The president of Ecuador announced plans to ignore the referendum and continue drilling for oil in Yasuní National Park, one of the most biodiverse places on the planet inhabited by isolated indigenous peoples.
In August 2023, millions of Ecuadorians made history. Through a referendum, the country becomes the first to bury fossil fuels underground. An overwhelming majority of 60% voted to permanently store more than 700 million barrels of crude oil beneath Yasuní National Park land.
It is a major victory for indigenous people, biodiversity and the climate in a country that is the largest Amazon oil producer and has suffered decades of pollution and rights abuses by the oil industry. But now the government is trying to change the will of voters and continue drilling in Yasuní National Park under the guise of financing the country’s growing conflict with organized crime.
President Daniel Noboa announced this week his support for pausing implementation of the referendum result for “at least a year,” reversing campaign promises and statements made after he took office in October that the referendum result would be respected and implemented.
He then expressed his intention to free Ecuador of raw materials and to ensure that the country does not have to continue producing oil like in the “Stone Age”. He also questioned the economic logic of continuing to drill for oil in Yasuní.
Ecuadorian crude is trading $8 cheaper than benchmark WTI, which is expected to remain below $70 over the next five years. For crude oil in Yasuní National Park, the price will be reduced even further to $58. However, the production cost is around $59 per barrel. “If I had to make some money, it would be very littleNoboa said then.
The country’s Constitutional Court, which gave the green light to the referendum, gave state oil company Petroecuador one year from the date of the vote to stop drilling in the Ishpingo, Tambococha and Tiputini (ITT) oil fields in Block 43, a remote tropical jungle, in a remote tropical jungle Area of the country along the Peruvian border.
In addition, he ordered the dismantling of all infrastructure as well as the renovation and reconstruction of the area within this one-year period. Yasuní is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and is considered one of the most biologically diverse places on the planet. It is inhabited by indigenous peoples, including Tagaeri, Taromenan and Dugakaeri, who live in voluntary isolation from the outside world.
Financing the internal armed conflict with oil
Noboa said a change of direction was needed to fund the country’s efforts to end the wave of violence by drug gangs terrorizing the country and restore order and security. Once relatively peaceful, Ecuador has recently become one of the most dangerous places in Latin America, with the highest murder rate in the region. A state of emergency was declared on January 8 and “internal armed conflict” was declared the following day.
However, the Ecuadorian indigenous movement and the Yasunidos collective, which led the first signature campaign to raise the issue of maintaining the ITT reserve before voters, questioned Noboi’s reasons for delaying the decision.
“Noboa and oil interests are exploiting the crisissaid Pedro Bermeo from Yasunidos. “Instead of considering other options—such as eliminating tax breaks and subsidies for big corporations—they engage in fear-mongering to undermine the will of voters and overthrow democracy. This is not Daniel Noboa’s decision. The people have voted and our voices must be respected“
In fact, the current crisis offers the government an opportunity to fulfill its long wish list of neoliberal “shock doctrine” reforms, such as VAT increases and the removal of fuel subsidies, which previous governments had failed to do. They had done it by profiting daily from difficulties, curfews and the fact that many civil liberties, such as the right to assemble, are suspended.
Noboa is also taking steps to expand its powers and grant broad immunity to the military and police, raising serious concerns among human rights and environmental advocates. “Democracy must not become the new victim of organized crime“said Vivian Idrovo, coordinator of the Alliance of Organizations for Human Rights in Ecuador.
Adding to concerns, Noboa has expressed his desire to use funds from drilling in Yasuní to support future military efforts, while also asking the U.S. government for more security assistance.
Indeed, the Biden administration should make clear that Ecuador cannot sacrifice human rights, the environment, or the democratic process to protect Yasuní for security reasons.
U.S. aid is conditioned on respect for human rights, and Noboa’s plans to weaken or delay implementation of the Inter-American Court’s decision on Yasuní will be of greatest concern to U.S. officials.
Destruction of democracy
The advantage of keeping ITT’s oil in the ground through a referendum was that it could not be easily reversed. This is not a presidential decree or directive that can be changed by a new administration, industry pressure or political changes.
However, Noboa and a group of lawmakers are trying to avoid the clear choice that Ecuadorians made in the elections. Noboa could try to ask the Constitutional Court for more time to implement the decision represented by Petroecuador, hoping to delay the well closure as long as possible.
However, the question of the Yasuní National Park referendum was put on the ballot to defend against the lawsuit by Yasunido, who, according to the Constitutional Court, found their right to participatory democracy violated when the 750,000 signatures they had collected to vote for to qualify a referendum were incorrectly considered invalid.
Natalie Yepez, general counsel for Amazon Watch, explains: “Even in a scenario where the court finds that the request for extension is somehow consistent with the results of the Yasuní National Park referendum, it could still not render it meaningless and annul the decision made in the referendum. Center. The referendum sets out immediate commitments that the government must already fulfill, such as refraining from entering into new contracts that would continue oil production in Yasuní Block 43“.
Another extreme idea being considered by some members of Congress is to simply repeat the referendum, which is clearly an attack on democracy since less than six months ago a majority of voters approved giving up oil and in implementing the Referendum results no progress was made in the first referendum.
Even without new reasons, Petrocuador delayed the vote before the court’s one-year deadline, citing costs and technical problems related to the closure of 225 wells that produce about 58,000 barrels a day. The company conveniently explained that the one-year deadline would mean it would have to stop production by August 2024 rather than complete the dismantling of all equipment and the rehabilitation and removal of damage caused by its activities in Yasuní National Park.
Yasounidos recently filed a complaint with the court, claiming that Petroecuador did not take the measures ordered by the court.
Major threat to people in voluntary isolation in Yasuní National Park
The delay in holding the referendum not only undermines democracy, but also poses a real threat to the nomadic Tagaeri, Taromenane and Dugacaeri, the last known indigenous peoples of Ecuador who live in isolation. Much of its traditional territory includes the boundaries of Yasuní National Park. But the park includes eight oil fields, and the controversial new highway connecting ITT’s wells is less than a quarter-mile from an exclusion zone established in 1999 to protect it.
Tagaeri, Taromenane and Dugakaeri are under pressure from all sides, surrounded by oil wells, pipelines and roads, while illegal loggers and hunters continue to invade traditionally used forests, disrupting hunting, fishing and seasonal food gathering.
Pollution caused by frequent oil spills and gas flaring also poses serious health risks, and continued drilling increases the likelihood of forced exposure, violent conflict and disease infection, and continued erosion of sovereignty and autonomy.
Many of these rights violations are part of a groundbreaking case involving the rights of isolated indigenous peoples, currently pending before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The case of the indigenous peoples of Tagaeri and Taromenane vs. The State of Ecuador was sued on behalf of three indigenous peoples against the Ecuadorian government for failing to protect them and exposing them to risks arising from oil production. A decision is expected this year.
According to Leónidas Isa, President of CONAIE (Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador), the current crisis is being used as an excuse to implement regressive measures that particularly affect indigenous peoples. “Under the pretext of the current crisis, the government wants to implement its neoliberal economic model by exempting large companies from taxes and increasing them for everyone else.
In the Amazon region, oil production also means death and destruction. For 50 years we have been told that oil production will bring development and reduce poverty. But it’s exactly the opposite. We know firsthand that more oil will not solve the financial or security crisis we collectively suffer as a country. The extractive industry mafia is part of the problem. Our isolated indigenous brothers, Yasuní and our democracy should not be sacrificed to a crisis that can be resolved in other ways“.
Amid increasing violence, Ecuadorians voted overwhelmingly for Hope last August. They voted to protect nature and the rights of indigenous peoples. You voted for future generations. You voted for life.
We stand in solidarity with Ecuador and all those subjected to violence in the face of this crisis. The world’s attention is on President Noboa and his government, which must respect the will of the voters and preserve oil resources.
With information from: