Mining: ISDS – a licence to plunder
The iniquitous ISDS system allows mining companies to sue Latin American governments for massive amounts of 'compensation' every time their mining activities are blocked by local community opposition or environmental concerns.
Ecuador: Cuenca vs the miners
Residents of Cuenca, in Azuay province, voted overwhelmingly in a 'consulta popular' to ban mining that would affect key water resources. Incoming president Guillermo Lasso may find it hard to ignore this result.
Ecuador: we’ve decided – no more mining here!
Josefina Tunki and Tania Laurini, two leaders of the Shuar Arutam people in Ecuador have received explicit death threats from Federico Velasquez, senior official at Lowell-Solaris, a Canadian owned mining company. The Shuar are opposing a gold and copper project at Warintza in the Ecuadorean Amazon.
The shocking impact of abortion prosecutions in Ecuador
Human Rights Watch has found that Ecuador’s criminalisation of abortion violates human rights and discriminates against Black and Indigenous people.
New books from LAB authors
LAB authors have published three new books - on indigenous communities vs extractive industries in Ecuador; and on the military dictatorship, torture and human rights in Brazil
Ecuador: Intag stands up to mining
Intag communities in Ecuador are resisting development of a copper mine at Llurimagua, proposed by Enami and Codelco. In Peru, residents of Aquia, Ancásh, accuse the Antamina mine of encroaching on their land without consultation.
Chevron’s vendetta against justice continues
Chevron, found liable to pay $9.5billion for pollution in the Ecuadorean Amazon, has never paid a cent. Instead it pursues a relentless vendetta against lawyers who represented its victims in Ecuador.
Ecuador’s crisis is over … for now
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.
Amazon: crime without punishment
At least 58 indigenous people were killed in the Brazilian, Colombian, Ecuadorean and Peruvian Amazon between 2016 and 2021. In this article, Mongabay outlines the patterns, the involvement of state actors and the cloud of impunity surrounding these crimes