Ecuadorians Protest Mining Plans in the Amazon – March 26, 2012

President Correa Faces Criticism for Violating Rights of Nature Enshrined in Country’s New Constitution

This month, dozens of pro-government billboards began to dot the scenery off Ecuador’s Pan-American Highway. “The people are with you now more than ever,” read several signs that feature a beaming President Rafael Correa waving the Ecuadorean flag. As the highway winds closer to Quito, the country’s capital, so does the frequency of these billboards rising from the rolling Andean terrain. Last week, tens of thousands of Ecuadorians marched into Quito past these billboards of praise, protesting the Correa administration’s policies.

Dozens clutched at the corners and edges of a large, rainbow striped wipala flag — the Andean symbol that represents indigenous nationalities — as the demonstration approached Quito’s center. Thousands… more

by: Lauren Johnson

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Ecuadorean Indigenous Group Challenges Oil Drilling in International Court – July 14, 2011

Case Is a Major Test for Indigenous Rights Throughout the Western Hemisphere

“I think I see them!” said Samai Gualinga, an Indigenous youth from Sarayaku, a Kichwa community located in the Ecuadorean Amazon. She craned her neck to see over the security checkpoints at Quito’s Mariscal Sucre Airport and then, with the help of her friends, lifted a 10-foot banner with the words “Sarayaku: kawsay sacha” (“Sarayaku: living forests”) boldly emblazoned in vibrant green paint.

Soon her father, José Gualinga, President of Sarayaku, passed through the security gate wearing his traditional headdress made of parrot plumes and the skeletons of two boa constrictors crisscrossed against his chest. A few spectators looked on with curiosity as he and his daughter embraced. One by one,… more

by: Lauren Johnson

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