Gendered Impacts and Resistance Strategies Against Extractivism in Ecuador

Held from October 25th to 28th, 2023, the UCSB Orfalea Center for Global & International Studies hosted a pivotal conference on sustainable futures, gathering global leaders to discuss ecological justice and indigenous rights. Titled “The Future of the Amazon: A New Era of Indigenous Activism, Post-Carbon Environmental Models, and Latin American Partnerships with China and the Global South,” the conference stressed solidarity in countering extractive industries. This piece examines the gendered effects of extractivism in Ecuador, where indigenous women lead resistance efforts, showcasing the strategic blend of traditional knowledge and legal advocacy used to defend both ecosystems and cultural integrity, positioning this fight within the larger framework of Global South activism.

David Fajardo Torres discusses the fight for water and nature rights in Ecuador

David Fajardo Torres spoke about the processes of water defense and the rights of nature in Ecuador in the context of oil extractivism, but more specifically in the context of mining extractivism. Torres is a nature rights activist and lawyer who specializes in defending indigenous peoples’ collective rights and the rights of nature. Torres is also a member of the Yasunidxs Collective in Ecuador, a coordinator of the Cuenca Water Council, and a member of Kuska Estudio Jurídico. “In Ecuador, more than just an anti-extractive struggle, there is a struggle for the defense of ecosystems, the defense of water, for the defense of territories, for the defense of our forms and ways of life. It is to ratify the way we are existing in these territories,” said Torres. How does one understand events in Ecuador, or any country, for that matter? We must take a global view, that is, understand the conflicts in a geopolitical context. A historical contextualization is crucial to any analysis. Looking at the EJAtlas, an interactive map that catalogs more than 3,000 crowdsourced cases of conflicts around environmental issues that have or are currently occurring around the world, we see Latin America swallowed by mining conflicts. David Fajardo Torres pointed out other areas of the global map such as Africa and South Asia, and made the point that ecosocial conflicts are concentrated in the Global South. Why are they so concentrated there? The main beneficiaries of this (extractivism) are the countries that are in the Global North or on their way to becoming part of it, said Torres. 

Oil and mining are key topics in this conversation on environmental conflict. Oil concessions in Ecuador are mainly located in the northern Ecuadorian Amazon and are invading large portions of indigenous territory. When oil exploitation of the Amazon began in the north during the 1960s, as explained by University San Francisco de Quito professor Fernandez-Salvador Consuelo, it kicked off the oil extractivist model and its consequences, including, as Torres phrased, “the invasion of 68% of the original territories and, in the worst case, has caused the disappearance of two indigenous peoples, the ‘Teetetes’ and the ‘Waris,’ as far as we know.” However, oil reserves are now depleting quickly, and the state has resorted to exploiting low-quality oil in new geographic locations, penetrating territories of until then uncontacted indigenous groups. The oil decline has led to a mining model as the only viable alternative, according to the state’s logic: “but the logic of extractivism is maintained within the country,” said Torres. This mining has mainly been concentrated in the Amazon in the south of Ecuador, and by 2016, nearly four million hectares were under concession throughout the country. In other words, “we are talking about 15% of the Ecuadorian territory under a mining concession,” said Torres. This incursion obviously affected the territories themselves, but also the way of life of indigenous peoples. Thus Southern Ecuador became the new territory of eco-social sacrifice.

The mining industry in Ecuador is undergoing significant expansion with the introduction of five new strategic projects, associavated with Canadian, Swiss, and Chinese companies and marking the start of the mega-mining era. Following the development of these five projects, there are plans for a further expansion into what are termed second and third-generation projects, adding seventeen more projects to the current lineup. This expansion reflects a significant deepening of mega-mining activities in Ecuador, and has resulted in catastrophic transformations for native peoples, turning them into proletarians. “They are no longer ecosystemic communities,” as Torres put it, “they have gone from depending on the ecological dynamics of the ecosystems they inhabited to working for the very extractivist companies that are destroying their land and way of life. This has caused a rupture in the social fabric both between communities and within families.”

What is Being Done?

David Fajardo Torres’ collective, the Yasunidos, have responded to this crisis by focusing on social mobilization, particularly in urban areas. Through the use of judicial strategies, they have managed to halt projects such as the Rio Blanco mining initiative, one of the five strategic projects previously mentioned. In Cuenca, Torres’ home city, the Yasunidos faced the threat of two such projects, and in 2021, they achieved a significant victory through a popular consultation – a form of plebiscite. This consultation asked Cuenca's citizens if they supported banning metallic mining in their water sources. The proposal was overwhelmingly supported, with 80% approval, leading to the suspension of most mining projects in the area. However, Torres noted the challenges in enforcing this outcome, as mining in Ecuador is a state-backed policy that sometimes overrides public opinion. 

Mining industry officials connect their efforts to the “energy transition” in Ecuador, sustaining a narrative that necessitates its continued existence. This is a dead end story, according to Torres, but must be discussed through a justice approach, from ecosystem justice and the rights of nature, as well as from climate justice, lest industries be forced to justify extractivist projects in the Global South to fuel an energy transition that is not even taking place. When transnational companies exploit their territories for the benefit of the Global North, what remains for the Global South? Not even financial royalties are left to these countries. What remains are eco-social impacts, destruction of social fabrics and ecosystems, and poisoning of waters. “And that is something that we simply cannot accept, and that is why we find ourselves in a very strong exercise of resistance and struggle for our lives. The struggle for the defense of nature and the rights of native peoples is a struggle for survival,” concluded Torres.