Tens of thousands of people took to the street on Friday in a nationwide strike led by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), trade unions and other civil society organizations. They voiced strong opposition to various Canadian-owned mining projects and to President Daniel Naboa’s recent decree to end fuel subsidies and hike taxes, which they fear will exasperate an already dire socio-economic and political crisis.

The mass mobilization was met with violent detentions of peaceful protesters by police and military and resulted in one death. Let us not forget that Erick Prince, and his private military company, Blackwater, have been training police and military in Ecuador since at least April under the guise of combating drug trafficking.

  • Yesterday, the Alliance of Human Rights Organizations in Ecuador published a bulletin (in Spanish) documenting 109 human rights violations, 40 injured, 100 detentions, and 1 one death.
  • Today, UN Special Rapporteur, Mary Lawlor, posted her concern (in Spanish) for protesters’ right to defend human rights after receiving reports about Friday’s violent repression.
  • The World Organization against Torture published this statement condemning the excessive use of force by police and military.

While President Daniel Naboa later responded that his administration would “pause the environmental certificate” for Canadian Dundee Precious Metals’ Loma Larga mining project, critics are skeptical that it is just a distraction, given his invested interest in the success of such projects. According to a lawyer for various mining impacted communities, “Government after government has offered to protect our water. But when they get into power, they suffer a metamorphosis — and from ecologists on the campaign trail, they transform into proponents of extraction.”

Meanwhile, the Canada-Ecuador Free Trade Agreement (FTA) could be tabled in Ottawa any day now. As we know, the agreement includes an investor-state dispute settlement mechanism. This  would allow a company like Dundee Precious Metals to sue Ecuador if it takes any action that ultimately results in the suspension of the mine.

Notably, Canadian mining companies have already taken measures to protect their investments by penning Investor Protection Agreements (IPA). On September 18, another Canadian company, Atico, signed an IPA for the development of its La Plata mining project, which is awaiting environmental approval. And back in 2023, Dundee Precious Metals signed its own IPA with Ecuador.

These protections prioritize the rights of investors over the rights of the Ecuadoran people. They also jeopardize the Ecuadoran government’s ability to ensure public funds are used to protect Ecuadorans’ socio-economic rights, not fill the pockets of Canadian mining companies and their investors.

(Image: UPCCC – CAÑAR / Facebook)