of Ecuador's Amazon region, where they merged with protests already under way against the construction of the new OCP pipeline. As of last Saturday, traffic was brought to a standstill along most of the main roads of the two provinces.
Special Report: Ecuador's Troubled History
General strikes and mass mobilizations have taken place many times throughout the 1990s. The first major protest, in June 1990, took the form of mass mobilization and was supported by CONFENIAE (the Amazon's regional confederation of indigenous communities). Thousands of poor people blocked roads, occupied government buildings, and brought the Ecuadorian economy to a temporary halt.
In the next few years there were recurring demonstrations and takeovers, often prompted by grievances over oil. In 1992 several indigenous communities protested after Maxus oil company leased exploration rights to oil block 16, which includes Huaorani territory and part of Yasuni National Park. The oil company and the government had not consulted the affected communities. Maxus responded to the pressure by negotiating with local indigenous communities.
During this same period, the Organization of Indigenous Peoples of Pastaza (OPIP) carried on a protracted effort to register indigenous-owned land.
In early 1994, CONFENIAE and CONAIE led protests against the seventh round of oil lease auctions. On that occasion, protestors occupied the office of the Ministry of Energy and Mines. This led to a meeting between the minister and CONAIE. They agreed to form a commission on oil monitoring policies.
In 1996 the indigenous people established the first indigenous political party, known as Pachakutik. Eight indigenous representatives were elected to the National Congress in 1996. It was proof of the growing sophistication of the indigenous movement.
Conditions deteriorated for the poor and indigenous of Ecuador in the second half of the 1990s, and governments were toppled almost annually. President Abdala Bucaram, elected in 1996, was deposed the next year by Congress for 'mental incapacity' after a two-day general strike was held protesting his austerity measures. Bucaram had brought corruption in government to new heights.
Jamil Mahuad was elected president in 1998, a year that saw inflation rise to 60 percent. By the end of 1999 President Mahuad was under investigation for stealing millions from his own campaign funds, and his austerity measures only compounded the resentment. The country was torn by protests that resulted in the declaration of martial law in early January 2000.
Instead of backing down, the demonstrators, led by CONAIE, blocked provincial highways and moved toward Quito. Students, women's groups, and unions threw their weight behind the peaceful uprising, which spread to other major cities. Activists created 'People's Parliaments' throughout the country to provide a non-violent outlet of expression to religious and environmental organizations, student and youth groups, women's organizations, and other elements of civil society. The People's Parliaments called for civil disobedience until the president, his administration, Congress, and the Supreme Court were all removed.
By the middle of January, demonstrators began peacefully occupying Quito, and the highway blockades cut off the supply of food to the cities. Ten thousand indigenous people and peasants avoided or ignored military blockades and checkpoints to join Quito residents in large-scale marches. Ultimately thousands of protestors surrounded the National Congress building and the Presidential Palace, and took them over on January 21, 2000. Similar actions took place in other cities.
With the takeover of the National Congress and the Presidential Palace, the Ecuadorian government fled Quito. A Government of National Salvation was formed with the indigenous president of CONAIE, a former president of the Supreme Court, and an army officer, General Mendoza, at its head.
This government lasted only four hours, until General Mendoza pulled out and threatened severe repression of the protestors. Mahuad was overthrown, but Vice President Gustavo Noboa was installed in his place, signaling a new regime much like the last. The people of Ecuador had made their power felt, but they were tricked at the last minute in what has since been called a military coup.
In the aftermath of the coup, however, Ecuadorian activists did not back off. The grievances that fueled the rebellion had not been addressed. While the coup was a setback, the protests went on. Austerity measures continued to spark demonstrations throughout the spring, and President Noboa showed no more sympathy for the poor than his predecessor had.
Throughout 2000, economic conditions worsened. Inflation approached 100 percent, and oil developers continued to ravage the Amazon. The price of cooking fuel doubled. Gasoline increased by 25 percent. Transportation costs went up by 75 percent. The average income of an indigenous person was $2.00 a day.
The new round of austerity measures hit the poor hard, and when the IMF scheduled a mission to Quito in January 2001, activist leaders decided to call another mass mobilization. Ecuadorians were also angry about the increasing tension along Ecuador's border with Colombia, as well as the establishment of a U.S. airbase at Manta on the Pacific coast.
On January 21, indigenous groups led by CONAIE, together with campesinos and students, blocked bridges and roads into Quito and other cities throughout the country. Police in Quito responded to the demonstrations with teargas and beatings. Within a week there were as many as 13,000 demonstrators clogging the streets in the capital, and 6,000 indigenous activists occupied the Salesian University (Universidad Politecnica Salesiana).
Military troops surrounded the university, cut off the water and electricity, and began cutting off food and medical supplies. Hundreds of demonstrators were arrested and dozens were injured. Military intelligence agents arrested CONAIE president Antonio Vargas and other leaders.
The protestors did not fall back but responded with continued demonstrations. They called for reduction of taxes and repeal of the IMF-supported austerity measures. Unionists, farmers, students, academics, women's groups, and environmentalists all joined the indigenous core of demonstrators. Activists declared a hunger strike, warning that 50 new protestors would join the strike each day until the government agreed to negotiate.
Women members of several organizations occupied the offices of the National Council of Modernization, the body responsible for structural adjustment policies. The mayor of Quito released Antonio Vargas from jail. But on February 2, the government declared a state of emergency and sent military forces into Quito to break up the demonstrations. Freedom of association and movement were suspended.
Blockades and marches took place in many other parts of Ecuador at the same time. In Tena, the capital of the Amazon province of Napo, army troops fired on a crowd of demonstrators, killing two and wounding twenty.
The next day, 5,000 indigenous demonstrators returned to the same spot. They forced the military to retreat to the airport and then burned down the air traffic control tower to prevent a possible air reinforcement of troops. In Riobamba, 10,000 marchers occupied the central square, while others took over the radio station and read communiques. Overall, five people were killed in the Oriente.
Seeing no movement on the part of the government, the leaders of the protests called a general strike for February 7. As the crisis mounted and with much of the country shut down, President Noboa finally agreed to negotiate. On February 7, 2001, the two sides signed an accord that would reduce the price of gas, freeze fuel prices for a year, allow a half-fare price on public transportation for students and the elderly, keep Ecuador from participating in Plan Colombia, and increase investment in social development funds. It was a signal victory.
The people of Ecuador, led by the indigenous communities, have shown that they are a powerful political force. Twice in two years, the government of Ecuador has been compelled to listen. But the crisis is far from over. The February 7, 2001, agreement called for the creation of working groups to review indigenous demands, but by July indigenous representatives had abandoned the discussions, declaring that the government had backtracked on its promises.
A year has passed since the 'levantamiento' (peaceful uprising) of 2001. Conditions for the indigenous and other poor people of Ecuador have, if anything, only deteriorated in that time. And as was noted earlier in this issue, the familiar cycle of price hikes and protest has begun again. The new pipeline, government corruption, price hikes, and the upcoming oil lease auction all ensure that 2002 will be a tumultuous year for Ecuador.
The struggle continues -- proof of the inflammable combination of oil development and misguided economic policies.
References
[1] 'Activists Chained to Trees to Block Pipeline,' IPS, February 20, 2002.
[2] 'Ecuador Says Foreign Activists Won't Stop Oil Line,' Reuters, February 21, 2002.
Resources
Center for Economic and Social Rights report, 'Rights Violations in the Ecuadorian Amazon'
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 1999 'Yana Curi' report
For a very useful map of Ecuador with provinces, towns, indigenous areas, and the block system, visit the PetroEcuador website. Click on 'mapas,' then on 'Mapa Catastral,' then on 'Provincias,' 'Bloques,' and 'Novena Ronda' (Ninth Round).
For more information, see our Ecuador resource list.
Glossary
Block--A concessionary piece of territory where exploration and drilling rights are leased by the Ecuadorian government to an oil company.
CONAIE--Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Amazon, led by Antonio Vargas.
CONFENIAE--Confederation of the Nationalities Indigenous to the Amazon of Ecuador.
FDA--Amazon Defense Front (Frente de Defensa de la Amazonia).
HUAORANI, ZAPARA, SIONA, COFAN, AND SECOYA--Pre-Incan indigenous communities of Ecuador whose numbers are threatened by oil development.
IMF--International Monetary Fund.
Manta-- Port city on the Pacific, location of U.S. air base covering operations for Plan Colombia.
Mindo-- A small Andean town not far from Quito, on the slope of Mt. Pichincha. Location of the Mindo Cloud Forest Reserve, through which the new pipeline is set to pass.
OPIP--Organization of Indigenous Peoples of Pastaza.
Oriente--The Ecuadorian Amazon; eastern half of Ecuador.
Pastaza--A central province of the Oriente.
Plan Colombia--An economic and military plan to eradicate drug activity in Colombia and strengthen the state. The United States has contributed $1.3 billion to this plan since 2000. Spillover effects are being felt in Ecuador.
Yasuni Park--A national park in the central Oriente inhabited by Huaorani; part of it is protected.
In the next issue: The Poisoning of San Carlos
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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