Indigenous communities to mobilize against mining violence and environmental damage

Indigenous communities in the province of Cotopaxi, Ecuador, will mobilize against mining violence and demand justice for the areas that suffer the consequences of mineral extraction.

The indigenous National Anti-Mining Front plans protests against mining in Ecuador.

The National Anti-Mining Front announced on X that the massive sit-in will be carried out in parallel with the Protective Action Hearing on mining, suspended last April, in the Palo Quemado community. According to the government, the hearing will be scheduled for late May or early June.

The measure was presented by the mayor of Sigchos, Óscar Monge, due to the refusal to continue with the socialization process on the La Plata mining project of the Canadian company Atico Mining being carried out by the Ministry of the Environment in that parish.

According to the Anti-Mining Front, the Government and the Canadian mining company presented excuses for the lack of preparation and review of the file, and the session was postponed.

The Front is also demanding greater government action against illegal mining which it says causes as much environmental damage as sanctioned mining.

Last week, United Nations experts recommended that Ecuadorian authorities guarantee environmental consultations in mining projects, complying with Human Rights standards, and suggested to the Ecuadorian government that the consultation and participation processes in The context of mining projects must be in line with international standards and that the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples, as well as the rights of Afro-descendant people living in those communities, must be respected.

More than 70 human rights defenders in Ecuador, including indigenous leaders, were criminally charged for opposing these projects and criticizing the way consultations are held.

In recent weeks, environmental activists and residents in communities affected by mining have staged days of resistance against the La Plata project, run by Atico Mining.

On repeated occasions, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) denounced the strategy of the government and the mining transnationals to harass and persecute communities that oppose the mining exploitation of their territory.

The Anti-Mining Front acknowledged that members of indigenous communities are involved in illegal mining and said it plans action against those it finds responsible.