Global Voices » Ecuador

Peru: How the Achuar People are Saving their Territory from Oil Companies

Juliana Rincón Parra — Tue, 22 May 2012 00:45:42 +0000

The movie Chumpi & The Waterfall follows the life of young Chumpi and his community, the Achuar people who live in the Amazon Rainforest in the border between Peru and Ecuador. In the movie, subtitled in English, the Achuar show the richness of their daily life and also the steps they are taking to protect their ancestral lands from Oil Companies.

On the website The Achuar Movie by Amazon Watch, there is a wealth of information on the Achuar and other indigenous communities that share the region and share the same concerns of how governments give permissions to Oil companies to exploit the land, considering them without owners and undeveloped. Using GPS systems and traveling through their lands, the Achuar are mapping their territory and their resources, in the hope that their claim to the land and its resources will be respected.

From the site:

Chumpi and the Waterfall (TeleAndes) was filmed in the Achuar community of Chicherta in the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest, the last community on the Huasaga River before the border with Ecuador. This is a headwater area, where the forest is full of animals and the rivers teem with fish. Daily life is usually peaceful and calm.

Chumpi, with his father Secha and his grandfather Irar, make a trip to a sacred waterfall where both adults had received a vision as young men. Achuar lands, including this waterfall, are under threat from oil drilling. The Achuar believe oil drilling would contaminate its pure waters and the Arutam spirits which inhabit it would leave, and future generations would lose the power of their visions forever.

The daily life of the Achuar is documented on the site through a series of photographs, and along with an explanation of the importance of the territory for the Achuar is an image of the map they've been making:

GPS points help map out the Achuar territory

You can get involved with helping the Achuar defend their territory by sharing the video through social networks to raise awareness about the Achuar, by signing a Global Petition, signing up to receive updates from Amazon Watch or donating money for the Achuar.

Thumbnail image of an Achuar man is from the Achuarmovie.org website.

Norway: Discussing Latin America at the Oslo Freedom Forum

Marianna Breytman — Tue, 15 May 2012 21:24:09 +0000

Last week, the fourth gathering of the Oslo Freedom Forum took place, organized by the Human Rights Foundation in the Norwegian capital. Under the slogan “From darkness to light,” the forum brought together world figures that aim to tackle humanitarian crises and exchange ideas to mitigate their effects. Rebecca MacKinnon, co-founder of Global Voices Online, was one of the main speakers during a session entitled “Voices in the dark.”

Among the topics that generated major interest throughout the forum was the current crisis in Syria and the political repression that some activists live with under Vladimir Putin's new government in Russia, as well as a review of the first year of the “Arab Spring.” Nevertheless, the event covered a series of topics that involved other world regions, among which was Latin America.

Humberto Prado, from Venezuela, was the first Latin American to speak before the forum about the reality of prisons in his country. Using horrific images of prisoners shooting into the air, which contrast one of a group of convicts playing in a symphony orchestra, Prado unveiled a terrifying statistic: 5,066 convicts have died since 1999, while 14,460 have been injured. He also asked the European Union to pay attention to Venezuelan penitentiaries.

Nicolás Perez, Director of Ecuadorian daily El Universo, exposed the iron fist of Rafael Correa's government, which left the newspaper with a million-dollar fine for publishing a letter to the editor where Correa's actions were criticized for allegedly ordering the army to open fire against a hospital during a police brawl, which led to a massive international condemnation against the lack of freedom of expression in the country.

Meanwhile, Mauricio Rodas, also from Ecuador and the founder of the Ethos Foundation, announced an innovative index that measures the poverty level in Latin America and has generated criticisms of Correa's government as well.

Lastly, Ethan Nadelmann, founder of the Drug Policy Alliance, highlighted the problem of drug consumption prohibition, which points to indiscriminate imprisonment of minorities in the United States — primarily the Hispanic population.

In Oslo, we had the opportunity to sit down with Venezuelan native Marcel Granier, General Director of Radio Caracas Television, whose signal was removed from open transmission in his country in 2007. Granier, who also participated in the second meeting of said forum on assault against the Venezuelan press, highlighted the importance of bringing up human rights issues in Latin America at European events due to the “connection that exists between Latin Americans and European countries like Spain and Portugal.”

With regards to the forum, Granier affirmed that “every day there is a greater sense of consciousness” about the current situation in Venezuela, which “increases [incidentally] the level of consciousness on a global level,” and brought attention to the fact that respecting human rights in his country will be fundamental to guaranteeing the well-being of all Venezuelans, in addition to securing diaspora's return to their land.

On Twitter, some Oslo Freedom Forum participants, like Oslo Scholars Program (@OsloScholars), emphasized certain excerpts of the Latin American speeches:

There is no dignity in prison: what exists is social cleansing” - Humberto Prado. Such a powerful speech on prison conditions in Venezuela.

Likewise, Runrunes (@RunRunesWeb) [es] pointed out that Humberto Prado's speech was quite powerful:

#Runrunes ALTO:De alto impacto ponencia de Humberto Prado (Observatorio Vzlano de Prisiones) en el Oslo Freedom Forum- http://ow.ly/aOfcW

#Runrunes STOP: Extremely compelling speech by Humberto Prado (Venezuelan Observatory of Prisons) at the Oslo Freedom Forum - http://ow.ly/aOfcW

Venezuela journalist Nelson Bocaranda (@Desconvocara) [es] highlighted an important declaration from Mauricio Rodas during the event:

Mauricio Rodas,miembro de la Fundacion Ethos que hizo radiografía de pobreza latinoamericana anuncio en Oslo q buscara Presidencia Ecuador

Mauricios Rodas, a member of the Ethos Foundation, who took an X-ray of Latin American poverty, announced in Oslo that he will seek Ecuadorian presidency

The following are images from the Latin American presentations at the Oslo Freedom Forum, courtesy of MarieBW and the author of this post.

Reception at Oslo's City Hall.

Participants share ideas in the intermission between speeches.

The forum closed with the awarding of the Vaclav Havel Prize for Creative Dissidence.

Latin America: Art from the Colonial Period in 2.0

Jon Lindsay Miles — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:47:59 +0000

All links lead to Spanish-language websites, unless otherwise noted.

The long colonial period that resulted in what we know today as Latin America, has left its traces in the colonial art still preserved throughout the continent. Citizen media attests to this. Many online spaces are dedicated to the sharing of photographs, video, texts, specific works and other examples of artistic expression from this period, at the same time explaining how these images today make up part of the landscape and identity of the countries they belong to. As one would anticipate, the images from each region show an enormous diversity in response to the inspiration that arrived from Europe.

We present here a sample of the many 2.0 websites dedicated to this colonial art, that serves as the common denominator adopted by indigenous cultures across most of the continent, before being adapted by each as its own.

The Portal de Arte (Art Gateway) from Colombia, provides us with a context for the definition of what is understood by the term Colonial Art:

Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. Reproduced under the Creative Commons licence

Este arte se caracteriza por la fusión de cosmovisiones y técnicas de conquistadores y aborígenes […] En cada pieza escultórica, catedral y pintura, los motivos religiosos son los gobernantes, así como los parámetros de representación europeos; pero éstos fueron sutil y subterráneamente “digeridos” por los aborígenes americanos, quienes colocaron en cada obra elementos propios de sus culturas (símbolos religiosos y espirituales, figuras antropomorficas, zoomorficas y fitomorfas) de modo tal que se entremezclaban con los imágenes católicas importadas, manteniendo de este modo, la voluntad de forma de la producción artística indígena subsitiendo [sic] por debajo del arte europeo impuesto a la fuerza.

This art is characterized by the fusion of the world views as well as the techniques of both the Spanish Conquistadores and the indigenous people. […] European religious motifs and representational parameters govern each piece of cathedral sculpture and painting, but these are then subtly and surreptitious “digested” by the indigenous people of the Americas, who placed elements of their own cultures into each work (religious and spiritual symbols, anthropomorphic, zoomorphic and other biomorphic figures) in such a way that these mix with the imported Catholic images, assuring that the expressive forms of indigenous artistic production survive beneath the forced imposition of those of European art.

In Ecuador, Iván Petroff shares some of his work, done for his studies in artistic expression, pointing us to some characteristic features of the colonial plastic arts:

La plástica colonial, al comienzo fue repetitiva, o mejor, recreativa de los modelos europeos, sin embargo, pese al control español, el artista indígena introdujo pequeños elementos de su arte y religión, especialmente en los rasgos físicos de los santos provincianos y en la carga cultural no europea de los retablos y algunos motivos ornamentales de capiteles y frisos.

The colonial plastic arts at first repeated, or rather, recreated European models. Nevertheless, and in spite of Spanish control, indigenous artists introduced small elements from their art and religion, particularly in the way of physical features given to the images of provincial saints, and in a non-European cultural charge expressed in altarpieces and in ornamental motifs given to capitals and friezes.

In the same way, Iván uses his blog to open access to a musical piece from the epoch, placed on YouTube by denesago. The song was composed by the Spaniard Juan de Araujo, who was confirmed as one of the most important musicians of the colonial epoch in what is now Bolivia. The video images show something of baroque architecture and painting from Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru:

In Venezuela, Janeth Rodríguez manages a blog dedicated entirely to colonial art in Venezuela and its different expressive modes. The sources of her posts are various academic pieces, the principal motivation being to gather, celebrate and bring to people's attention the preservation of these pieces:

Este blog nace con varios objetivos: difundir nuestro patrimonio artístico de los siglos XVI al XVIII con la intención de promover su preservación; servir de vehículo para promocionar la investigación que los estudiantes de la Escuela de Artes de la Universidad Central de Venezuela producen en torno a este tema; y lograr una comunicación más efectiva entre todos los interesados en el mundo colonial.Nuestra meta es presentar a los visitantes una breve historia de diversas obras de arte venezolanas, e incluso de algunas extranjeras que llegaron a nuestro territorio durante ese período.

Several objectives are behind the birth of this blog: to disseminate information about our artistic heritage from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, in order to argue for its preservation; to serve as a vehicle for the promotion of investigation of this material by students of the School of Arts at the Central University of Venezuela; and to open up the most effective communication we can between all those interested in the colonial world. Our aim is to present to those visiting our site a brief history of varied Venezuelan objects of art, as well as others that arrived here from other lands during this historical period.

Meanwhile, the blog Romanticismo, launched by students of Spanish and Literature in the Colombian capital Bogotá, shares examples of the characteristic forms of literature from the colonial epoch:

La literatura en lengua española durante la colonia comenzó a desenvolverse en Nueva España desde un principio. La literatura de la conquista son mayormente coplas y romances, burlas hacia los gobernadores, ayudantes, etc. mientras que la de colonia son textos que incitan a la libertad y revolución.

Literature in the Spanish language during colonial times quickly began its particular development. Literature from the time of the conquest is mostly in the form of verse and romances, poking fun especially at those who governed and those around them, while that from the colonial period comprises texts urging liberty and inciting revolution.

Then there is Optimusomnium, which shows several examples of Peruvian painting of the colonial period in a video:

Finally, user LordArchibaldHartley gathers a number of artistic and cultural images that have served as the inspiration for much of the art made in Mexico today.

These are just a few of the many examples of sites offering information on colonial period art in Latin America in 2.0. If you'd like more information and to investigate other similar sources in the Spanish language, visit the Wikipedia article Arte colonial latinoamericano.

Ecuador: Being a Mother is Not Easy

Silvia Viñas — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:57:56 +0000

On Mother's Day, May 13, Juan Pablo Martínez in the blog Realidad Ecuador [es] wrote about “the reality of being a mother in Ecuador.” Juan Pablo looks at several statistics that bring to light some of the common struggles Ecuadorian mothers face.

Ecuador: Refugee Women and Girls Turning to Sex Work

Juliana Rincón Parra — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 21:07:46 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage on Refugees.

The VJ Movement video documentary Refugees turn to Sex Work in Ecuador examines the situation with many Colombian women who had to migrate across the border into Ecuador due to violence. In many cases, without being able to gain legal employment, the women and their daughters find themselves turning to sex-work to make a living.

Amy Brown reports on the situation, interviewing women and agencies in the area. The stories are told by women who had to flee Colombia after threats from the guerrilla, many times leaving businesses and households with only their children and a few belongings. Refugees cannot work legally until they receive a visa, and the process can take up to 18 months, leaving, as the video states “women and girls especially vulnerable”.

Woman working at a bar in Ecuador. Screenshot from documentary.

In many cases, their requests for odd jobs to make some money to buy food, such as washing or cooking are met with offers to become “waitresses”, the local euphemism for prostitutes working at different bars or brothels. One was told that she could send her pretty young daughter to work at a brothel… the girl was only 13.

But for many women, after three to six months of no employment, with no savings and no opportunities, turning to sex work is the only available option left. And there are enough customers: according to an interviewee who is studying the phenomenon, the oil companies arrival brought the first clients, and they are still the main customers of this growing industry: in the province there are more bars and brothels than basketball courts and soccer fields.

This lack of activities and opportunities for young people puts girls at risk: with nothing to do, 11 and 12 year olds are likely to fall into the illegal activities, in the case of girls, sex work and sex trafficking.

This post is part of our special coverage on Refugees.

via The Latin Americanist

Thumbnail image is a screenshot from the VJ Movement Video.

Ecuador: Local Creative Commons Chapter to Hold Event on World Intellectual Property Day

Silvia Viñas — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 17:57:06 +0000

Creative Commons Ecuador [es] is holding a free event on April 26 to discuss the impact of technology on copyright. Participants will also talk about other related topics, like free culture and open access to government information. You can follow the event on Twitter through the hashtag #ccSalonQuito [es].

Ecuador: New “Conectándonos” Blog Announces Gathering in May

Silvia Viñas — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 18:41:21 +0000

The Ecuadorian version of the blog Conectándonos [es] (”getting connected”) announces the upcoming gathering in Loja, Ecuador on May 24-26. Rising Voices and a local university -the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja [es] (UTPL).- are co-organizing this event which aims “to promote [digital] integration and participation of groups and individuals from underrepresented sectors.” The first Conectándonos gathering was held in Bolivia in December 2011.

‘Mujeres Construyendo': Empowering Women, One Blog at a Time

Kathryn Morgan — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:00:34 +0000

“Una bloguera es, ante todo, una mujer valiente, que se atreve y se compromete. ¿Por qué? Porque a través de su blog se expresa, dice lo que piensa, siente, lo que es. Si tiene miedo de hablar o darle cuerpo a sus ideas, enfrenta ese miedo y lo supera.”

- “¿Quién es una bloguera?”, Mujeres Construyendo

A female blogger is, first and foremost, a brave woman, one who dares and one who commits. Why? Because through her blog she expresses herself, she says what she thinks, what she feels, what she is. If she is afraid to speak of or shape her ideas, she confronts this fear and overcomes it.

- “¿Quién es una bloguera?” [es] (Who is a female blogger?), Mujeres Construyendo

Women make up almost half of Latin America's Internet users. However, in spite of their high web-presence, women are mainly content consumers. Mujeres Construyendo [es], the first platform for female bloggers in Spanish, wants to transform Hispanic women into creators, not just consumers, of internet content.

Its founder, Claudia Calvin, answered some questions about this platform and community of Hispanic female bloggers.

Global Voices: How and when was Mujeres Construyendo created?

Claudia Calvin: Mujeres Construyendo surge como proyecto en el 2008, después de un tiempo de haberme hecho bloguera. Su origen se encuentra principalmente en mis andares por internet y después de descubrir una realidad que llamó profundamente mi atención: que las mujeres de habla hispana que participamos en internet seguimos transmitiendo en este espacio una creencia profundamente arraigada en nuestra cultura. ¿Cuál es? Aquella que nos inculcaron de niñas y en la que nos decían que “calladitas nos veíamos más bonitas”. Descubrí que nuestra participación como blogueras era muy distinta a la participación de las blogueras estadounidenses: ellas en la actualidad representan casi un 60% de los blogueros en su país y las blogueras en internet de habla hispana representamos un escaso 27%. Cuando inicié Mujeres Construyendo, la cifra era más desalentadora aún: 15%.

Busqué afanosamente un espacio de convergencia de mujeres blogueras, un espacio que no fuese un directorio, sino un lugar de convivencia, una comunidad como tal. Al no encontrarla, decidí hacerla, y así es como surge Mujeres Construyendo.

Hablé con unos amigos desarrolladores y lograron darle vida a esta idea que tenía en mi mente. La plataforma Mujeres Construyendo surge como tal en el 2009.

Claudia Calvin: Mujeres Construyendo came about in 2008, after a period of establishing myself as a blogger. It came from my internet browsing and the discovery of a reality that really caught my attention: Spanish speaking women who contribute to the internet continue to transmit a profound belief that is deeply-rooted in our culture. What was it? The belief that has been instilled in us since we were girls, the idea that “the quieter we are, the more beautiful we are”. I discovered that our contributions as bloggers were very distinct to that of American women. They currently constitute almost 60% of bloggers in their country and Spanish speaking female bloggers make up just 27%. When I began Mujeres Construyendo, the figure was even more discouraging… 15%.

I frantically looked for a space where female bloggers could get together, a space that wasn't a directory, but rather a place of coexistence, a community, as it were. After failing to find this, I decided to make it myself, and that is how Mujeres Construyendo came about.

I spoke with some developer friends and they managed to bring the idea I had in mind to life. And so the Mujeres Construyendo platform sprung to life in 2009.

GV: What is Mujeres Construyendo's mission? What does it want to achieve with this female blogging platform?

CC: El objetivo de Mujeres Construyendo es que las mujeres aprendamos a hacer uso de las nuevas tecnologías y las herramientas que brinda internet para empoderarnos, crecer, desarrollarnos. Los blogs son una herramienta de empoderamiento para nosotras: nos permite comunicar lo que hacemos, pensamos, visualizamos y participar en un diálogo central en el nuevo espacio público, que es internet.

Hemos participado más como observadoras y consumidoras de contenido que como proveedoras y en este espacio vacío se está perdiendo una enorme oportunidad para construir una realidad que refleje nuestros intereses y manera de entender y participar en el mundo, tanto en el ámbito de lo social, como lo político y empresarial, y ni qué decir de lo personal y familiar.

Las mujeres vivimos muchos tipos de marginación en el mundo, no necesitamos sumar una más a las existentes: la digital.

CC: The objective of Mujeres Construyendo is for women to learn to make use of new technologies and tools that the internet offers in order to be empowered, to grow and to develop. Blogs are empowering tools for us - they enable us to communicate what we do, what we think, what we see. They allow us to participate in a central dialogue in the new public space, the internet.

We have been more involved as observers and consumers of content than providers. We are missing out on a great opportunity to construct a reality that reflects our interests and way of understanding and participating in the world, in a social sense, as well as a political and business sense, not to mention the personal and familial.

Women deal with many types of marginalisation in society, we don't need to add digital marginalisation to those that already exist.

GV: Why is it important for women to have a blog?

CC: Como mencionaba anteriormente, los blogs son una herramienta de empoderamiento en la medida en que posibilitan que las mujeres puedan comunicarse, expresar, proponer y dialogar en internet y con ello contribuir a la definición y construcción de una realidad que refleje sus intereses y visión. Las voces de mujeres en la blogósfera son importantes porque son el reflejo de la mitad de los habitantes del planeta y en el medida en que sean actores sociales, políticos, voten, consuman, tomen decisiones y vivan de manera cotidiana los diversos contextos de su entorno (desde violencia, hasta crisis económicas, pasando por desastres naturales o guerras) su voz es importante. Son actores de la vida cotidiana y su visión y mirada cuentan, valen, reflejan una circunstancia. Su silencio resulta -sin que ellas mismas los sepan- cómplices de realidades sexistas o que marginan y en la medida en que paulatinamente vayan apareciendo y expresando su voz…irá cambiando el entorno. El silencio jamás ha sido socio del empoderamiento.

CC: As I mentioned before, blogs are tools of empowerment insofar as they make it possible for women to be able to communicate and express themselves, make suggestions and converse on the internet. They are tools with which women contribute to the definition and construction of a reality that represents their interests and vision. Women's voices, in the blogosphere, are important because they reflect half of the planet's inhabitants. Their voices are important in the sense that they are social players, politicians, they vote, they act, they make decisions and everyday they live through different environmental contexts (from violence, to economic crises; from natural disasters, to wars). They are players in everyday life and their vision and perspective counts, they are valued, they reflect a situation. Their silence, although they themselves are unaware, acts as an accomplice for a sexist reality, or it means they are marginalised. As long as their voices continue to gradually appear and be expressed, this environment will keep changing.

GV: How many women have a blog on Mujeres Construyendo?

CC: La comunidad de Mujeres Construyendo está constituida por la plataforma Mujeres Construyendo (www.mujeresconstruyendo.com) y las redes sociales a través de las cuáles se conecta su comunidad. La suma de personas conectadas a esta propuesta y a este espacio suma hoy cerca de 9 mil personas.

CC: The community of Mujeres Construyendo is made up by the Mujeres Construyendo platform (www.mujeresconstruyendo.com) and the social networks that connect this community. The total sum of people connected today is around nine thousand.

GV: What is the profile of the women who blog on Mujeres Construyendo?

CC: Cabe decir que participan hombres y mujeres en nuestra plataforma. Somos un espacio incluyente y consideramos que no se puede hablar de equidad partiendo de un principio de exclusión, por ello, las voces masculinas son bien recibidas. La mayoría, estamos hablando de más del 96%, son mujeres. Su perfil es principalmente urbano, de entre 25 y 45 años, en su mayoría de México, España, Argentina, Venezuela y Estados Unidos. Quiero destacar a una de nuestras blogueras más activas, y que inclusive ha sido entrevistada en televisión: Bertha, una extraordinaria mujer de 82 años que nos enseña que no hay edad para seguir aprendiendo y que las herramientas digitales son poderosas y permiten a las personas seguirle dando sentido a su vida.

CC: I should say that both men and women use our platform. We are an inclusive space and we don't believe that you can talk about equality while at the same time exercising a principal of exclusion, so male bloggers are also welcomed. The majority, we're talking more than 96%, are women. Their profile is mainly urban, from 25 to 45 years of age, and mainly from Mexico, Spain, Argentina, Venezuela and the United States. I want to focus on one of our most active bloggers, who has even been interviewed on television. Bertha, an extraordinary 82 year-old woman who shows us that there's no age limit to learning and that digital tools are powerful and they can continue to give meaning to people's lives.

GV: What will 2012 bring for Mujeres Construyendo?

CC: Empezamos el año con el pie derecho, estrenando nueva casa y nuestro nuevo sitio nos permite interactuar mejor, conocernos y convivir de manera más cercana. Detrás de esto hay trabajo y compromiso y queremos consolidarnos como un espacio central para que las mujeres participen, tengan voz y con ello contribuir con nuestro grano de arena no sólo a su empoderamiento, sino al fortalecimiento de la democracia. Queremos incrementar el número de blogueras participando y vinculadas a nuestra comunidad, estamos trabajando en ofrecer herramientas a las blogueras que les permitan fortalecer su presencia y cumplir sus objetivos, sean estos personales, familiares, profesionales. Detrás de este trabajo hay alianzas y proyectos que podrán ver en un futuro muy cercano y del que con gusto les platicaremos en su momento.

Muchas gracias por su interés en conocernos y ojalá a través de Global Voices más mujeres se animen a sumar su voz a nuestra comunidad. Juntas podemos hacer una diferencia.

CC: We're going to start the year off on the right foot. Opening a new house and our new site will allow us to interact, get to know each other and live together in a closer way. Behind this there is work and dedication and we want to consolidate it into one central space so that the women who participate have a voice with which they do their bit, not just towards their own empowerment, but also towards strengthening democracy. We want to increase the number of female bloggers who participate within and are linked to our community so we are working on offering tools to the female bloggers that enable them to strengthen their presence and achieve their goals, whether these be personal, familial or professional. Behind this work there are aliances and projects that will be seen in the very near future, about which we'll talk about nearer the time.

Thank you very much for your interest in getting to know us and hopefully through Global Voices more women will be encouraged to add their voice to our community. Together we can make a difference.

Claudia is also a blogger [es] and she tweets under @LaClau [es]. You can follow Mujeres Construyendo on Facebook [es], Twitter, [es] YouTube [es], and LinkedIn [es].

Ecuador: The March for Life Arrives in Quito

Danielle Martineau — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 19:36:58 +0000

On March 22, 2012, the March for life made its entrance in Quito. Since its departure on Monday [es] for Lacatunga, some 75 kilometers from the capital city, the March, which at that time already had some 1,000 participants thanks to several indigenous delegations joining, continued [es] its route towards Saquisilí [es], the planned assembly point where they would devise their strategy for getting to Quito.

On Tuesday it headed from Saquisilí to Machachi [es], which is situated in the same province as the Ecuadorian capital, Pichincha. From there it proceeded on to Uyumbicho then spent the night [es] from Wednesday to Thursday in a Coliseum located in Guamaní [es], in the southern part of Quito.

In the meantime delegations from other parts of the country were also preparing to arrive in Quito, such as various militant groups and activists from Esmeraldas [es] who left on Sunday from their region, as well as indigenous delegations from Imbabura y Otavalo [es] that did the same on Tuesday.

March for Life

The Mayor of Quito declared [es]that the March could occupy Parque El Arbolito from 2pm on March 22. Consequently, it was arranged [es] for about 3200 police officers to maintain order in the city. Although one of the government ministers said [es] that the protests would not meet with any obstacles upon entering Quito, the movement against the march has been very active, as well as the verbal attacks [es] made by the president. Public agencies from cities near to Quito such as Santo Domingo [es], received instructions to move government supporters to the capital with the aim of filling all the public spaces in the city.

And so, with requests [es] for the protesters on both sides and the force of the law to ensure there would not be any clashes, and with a pre-departure ritual in honor of Pachamama, the marchers left around 9 a.m from Guamaní, in the south of Quito for the center of the city - more precisely to Parque del Arbolito.

From early on the media were covering [es] various [es] marches that were taking place simultaneously in the city. (See here a detailed account [es] of the march on March 22). Then they realized [es] the March for Life had arrived [es] in the Parque el Arbolito surrounded by a large deployment of police.

The Ecuadorian Twittersphere was also taking note of the march and criticizing the government. Many tweets can be found under the following keywords: #marchas22m [es], #marchasec [es], #marchas_ec [es], #marchasindigenas [es], #22m [es] and many more; while the government sector was using the following keywords: #porlademocracia [es] and #nopasaran [es], although one cannot say for certain that each group is using the above keywords exclusively.

The indigenous activist Mónica Chuji (@Monicachuji) [es] reported:

No importó la lluvia, igual caminamos mojaditos desde Uyumbicho hasta Guamaní. Almorzamos pan con atun y agua pero llegamos dignos a Quito.

It didn't matter that it was raining, we still walked, wet, from Uyumbicho to Guamaní. We had bread and tuna for lunch and water, but we arrived to Quito with our dignity.

Nelson Piedra (@nopiedra) [es], wrote:

#Ecuador [es] Los Mesías de las redes sociales de este país con tweets “políticamente correctos”. El silencio también es violencia.

#Ecuador [es] The Messiahs of social networks in this country make “politically correct tweets”. Silence can also be a form of violence.

@plurinacionales [es] posted the following images of the arrival of the march:

#22m [es] #conaie [es] Imágenes de la llegada de la Marcha a Quito http://dlvr.it/1Lh1gM [es] #marchavida [es]

#22m [es] #conaie [es] Images of the arrival of the march in Quito http://dlvr.it/1Lh1gM [es] #marchavida [es]

Meanwhile the Twitter account for the Ecuadorian Presidency (Presidencia_Ec) [es] informed:

Presidente #Correa [es] advierte que grupos opositores quieren generar violencia en marchas previstas para hoy #Quito [es]

President #Correa [es] warns that protest groups seek to incite violence in the marches set to take place today #Quito [es]

Quito journalist Susana Morán (@susanamorg) [es] reported:

@marchavida [es] pasó el puente de Guajaló, en el sur de Quito. Ha sido un recorrido tranquilo #marchas22m [es]

@marchavida [es] [March for Life] crossed the Guajaló bridge in the south of Quito. It has been a peaceful journey #marchas22m [es]

@ceppdi [es], which is a twitter page that posts news and stories on Public Policy and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, re-tweeted a photo from user Marco Tituaña:

ECUADOR. RT @elmarko34: [es] “Correa, minero, el agua es lo primero” corea la @marchavida [es] q llega dsd el norte http://yfrog.com/kewjutkj [es]

ECUADOR. RT @elmarko34 [es]: “Correa, miner, water comes first” chants the @marchavida [es] coming from the north http://yfrog.com/kewjutkj [es]

The account of the Center of Economic and Social Rights (@CDESecuador) [es] updated on the arrival of the march in the Ecuadorean capital throughout the day:

Nos informan q gente d Esmeraldas, d los manglares, compañeros afrodescendientes se suman a la marcha! Exigimos agua y vida!

News that people from Esmeraldas, from the mangroves, our brothers and sisters of African descent are joining the march! We demand water and life!

@DerechosMinados [es], a group against mining in Ecuador, responded to criticism and shared various imagines of the arrival, such as this tweet:

No somos 4 no somos 10, Correa economista, aprende a contar bien #marchavida [es] http://yfrog.com/objyhgtpj [es]

We are not 4, we aren't 10, Correa economist, learn to count properly #marchavida [es] http://yfrog.com/objyhgtpj [es]

Also with a photo, and referring to the words of the government, journalist Fernando Astudillo (@ferastudillo) [es] reported:

Correa en P Sto Domingo dice q marcha indígena es un fracaso y q no reunieron ni 4mil Vía @Sugeyhajjar [es] http://yfrog.com/nu5hgumj [es]

Correa in P Sto Domingo says that the indigenous march is a failure and that not even 4 thousand came. Via @Sugeyhajjar [es] http://yfrog.com/nu5hgumj [es]

Jaime Plaza (@jplazaecu) [es] and Nelson Piedra (@nopiedra) [es] cited these reports on the number of persons who arrived in Quito:

A eso d las 14:30 la marcha indígena q salió desde Zamora Ch. llegó a El Arbolito. Son miles. #marchas22m [es] http://pic.twitter.com/Zni1hgRZ [es]

At about 2:30 pm the march of indigenous people that left from Zamora Ch. arrived in El Arbolito. There are thousands of them. #marchas22m [es] http://pic.twitter.com/Zni1hgRZ [es]

#Ecuador [es] “los cuatro pelagatos”, que salieron de El Pangui, Llegaron a #Quito [es] multiplicados como peces, como el maíz.

#Ecuador [es] “the four nobodies”, that left El Pangui, have arrived in #Quito [es] multiplied like fish, like corn.

@DerechosMinados [es] broadcast another photo with this message:

#marchavida [es] llego a quito - SIN PLATA DL ESTADO, PURO PUEBLO ORGANIZADO!!! http://yfrog.com/mmdcncvj [es]

#marchavida [es] arrived in Quito- WITHOUT STATE FUNDS THE PEOPLE ARE COMPLETELY ORGANIZED!!! http://yfrog.com/mmdcncvj [es]

The newspaper La Hora (@lahoraecuador) [es] also posted photos of the march:

#Marchas22M [es] Foto panorámica de la #marchaindígena [es] http://yfrog.com/g0aamjxj [es]

#Marchas22M [es] Panoramic photo of the #marchaindígena [es] http://yfrog.com/g0aamjxj [es]

Meanwhile Indymedia Ecuador (@indymediaecuado) [es] declared:

Esperamos objetividad de los medios tanto publicos como privados #marchavida [es] sobre pasa lo previsto http://pic.twitter.com/mrATtx0K [es]

We expect neutrality from the public and private media #marchavida [es] has surpassed expectations http://pic.twitter.com/mrATtx0K [es]

And David Rosero (@davidroserow) [es] declared:

El gran derrotado del día de hoy es el autoritarismo, la sobradez, el insulto, el atropello y sobre todo el miedo! #MarchadelosPueblos [es]

The great loser today is authoritarianism, arrogance, insult, outrage, and most especially, fear! #MarchadelosPueblos [es]

The following photos are from user Vlady Cruz (@vladycruz) [es], who kindly allowed [es] them to be used here:

#marchavida begins its path towards the center of Quito

#marchavida near to Guajalo

La #marchavida arrives at Villa Flora

#marchavida arrives at arbolito

Rain greets #marchavida

There are also some videos on YouTube:

In the evening the police blocked the March from entering the area of the National Assembly, but participants awaited a response [es] in Parque el Arbolito, in the heavy rain [es], in order to enter. Indymedia Ecuador (@indymediaecuado) [es] reported:

Pese a los ofrecimientos de @fcorderoc [es] [Asambleísta] la policía no permite el paso a la #marchavida [es] a la asamblea nacional. http://twitpic.com/8zwtlh [es]

In spite of the efforts of @fcorderoc [es] [Assemblyman] the police are not allowing the #marchavida [es] to pass through to the National Assembly. http://twitpic.com/8zwtlh [es]

This caused a few clashes, as the Amazonian ecological organization's account La Hormiga Ecuador reported (@sinchihormiga) [es]:

Pequenos incidentes se registran en el parque de el arbolito entre indigenas y policias! http://twitpic.com/8zwzdh [es]

Minor incidents are occurring in the Parque el Arbolito between indigenous peoples and the police! http://twitpic.com/8zwzdh [es]

Nevertheless when it seemed like everything was coming to a head, the Twitter account of the Ecuadorean police force (@PoliciaEcuador) [es] tweeted:

Elementos policiales organiza la comitiva que pasará a la #AsambleaNacional [es] http://pic.twitter.com/dE4deDsO [es]

Individuals from the police force are organizing the delegation that will be allowed into the #AsambleaNacional [es] [National Assembly] http://pic.twitter.com/dE4deDsO [es]

Things deteriorated. Galo Perez (@galoperezc) [es] and Vlady Cruz (@vladycruz) [es] shared the following tweets with photos:

Llega segunda tanqueta #marchas22m [es] http://yfrog.com/kg9bheej [es]

A second armed car arrives #marchas22m [es] http://yfrog.com/kg9bheej [es]

La policia lanza gas a #marchavida [es] http://twitpic.com/8zx3v0 [es]

The police launch teargas at #marchavida [es] http://twitpic.com/8zx3v0 [es]

Finally the delegation passed through to the Assembly. As reported by @DerechosMinados [es]:

Fuerte control policial impid paso d #marchavida [es] pronunciarc ante @asambleaecuador [es] Dirigentes pasaron..Miles d personas aun en l #Arbolito [es]

Heavy police control preventing #marchavida [es] from passing and protesting at @asambleaecuador [es] [the National Assembly] Leaders allowed to pass. Thousands still in the #Arbolito [es]

However according to Twitter reports they were not immediately allowed to pass through:

@DerechosMinados [es]: La @asambleaecuador [es] no recibe ni a los dirigentes ni al mandato de la #marchavida! [es] #ecuador [es] #Quito [es]

@DerechosMinados [es]: The @asambleaecuador [es] refuses both the leaders and the mandate of the #marchavida [es]! #ecuador [es] #Quito [es]

@marchavida: [es] #marcha [es] por el agua se reúne para decidir la mejor forma de entregar sus propuestas a la Asamblea.

@marchavida [es]: #marcha [es] for water came together to decide the best way to present their proposals to the Assembly.

@galoperezc [es]: Inician fuertes enfrentamientos entre marcha y policía #marchas22m [es] http://yfrog.com/oepzcotj [es]

@galoperezc [es]: Strong clashes begin between protesters and police #marchas22m [es] http://yfrog.com/oepzcotj [es]

@PoliciaEcuador [es] Policías heridos con lanzas en las afueras de la #AsambleaNacional [es] http://pic.twitter.com/0APvsiTi [es]

@PoliciaEcuador [es] Police injured by spears outside of the #AsambleaNacional [es] http://pic.twitter.com/0APvsiTi [es]

Finally the leaders of the march were received in the Assembly, as Diego Pallero (@dpallerismo) [es] and Lupita Amaya (‏@LupitaAmaya)‏ [es] reported:

Algunos dirigentes lograron llegar hasta la entrada de la asamblea luego de los incidentes #marcha22M [es] http://pic.twitter.com/DUL18GYX [es]

Some leaders were able to get through to the entrance of the Assembly during the incidents #marcha22M [es] http://pic.twitter.com/DUL18GYX [es]

‏ Presidente de la Asamblea Cordero recibe a Dirigentes indígenas de la #marcha22M [es]

‏ Assembly president Cordero receives indigenous Leaders of the #marcha22M [es]

Maria Fernanda Yañez (@feryanez) reported what happened while the marchers were waiting in Parque el Arbolito and later shared a photograph:

@feryanez [es] Se espera la resolución q de la comisión q esta en la asamblea para decidir q hacer con los indígenas agolpados en el arbolito #marcha22M [es] @UNquito [es] http://yfrog.com/gy43702838j [es]

@feryanez [es] They are awaiting for the resolution of the commission that is in the assembly in order to decide what to do with the indigenous people who are gathered in el arbolito. #marcha22M [es] @UNquito [es]

@feryanez Se prendió la fiesta en el arbolito. La gente baila al ritmo de la Coya,#marcha22M @UNquito http://yfrog.com/gy43702838j

@feryanez The party has started in el arbolito. People are dancing to the rhythm of Coya.#marcha22M [es] @UNquito [es] http://yfrog.com/gy43702838j [es]

Finally Veronica Salgado (@verosalgado) [es] shared a link that shows the discussions between the indigenous leaders and the assemblymen live:

Siga en vivo el diálogo de la @asambleaecuador [es] con la dirigencia indígena a través de @laradioasamblea [es] http://tinyurl.com/6s6ng4n [es] #marcha22M [es]

Follow the live dialogue of the @asambleaecuador [es] with indigenous leaders via @laradioasamblea [es] http://tinyurl.com/6s6ng4n [es] #marcha22M [es]

We will continue to monitor the citizens reactions and reports about this march that promises to continue its fight against large-scale mining in Ecuador.

Original version of this post first published at the personal blog [es] of Juan Arellano.

Video: Indigenous Communities Document their Growth and Governance

Juliana Rincón Parra — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 20:22:16 +0000

The Indigenous Territory and Governance Platform [es] is made up of a series of institutions all working together to provide the indigenous people of Latin America the tools and resources to be able to strengthen the governance they have of their territory and their community. A series of short videos is used to document their progress. All links lead to Spanish language sites.

In Colombia, the Association of Indigenous Councils to the North of the Cauca (ACIN) brings together more than 14 reservations and 16 indigenous councils, and through their efforts, the indigenous communities have started taking control of their own economy and environment through small businesses that produce dairy products, fruit juices, cane sugar, bread as well as the commercialization of these products to stock the community stores as well as help other social projects in the community. Through barter systems, training and centralization of products, they mean to provide food security for the indigenous communities as well as provide sources of income.

In Ecuador, the Kichwa of Pastaza have a territory of 1 624 778 hectares (4 014 913.87 acres) belonging to 131 communities. For several years already they've sustainably managed this area, in the next video they share their experiences in developing a Territorial Management Plan based on zoning for a system that will enable them to live off the land without depleting it for many more years while also taking advantage of their constitutional rights to make use of their own lands.

So far only these two videos in the series have been released. Lets hope more are forthcoming in the future focusing on the experiences in other Latin American countries. On their site you can watch different documentaries, films and videos on indigenous issues.

Ecuador: The ‘March for Life' Approaches Quito

Danielle Martineau — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 12:43:05 +0000

The March for Life is approaching the Ecuadorean capital of Quito without major delays. In a previous post the march was near to the Azogues [es], Cañar [es] (where participants discovered and handed over an undercover cop [es] in the march), and Zhud (es) regions. From there they continued on to Alausí and Gamote [es].

In Gamote they joined up with another march [es] coming from the Amazonian regions of Morona Santiago and el Pastaza, made up of people from the Zápara, Shuar and Ashuar ethnic groups who had recently broken [es] their alliances with the government.

The March then continued through the cities of Riobamba [es] and Ambato [es], where they rested [es], arriving in Latacunga on Monday. There they met up with [es] more delegates from the Shuar and Sarayacu communities, all the while surrounded by police surveillance in both vans and helicopters.

There were also billboard advertisements on the route with messages in support of the government [es] and against the protests, in which the marchers were labeled as cowards. The tweet [es] below from Maria Mendoza (@mariamendoza200) shows one example:

Con recursos del ESTADO, se desprestigia el derecho a la libre expresión del pueblo del Ecuador. #marchaporlavida http://pic.twitter.com/jz4aPiQE

They are using GOVERNMENT funds to discredit the right to freedom of expression of the Ecuadorian people. #marchaporlavida http://pic.twitter.com/jz4aPiQE

"Destabilization is the weapon of cowards" photo by Maria Mendoza via Twitter

Government supporters also condemned [es] the use of alcohol on the march, since in Cuenca, the prefect of Azuay, Paúl Carrasco, gave corn and a bottle of alcohol to his counterpart from Zamora Chinchipe, Salvador Quishpe, leader of the March. But the protesters mitigated [es] this fact by putting it in the context of local traditions and denying the use of alcohol in the march outside of ritual purposes.

Another strategy in the negative campaign [es] that the government is using to detract participants from the March is that of scheduling events [es] and aid deliveries [es] to the communities where the March is passing, so that the March always ends up having to go head to head with government supporters in a show of strength [es].

Meanwhile in Quito, the government supporters are organizing themselves in anticipation of the arrival of the March for Life and have already occupied of parts of [es] the Plaza Grande (or Plaza de la Independencia), erecting tents in the vestibule of the cathedral of Quito in a sort of vigil.

On the other hand, supporters for the March for Life are evaluating [es] strategies to deal with this. A parallel march originating from Otavalo and Imbabura to the north of Quito is planned [es] and is expected to have 5,000 participants. The March for Life, on the other hand will arrive in Quito from the South.

Poster for the March for Life

In the Ecuadorian blogosphere there is little buzz about the March, aside from those blogs that are already tied to the subject of indigenous people. The extent to which people are blogging about this issue is basically to simply reproduce announcements and other similar articles. Perhaps when the March arrives in Quito the view will change.

Among those blogs that do post on the issue is Crónicas del Despojo, that uploaded [es] the document entitled “the Mandate of the Plurinational March” to SlideShare. Here is an extract:

2. No a la minería a gran escala. Cumplimiento del Mandato Constituyente n°6 (Minero). Exigencia a la Corte Constitucional para que resuelva la acción de incumplimiento de dicho mandato. Derogatoria de la Ley Minera por ser inconstitucional. Nulidad del contrato de explotación minera firmado el día 5 de marzo entre el gobierno nacional y la empresa ECSA Ecuacorriente. Presentación del informe de contraloría de este proyecto.

3. No ampliación de la frontera petrolera. Suspensión de la Décima y Decimoprimera Ronda Petrolera. Respeto a la autodeterminación de los pueblos libres (en aislamiento voluntario) y cumplimiento de las medidas cautelares dictadas por la CIDH. Suspensión de las operaciones en el bloque 31 y plena garantía de intangibilidad del ITT. Suspensión inmediata de la construcción del proyecto Poleoducto [sic] Pascuales – Cuenca.

2. No to large-scale mining. Fulfillment of the Constitutional Mandate No. 6 (mining). Demand that the Constitutional Court resolve the breaching of said mandate. Annulment of the Mining Law for being unconstitutional. Nullification of the mining contract that was signed the 5th of March between the national government and the company ECSA Ecuacorriente. Review of the controller's report on this project.

3. No to widening of the oil zone. Suspension of the tenth and eleventh round of oil bidding. With regard to the self determination of the free people (in voluntary exile) and the fulfillment of the precautionary measures dictated by the CIDH. Cessation of the operations in block 31 and full guarantee of the legal intangibility of the ITT (Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini). Immediate suspension of the construction of the Pascuales-Cuenca Pipeline project.

In Ecuador Contaminada, a press release from Comunicación Ecuarunari, Red de Comunicadores Kichwas -Ecuachaski, that discussed the March's progress through Azogues was republished [es]:

Más de 2000 comuneros y comuneras de la UPCCC del cantón Cañar no pudieron llegar al punto de encuentro dado que el reten policial colocado en la vía hacia Azogues detuvo los vehículos impidiendo su participación. La masividad de la marcha sorprendió a los pobladores locales, que hace años no vivían una concentración tan masiva. Una de las observadoras exclamaba que no pensó que los indígenas tuvieran tanta fuerza aun.

More than 2,000 members of the UPCCC (Provincial Union of Cañari Cooperatives and Communes) could not arrive at the established meeting point since barriers the police had placed on the route to Azogues stopped the passage of vehicles, thereby preventing them from participating. The enormity of the march surprised local inhabitants that had not seen such a large number of demonstrators in a long time. One of the onlookers remarked that she didn't realize that indigenous people still had so much power.

Voces Obreras reproduced [es] a notice from the Government council Sarayaku [es], a Kichwa community in the Pastaza province [es], in the Ecuadorean Amazon.

Sarayaku como baluarte de la lucha anti petrolera, siempre ha estado inmerso en defender los derechos de los pueblos indígenas y de los pueblos amazónicos, hoy con más razón sale a reivindicar sus derecho a la resistencia y estar en las jornadas convocada por la CONAIE, nosotros como pueblos no dejaremos de luchar para defender nuestra madre tierra

Sarayaku as a bastion of the fight against oil production has always been involved in the fight to defend the rights of indigenous peoples and peoples of the amazon, and is coming out today with even more reason to defend their rights to resist and their rights to participate in conferences organized by CONAIE. We, as a people will not cease fighting to defend our mother earth.

The blog Ecuachaski also posted [es] an article that mentions the reasons why the people of descent Puruway [es] are protesting and joining the march:

Basta señor presidente de seguir entregando nuestras tierras, nuestras aguas, nuestra riqueza a las empresas mineras extranjeras, basta de más impuestos para los pobres, expresó, Salvador Quishpe, prefecto de Zamora Chinchipe, quien compartió las declaraciones realizadas por la Ministra de Secretaria de Pueblos, Mireya Cárdenas, que el areteo a los ganados si es para cobrar los impuestos progresivamente. Contra esta medida gubernamental estamos luchando y caminando hacía la ciudad de Quito, para exigir alto a los impuestos.

Mr President, enough with giving away our lands, our waters, our riches, to foreign mining companies. Enough with more taxes for poor people, expressed Salvador Quishpe, prefect of Zamora Chinchipe, who also shared statements made by the Minister of the Secretariat of the People, Mireya Cárdenas, that the new program to have identification ear tags on livestock is a means of garnering tax revenues gradually. We are fighting and walking towards the city of Quito in protest against these government measures– to demand a stop to the taxes.

In YouTube videos of the march continue to be posted. Users Comunicandonos y manasur3 shared these two videos with music and images of the march:

TVEcuadorLibreRed published this small report:

Finally, 78gigos shares this citizen video of the march in Riobamba on March 16, 2012:

Post originally published in Juan Arellano's personal blog [es]. The image from the March for Life poster in this post was obtained from the blog Ecuador Contaminada [es].

Ecuador: ‘March for Life' Says ‘No' to Large-Scale Mining

Danielle Martineau — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 15:30:39 +0000

The decision of Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa to drive the growth [es] of large-scale mining in his country began to materialize last Monday, 5 March, 2012, with the signing of the contract [es] with Chinese funded company Ecuacorriente (Ecsa) [es] to mine the copper deposits in El Mirador, located in the Amazonian region of Zamora Chinchipe.

However, in spite of the promised economic benefits [es] that this contract is expected to bring to the country, indigenous Ecuadorian communities and other civil organizations are against these types of projects.

The day after the contract was signed, an activist group entered [es] the Chinese embassy in Quito to show their objection. Although the occupation of the site was peaceful, the police forcibly removed the women who resisted exiting the embassy.

In light of these events, the blog Elpescuezo republished [es] an article that was published by Ballenita si [es] magazine, that informs that after physically mistreating the activists, there is an effort on the part of the public prosecutor to accuse them of having been caught in the act, despite the fact that the embassy does not wish to press charges. The charge the prosecutor would bring would be for “Breaking and entering”. They also report:

Que el gobierno ecuatoriano ha decidido firmar el contrato minero sin que se haya aprobado el Estudio de Impacto Ambiental ni la Licencia Ambiental y sin el Consentimiento de las Comunidades y Pueblos Indígenas, requisitos indispensables para toda empresa minera.

The Ecuadorian government has decided to sign the mining contract without having passed an Environmental Impact Assessment or obtained an Environmental License, and also without the consent of the communities and indigenous people; indispensable requirements for all mining companies.

The El Mirador mining deposit zone is part of the territory that belongs to the indigenous community Shuar, in the Condor Mountain Range [es], which is shared with Peru. It stands out as one of the most biologically rich and diverse regions on the planet, for which reason a mining operation such as the one proposed could have devastating ecological effects.

One major protest movement against large-scale mining in Ecuador that currently is taking place is called ‘Marcha por la Vida' (March for Life) [es], organized by the Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas del Ecuador (The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador — Conaie) [es], the Confederación Kichwa del Ecuador (Kichwa Confederation of Ecuador — Ecuarinari) [es], the Federación Única Nacional de Afiliados al Seguro Social Campesino (United National Federation of Affiliates for the Social Security of Rural People — Feunassc) [es], the Unión Nacional de Educadores (National Union of Educators — Une) [es], the Frente Popular Zamora Chinchipe (The Popular Front of Zamora Chinchipe) and the Asamblea de los Pueblos del Sur (Assembly of the Peoples of the South).

As a part of the call to action that that has been issued, of which the above video (as well as other videos [es]) are part, an open letter [es] was also written to the musical artists Manu Chao and Calle 13, where they detail their protests:

El mes de marzo será el mes de la Resistencia en Ecuador. Los pueblos indígenas, campesinos, realizaremos la “Gran Marcha Plurinacional por el Agua, la Tierra, la Vida y la Dignidad de los Pueblos” […] Partiremos en una caminata el 8 de marzo desde el corazón de la Cordillera del Cóndor en Zamora, donde se pretende abrir la puerta por primera vez en Ecuador de la Mega Minería. Esta caminata recorrerá las zonas donde las trasnacionales mineras ya se encuentran desplazando, expropiando y criminalizando a los pueblos; pasará por las comunidades campesinas del Centro del país y llegaremos el 22 de marzo a la capital de Ecuador Quito donde exigiremos al gobierno el respeto a la Pachamama, al agua y a la vida y el respeto para el Art. 3 del Mandato Minero, emitido por la Asamblea Constituyente, que decretó la eliminación de las concesiones mineras en fuentes de agua y en zona protegidas.

The month of march will be the month of Resistance in Ecuador. The indigenous rural people will fulfill the “Gran Marcha Plurinacional por el Agua, la Tierra, la Vida y la Dignidad de los Pueblos (Great Plurinational March for Water, Earth, Life and Dignity of the People” […] We will begin our march on 8 March from the heart of la Cordillera del Cóndor en Zamora, where they are attempting to open the way for large-scale mining to take place for the first time in Ecuador. This march will cover the zones where the translational mining developments already exist and are already displacing, expropriating, and criminalizing the people. It will pass through the rural communities in the center of the country, and we will arrive on 22 March in the capital of Ecuador, Quito, where we will demand that the government respect Pachamama, water, life, and also Article 3 of the Mining Mandate that was issued by the Constituent Assembly, which declared the elimination of mining concessions in water sources and protected zones.

"March for water, life and the dignity of the people"

The march began on 8 March from El Pangui [es] (see two videos of that day in this article [es]), and is expected to arrive on the 22nd in the capital city of Quito. The Ecuadorian newspaper El Comercio published [es] a map with the itinerary of the march that is being updated daily as the march progresses.

President Correa, for his part declared [es] the beginning of the march a failure since only 500 people attended, while a pro-mining rally in Quito garnered thousands of attendants, and he encouraged [es] his supporters to remain committed to fighting the march.

Meanwhile the march continues on its route [es] and on 14 March could be seen [es] departing the town of Zhud and making its way towards Chunchi. It was estimated [es] that in Cuenca there were already some 2000 participants. On the website Marcha por la Vida [es] there are reports from the various places that have been visited thus far: Pangui, Cuenca, Loja, Saraguro, Nabón, Tarqui, Cañar y Azogues [all es].

Below are two videos of the march, the first in Cuenca the second in Saraguro [es]:

There are also other videos of the march in Azuay [es], Cuenca [es] and Tarqui [es]; some declarations [es] from Humberto Cholango, the leader of Conaie; and clips (1 and 2) [es] of the press conference at the beginning of the march.

On the website informatEcuador, reporters Alberto Acosta and William Sacher published a general report [es] on mining, but paid special attention the the future consequences for Ecuador. They note:

Para producir un total de 208.800 toneladas de concentrado de cobre, el proyecto minero a cielo abierto Mirador de la empresa ECSA (de capitales chinos) en la Cordillera del Cóndor producirá al menos 326 millones de toneladas de desechos durante la vida de la mina. Esta cantidad representa un volumen correspondiente a más de 4 Panecillos [*], ¡y es comparable a la recolección de basura de la ciudad de Cuenca por casi 5000 años!

In order to produce a total of 208,000 tons of copper concentrate, the opencast Mirador mining project that is being carried out by (the Chinese funded) ECSA in Cordillera del Cóndor will produce at least 326 million tons of waste during the lifespan of the mine. This quantity represents a weight equivalent to more than 4 Panecillos [*] and is comparable to collecting the garbage produced in the city of Cuenca for almost 5,000 years!

They go on to comment on the gold mines in Quimsacocha:

La zona del proyecto minero se encuentra precisamente en una de las principales fuentes de agua de la ciudad de Cuenca y de muchas otras poblaciones aledañas, cuyos habitantes, con justa razón, protestan en contra de esta actividad.

The mining zone for this project is located exactly on one of the main water sources for the city of Cuenca and many other towns. Many inhabitants of these towns are protesting against this activity with very good reason.

Lastly, they touch on the issue of the real economic benefits for Ecuador:

las minas ecuatorianas producirán el metal en forma gruesa, es decir con impurezas. Por ejemplo, el concentrado de cobre producido en Mirador tendrá aproximadamente 30% de cobre, 60% de otros minerales y 10% de agua. Debido a que el Ecuador no tiene refinerías de metales, el proceso de refinamiento se hará en el exterior, en donde quedará la mayor parte de las ganancias. A lo anterior habría que incorporar los llamados costos ocultos -ambientales y sociales-, por ejemplo el valor económico de la contaminación.

Ecuadorian mines will produce crude metal, that is to say, with impurities. For example, the copper concentrate produced in Mirador will have approximately 30% copper, 60% other minerals, and 10% water. Since Ecuador doesn't have metal refineries, the refining process will have to take place abroad, this is also where the majority of the profits lie. One also must account for the so called hidden costs, social and environmental, for example the economic cost of contamination.

"We are water: we will flood Quito"

In the blog Ambiente Ecuador, Gustavo Morejón states his belief that there is much misinformation on the subject of mining in general. He believes that other factors, such as poor livestock rearing and bad agricultural practices, have a more negative impact on the forests and moors in the Quismacocha region. He adds [es]:

no puedo menos que preocuparme porque se ha prestado tanta propaganda al caso de las mineras, que las verdaderas causas de la pérdida de biodiversidad, han quedado relegadas. No existe persona alguna dentro de ese grupo que hable sobre aquello que ya está ocurriendo y que está terminando con los páramos y bosques andinos. No es necesario mentir para proteger las cuencas hidrográficas. ¿Porqué no dicen la verdad? No lo hacen porque “eso no produce réditos políticos”, eso no les va a dar votos en las próximas elecciones.

I can't help but worry because there is so much propaganda on the issue of mining that the real causes of the loss of biodiversity have been relegated. No one in this group is speaking out against what which is already happening; that which is already killing off our Andean moors and forests. It is not necessary to lie to protect our drainage basins. Why don't they tell the truth? They don't do it because telling the truth doesn't produce “political gains,” it won't bring them votes in the next elections.

While the protests, the controversy, and the political stirrings continue, the Ecuadorian government is already making headway [es] with its second contract of this type; in this case for the minebeds that have been named Fruta del Norte [es], also in the zone Zamora Chinchipe.

Images obtained via the website Marcha por la Vida [es].

Original post published on the personal blog [es] of Juan Arellano.

Intercontinental Cry Will Launch Spanish Edition

Silvia Viñas — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 14:23:14 +0000

Ahni announces the upcoming Spanish edition of Intercontinental Cry [es], which will go live on March 31, 2012. “The main objective of IC Espanol is, of course, to provide Spanish readers with the same news that our English readers have come to expect from us; what I consider to be essential news on the global indigenous movement.” Find out about more languages on the IC Translation Project Facebook page.

Ecuador: ‘March for Life' Protests Mining

Silvia Viñas — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 17:37:17 +0000

The March for Life, Water and Dignity started on March 8 from El Pangui, in the Ecuadorian Amazon, and plans to reach the capital, Quito, on March 22, World Water Day. The march, organized by the Indigenous Confederation, is a protest against President Correa's decision to boost mining and oil exploration. Further information can be found on the site March for Life [es] or on their Twitter account @marchavida [es].

Ibero-American Blogging Competition Asks Teens: “What are you reading?”

Silvia Viñas — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 13:17:26 +0000

The Organization of Ibero-American States invites teens ages 12 to 15 to enter a blogging competition about reading. The sign up [es] deadline is May 31, 2012, and judges will consider blog posts written until July 31. The winner from each participating country will receive an iPad. Visit the official website [es] and follow the hashtag #questasleyendo [es] (”what are you reading”) to find out more about the contest.