A major Indigenous group in Ecuador has warned it is making plans to hold protests at mining areas in the country.
CONAIE leader Leonidas Iza told Reuters it and an anti-mining group voted to oppose the expansion of mining in Ecuador due to social and environmental impacts.
It additionally voted to “prepare conditions of territorial defense” in present mining areas with “progressive” measures.
“We want to say to trans-national mining companies, to mining business people in our country: don’t invest more in mining because we are going to defend our land,” Iza said, per the wire service. He did not indicate when protests could begin.
Both Indigenous and environmental groups have reportedly gone up against Ecuador’s conservative president Guillermo Lasso for not complying with deals made after demonstrations that took place in 2022. Those outlines included a moratorium on mining in ancestral Indigenous territories until new regulations can be put in place to permit community consultation rules for projects.
Indigenous groups have already rejected a government statement that it would declare “security zones” around some mining projects, along with decrying illegal mining in the Amazon region, Reuters reported.
Source: Reuters (Major Ecuador indigenous group threatens anti-mining protests | Reuters)