Linda Etchart

Maya K'iché activist Lucía Ixchíu tells the story of her path to political activism, creating solidarity among diverse Indigenous communities in Guatemala; and her life in exile

LAB caught up with Frente Amplio leader Fernando Pereira and his vice-president to find out how they propose to address the challenges the new government will face like the rise of the far-right, organised crime, and persistent poverty and marginalisation.

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa now plans to continue oil extraction in Yasuní National Park – in defiance of the August national referendum result. Leonidas Iza, President of CONAIE, denounced the proposal as illegal and authoritarian.

Ecuadorians go to the polls on 20 August 2023, to elect both a new president and 137 legislators for the country's National Assembly. They will also be given the choice to vote ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ in a referendum, where a ‘Yes’ vote will shut down all oil extraction in Yasuní National Park.

When large mining companies such as TerraEarth withdrew from gold mining in Ecuador's Napo province, they paved the way for smaller scale illegal miners to move in in force, financed by cocaine money, with terrible consequences

The killing of Ecuadorean indigenous leader Eduardo Mendua provides a text-book example of how extractive projects such as oil drilling divide communities, with often fatal results. The first of a series of articles in which Linda Etchart will 'follow the money' flowing from big oil and mining.

A wave of protest paralysed Ecuador, with roads blockaded and food running short in some areas. The protests were led by indigenous organizations, but backed by students and trade unions. After various authoritarian actions and threats, Lasso has been forced to conciliate and the protests have subsided for now.

Main image: Sarayaku under water during the flooding of the Bobonaza River. The community of Sarayaku lost 30 houses, 7 bridges and plantations of yucca, banana and maize. Photograph courtesy of Eriberto Gualinga of Sarayaku The Kichwa village of Sarayaku, home to 380 indigenous families, was devastated by floods in the middle of March that washed away 30 houses and...

In response to the Covid-19 crisis, and the risks it entails for Amazonian communities, Osprey Orielle Lake of the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network, based in California, hosted two ‘Indigenous Women on the Frontlines’ webinars with Indigenous women speakers from North and South America.

This report was prepared for LAB by Linda Etchart, author of the chapter on Indigenous People's in LAB's Voices of Latin America. Linda is a lecturer in Human Geography at Kingston University, and author of the chapter ‘Indigenous Peoples and the Rights of Nature’ in LAB’s 2019 book Voices of Latin America. N.B. Figures for Covid-19...