A Voice For the Voiceless

MISSION

The Advocacy Project seeks to help community-based advocates produce, disseminate and use information, and so become more effective advocates for human rights and social justice

Ecuador's Troubled History

Oil development and poverty have gone hand in hand in Ecuador, prompting 20 years of unrest and protest by indigenous people.

Oil was first discovered in Ecuador the late 1960s, when exploration revealed one of the Western Hemisphere’s richest oil fields, stretching from southern Colombia through Ecuador to northern Peru. In 1972, Texaco started pumping oil in the northern part of the Oriente, Ecuador’s Amazonian region. Texaco’s lease expired in 1990. By the time the company withdrew, it had pumped nearly 1.5 billion barrels of oil out of the Amazon.

The impact on the environment and the human population was devastating. Texaco dumped billions of gallons of toxic waste into the rainforest, and millions of gallons of oil were spilled from ruptured pipelines. At the same time, thousands of kilometers of road were cut into the jungle, opening the way to the arrival of over 250,000 "colonos" (settlers). This influx surpassed and often overwhelmed the indigenous population.

In some parts of the Oriente, the environmental damage has been so great that people have been forced to flee to the cities. This has reduced ethnic groups that once numbered in the tens of thousands - such as the Huaorani and Cofans - to tiny impoverished populations. Those who survive lack safe drinking and bathing water. Their livestock die from drinking water contaminated by hydrocarbons. Birth defects, skin rashes, and gastro-intestinal disorders are common in some communities. The town of San Carlos, a case study of affliction, is plagued by one of the highest rates of cancer in Ecuador.

Oil development has not only damaged the health of the Amazon, but also Ecuador’s economy, by introducing a vicious cycle of borrowing and overspending. Although oil sales now account for around 40 percent of Ecuador’s income, the country’s foreign debt has risen from around $200 million in the early 1970s to over $13 billion today. Ecuador has one of the highest debts per capita in all Latin America. Half of Ecuador’s budget goes to pay off this debt, seriously limiting growth. Inflation has doubled in ten years, and the poverty rate now exceeds 70 percent.

This decline into poverty has created extraordinary political and social unrest. General strikes and mass mobilizations took place throughout the 1990s. The first major protest in June 1990, took the form of mass mobilization and was supported by CONFENIAE (the Amazon’s regional confederation of indigenous communities). Thousands of poor people blocked roads, occupied government buildings, and brought the Ecuadorian economy to a temporary halt.

In the next few years there were recurring demonstrations and takeovers, often prompted by grievances over oil. In the second half of the 1990s, governments were toppled almost annually. CONAIE (the nationwide indigenous confederation) led nation-wide protests against oil leasing and deteriorating social conditions.






Oil pond

One protest took place in early 2000, in response to the imposition of austerity measures at the urging of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). President Jamil Mahuad (who is under investigation for stealing from his own campaign funds) declared martial law in January of that year. But demonstrations grew, and ultimately the government was forced out. In the hour of popular victory, powerful military figures engineered the installment of Vice-President Gustavo Noboa as President. It was a military coup in all but name, as Noboa proved to be as unsympathetic to his impoverished fellow citizens as had Mahuad.

Economic conditions worsened. Inflation approached 100 percent, and oil developers continued to ravage the Amazon. The price of cooking fuel doubled, gasoline increased by 25 percent, and transportation costs went up by 75 percent. The average income of an indigenous person was $2 a day. Austerity measures stayed in place, and protests continued to simmer.

The nonviolent "uprising" began anew at the start of 2001. Led again by indigenous activists, masses of people marched, demonstrated, and blocked highways. The government declared a state of emergency and sent military forces into Quito. In response, the leaders of the protests called a general strike. With much of the country shut down, President Noboa finally negotiated. An accord was signed that reduced the price of gas, eased transportation fares, called for abstention from participation in Plan Colombia, and increased investment in social development funds.

Led by their indigenous groups, Ecuadorian campesinos and city-dwellers have shown they are a force to be reckoned with. Twice in two years, the government of Ecuador has been forced to listen. But all is not resolved; the onslaught of oil development continues, and the burden of poverty still weighs on people throughout the country.

The inflammable combination of oil exploitation and misguided development still threatens Ecuador’s well-being, and could explode again at any time.