Ecuador mobilises against draft Mining Bill - Jornada nacional de lucha contra proyecto de ley minera
Published by MAC on 2008-12-02As a response to Ecuador president Rafael Correa's promise to "jump start" precious metals' mining in the country (albeit only for "responsible" operators) last month hundreds of rural and other protestors marched in the streets against the proposed new mining law.
In a symbolic representation of what many communities consider the stark alternatives facing them - either the destruction or preservation of their livelihoods - farmers carried with them containers of water. Rigoberto Sanchez, from the Portete River in Girón, encapsulated the current struggle, and the threat to jail those who object to the new legislation:"We have been fighting for three years in defense of life. The new mining law goes against our rights... How can it be that people who are fighting for the defense of life, of that vital liquid, be tried and jailed?".
Previous story: http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=8937
National Day of Action: Mobilization against the draft Mining Bill in Ecuador
By THE QUIZHAQUIZHA COLLECTIVE
Cuenca, Ecuador -17th November 2008
As part of a national mobilization against the draft Mining Bill, some 600 people protested on the 17th of November in the city of Cuenca. They demanded that the draft Mining Bill proposed by the government of Rafael Correa be "archived" (shelved).
The march, led by the Unified Community Water Systems of Azuay (UNAGUAS), and the Federation of Campesino Organizations, included participants from Victoria del Portete, Nabón, Gualaceo, Girón, Chordeleg, Paute, Octavio Cordero Palacios, Sidcay, and Tarqui among others. These communities are directly affected by different mining concessions in the hands of largely Canadian-financed transnational mining companies.
For over three years, communities potentially affected by large-scale mining projects in the southern region of Ecuador have struggled to stop the advancement of large-scale metallic mining projects.
"Victoria del Portete does not give up damn it, Iamgold out!" "Rafael Correa - what is more sustainable, two hundred thousand liters of milk a day or your Quimsacocha gold project?" "In defense of life," "No to mining in headwaters," "Rafael Correa: For whom do you govern, for Ecuador or for Canadian Companies?" - these slogans could be read among the various posters carried during the peaceful march throughout the city's main streets. "The mining law is a load of garbage," "We have chicha, we have corn, foreign mining companies out of our country!" were some of the chants shouted by participants.
With clay pitchers, bottles, and containers of water in their hands, the campesinos demanded that the mining law sent by the government to the Legislative Commission this past Friday be shelved.
A member of the rural water system, Victoria-Tarqui, indicated: "We have come out in defense of water which is life for the entire country. It is Correa's fault that we are out here. We are defending the wetlands of Quimsacocha, our water."
Rigoberto Sanchez, treasurer for the rural water system of the Portete River in Girón, stated, "We have been fighting for three years in defense of life. The new mining law goes against our rights, because there are articles that say that leaders against mining companies will be criminalized. How can it be that people who are fighting for the defense of life, of that vital liquid, be tried and jailed?".
One by one leaders and members of the rural water board systems of Azuay spoke against the draft Mining Law. Angelita Espinoza of Chordeleg, directed her comments to Governor Larriva noting, "At no time have they come to inform us about the mining law. What a lack of respect to us campesinos! We are not going to let them kill us and take away our life with cyanide and mercury."
Sowing the seeds of Water
The events ended with a water ceremony (see pictures). Officiated by Lautro Villevincencio, a representative of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), the ceremony sought to strengthen the spirit of the river: "The metal should be in service of water, not water in service of metal," proposed Villavicencio.
"We are going to sow water, compañeros, all of the water you have brought with you today, put a little bit in this pot, and then we are going to offer it to the Mayu Tomebamba, this great river of our ancestors, of the autochthonous people. We are going to distribute coca leaves. In chewing we will recuperate our identity. Also, we are going to pay [the river] with coins, give a coin to put in the river Tomebamba so that it grows. We will be repaid later," he concluded.
Habeas Corpus for protesters to the Mining Law in El Pangui
After being detained for about 28 hours, the indigenous assembly official Jorge Sarango and five other campesinos were released. They had been arrested in the Amazonian Province of Zamora Chinchipe during a national protest held last Monday that rejects the pending Mining Law proposed by the government of Rafael Correa.
The order for release was passed by the president of the Provincial Court of Zamora Chinchipe in response to the request for a Habeas Corpus by Sarango in name of all the detainees. According to the Ecuadorian Constitution, the Habeas Corpus action is applied when subjects are deprived of their liberty by reasons that are arbitrary, illegal or illegitimate.
Even though the release generated a sense of jubilee among the social organizations that oppose the mining plans of the 'citizens revolutionary' government of President Correa, it still was not enough to dissolve the concerns of an increased criminalization of social protest.
Rodrigo Aucay, leader of the Committee for Life and Nature in El Pangui, who was released together with Sarango said, "We knew that the government would end up sending us to jail for defending our life and the life of our future generations, by opposing their interests and those of the mining companies".
This is a violation to the right to resistance and it establishes a sinister precedent against the communities and peoples in this struggle. The detentions occurred last Monday during the morning, after the police force sent out the order against the social groups that were protesting along a road near Zamora, the capital of the Province.
The social conflicts, since the end of the year 2006, remains high in the territories where transnational mining companies have their concessions, to a point that even President Correa speaks of areas that are "on the verge of a civil war".
The proposed Mining Law formulated by the government and remitted to the Legislative and Fiscal Commission for its approval last Friday, reactivated the protests of social, community and campesino organizations in the whole country since mining activities put at risk their water sources, agricultural territories and areas of high biodiversity.
Mobilization against the pending Mining Law in Azogues
As part of a national mobilization, about 700 people protested in the city of Azogues, 35 km north of Cuenca, this Monday in protest of the pending mining law proposed by President Rafael Correa. Citizens of the city of Azogues, San Marcos county, Luis Cordero, Quillocungo, Ayazamana, Zaday, representatives of the water boards, the Women's Movement of Luna Creciente Sur, the Front in Defense of Life and Water of Cañar among others gathered early this morning in front of the local bus terminal. At 9 am the long line of protesters started their march along the Che Guevara Avenue with police escorts. The multitude marched the streets pacifically through the city displaying their signs, taking the streets and distributing informative pamphlets to people in cars, neighbours and passers by.
After three hours of marching, the protestors got together in the main plaza in front of Cañar's provincial government where a small delegation was received by the governor Raúl Eugenio Abad Vélez. The delegation presented their concerns of the current national government, the pending mining law and the lack of participation to discuss and analyze the law.
The governor responded by denying the existence of the mining concessions in the province of Cañar and invited the members of the delegation to visit the website of the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum and verify his statement. He also questioned the legality of the proposed provincial decree that declares the province "free of metallic, small and large scale mining". The members of the delegation challenged the affirmations of the governor in reference to the mining concessions and the presence of mining companies in their territories in particular those located in the headwaters, and reiterated the lack of participation in regard to the new mining law.
The declarations of the governor inspired more concern among the protestors whom continued their march towards the Provincial Prefect to obtain clarity about the future of the mentioned decree that restricts mining activity in the province.
At about 14hrs the same delegation was received by the officials and the Prefect representative. They listened to the demands and concerns of the protesters and responded by explaining the legal situation and invited the delegation to participate in co-writing the new provincial decree that would prohibit metallic, small and large scale mining in the province in accordance to the new Constitution and the new mining law. There was mention of the possibility of having a dialogue with the Legislative Committee even though the delegation showed little confidence in the result such a dialogue would bring.
In Santa Isabel
Before daybreak, protesters blocked the highway which connects Cuenca - Ecuador's third largest city - with the coast in the southern highlands of Azuay Province. Jubones River Valley residents who participated in the action reached an agreement with police late morning to maintain their strike until about 5pm.
According to a local organizer from Santa Isabel County, the day proceeded calmly without repression. Numbers swelled to 700 with participation from all four counties represented by the Inter County Coordinator opposed to large scale mining. A large banner hung across a transport truck parked horizontally to impede traffic. It challenged President Rafael Correa's vociferous support for a new mining sector. "What is worth more: water and land, or gold and copper? Señor Presidente, the answer is obvious and convincing."
Early morning, about 80 activists were gathered. They took turns warming their hands over a small fire.
The President of the Water Board for the Santa Isabel River said they are primarily employed in agriculture. Due to low annual precipitation in the valley they depend on headwaters in high altitude wetlands (páramo) for irrigation where mining concessions belonging to transnational companies are situated.
"Our produce is distributed to the provinces of Azuay, Cañar, El Oro and Guayas. Obviously, if our production is affected all of those who buy our products will be affected."
"We are asking the government not to permit mining in sensitive areas." He added that otherwise they will fight to defend their land and to prevent mining from taking place. "Gold does not do us any good, what we need is water for production and consumption."
In response to threats coming from the President's Office that any activists who block roadways will face the full force of the law, activists in the area of Santa Isabel added the right to protest to their list of demands.
A spokesperson for the Inter County Coordinator said: "This is a preventative measure, but it is only the beginning." Emphasizing that they are defending the land on which they were born and on which they expect to live out their lives, he said "we can't be afraid. We need to rise up together."
Other main demands include that the interim legislative commission shelve the mining bill that they received from the executive government late Friday in Quito. Activists also seek an extension to the mining mandate passed by the National Constituent Assembly in April that suspends all large scale metal mining exploration until the new law is in place.
The mandate, whose six month timeframe ended in mid October, also ordered most mineral concessions revoked for reasons such as impacts on headwaters, overlap with protected natural areas, and failure to carry our prior consultation with local communities. Such criteria have yet to be applied to cases in Azuay.
The Inter County Coordinator representative says that the law for food sovereignty should be prioritized over the mining law. He also foresees that the nationwide mobilization will expand and grow preventing large scale projects from reaching production. Addressing his final remarks to Canadian-financed companies that currently dominate over 90% of the investment in the sector, he warned them, "don't make a bad investment."
"Mining and extractive industry are not the solution [to global issues]. The solution is to have one's needs met, not to have whatever one can accumulate."
Mass Mobilizations Against Mining Confront President Correa
by Daniel Denvir, Jennifer Moore, and Teresa Velasquez
UpSide Down World - 19th November 2008
In Ecuador, thousands of indigenous, campesinos, Afro-descendants and environmentalists took to the streets on Monday, protesting the pending mining law and government failure to fully apply a mining mandate passed by the National Constituent Assembly in April. With strong turnout in five different parts of the country, the day of action was an important demonstration of growing social movement unity and independence from the government of President Rafael Correa. Activists call Monday's mobilization the beginning of a broader movement to confront Correa's environmental policies. The Ecuadorian Left has increasingly distanced itself from the government after broadly supporting the approval of a new constitution in September.
In Quito, hundreds of people from rural communities threatened by mining throughout Ecuador's Northern highlands, especially from the northwestern area of Intag, participated. Intag has blocked the entrance of mining companies since the early 1990s and is currently fighting the Canadian-financed transnational Ascendant Copper.
Jose Cueva, a community leader from Intag, said: "They need to shelve the mining law. The President needs to first pass a food sovereignty law, a water law and a biodiversity law. Then we can have a national dialogue over what to do about mining."
Metal mining has been promoted in Ecuador since the early nineties, however, no large-scale project has yet to reach production.
Growing alliances were in evidence as hundreds of coastal campesinos or montubios and Afro-Ecuadorians joined anti-mining activists in Quito, protesting Correa's support large-scale industrial shrimp farming.
In the southern highlands city of Cuenca, the country's third largest, some 600 people participated. The march, which wove through the colonial city streets, was led by the Unified Community Water Systems of Azuay (UNAGUAS) and the Federation of Campesino Organizations. More than nine rural communities were represented.
These communities are directly affected by various mining concessions in the hands of companies such as Toronto-based IAMGOLD, as well as other companies listed on Toronto Stock Exchange, including International Minerals, Andean Gold and Channel Resources. A member of the rural water system from Victoria-Tarqui said, "We have come out in defense of water which is life for the entire country. It is Correa's fault that we are out here. We are defending the wetlands of Quimsacocha, our water."
Ecuadorian Indigenous People against Mining Bill
Prensa Latina
17th November 2008, Quito - Indigenous and social organizations have mobilized to protest in several Ecuadorian regions against a mining bill that the government submitted to Congress.
Called by The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) and the Coordinator for the Defense and Conservation of Northwestern Pichincha (CODECONO), the protests will take place in the cities of Quito, Tena, Cuenca, Loja, Riobamba and Ambato, among others. CONAIE President Marlon Santi expressed opposition to the government's mining proposition, because social sectors did not participate in its design.
Some articles endanger the indigenous territories and communities, he warned, adding that the mobilizations will begin on Monday in the province of Imbabura, north of this capital.
We will mobilize some 20,000 people to block roads, Santi said on Sunday.
For its part, CODECONO said in a communiqué that hundreds of demonstrators would arrive in Quito on Monday to march against the mining bill. If approved, the act would end the indigenous people's initiatives to increase production and preserve their territories, the press release says.
Jornada nacional de lucha contra proyecto de ley minera en Ecuador
Desde las cero horas del 17 de noviembre se inició en Ecuador una jornada nacional de protesta contra el proyecto de ley minera enviado a la Comisión Legislativa por el gobierno de Rafael Correa, con distintas manifestaciones en las provincias de Azuay, Cañar, Zamora Chinchipe, Morona Santiago, Bolívar, Pichincha, Imbabura, Esmeraldas, Guayas, Manabí y el Oro. La jornada incluyó cierres de vías, marchas, asambleas públicas, ceremonias, y entrega de advertencias a las gobernaciones de provincia, así como a la propia presidencia de los poderes Ejecutivo y Legislativo. Las acciones previstas se desarrollaron en general de manera pacífica, salvo en El Pangui, localidad de la provincia amazónica de Zamora Chinchipe, donde hubo 6 detenidos.
Textos y fotos de COLECTIVO QUIZHAQUIZHA
Cuenca, Ecuador. 18 de noviembre, 2008
En Cuenca
Unas 600 personas se manifestaron contra el proyecto de ley minera propuesto por el gobierno del presidente Rafael Correa. La marcha fue convocada por la Unión de Sistemas Comunitarios de Agua del Azuay (UNAGUAS) y la Federación de Organizaciones Campesinas de Azuay (FOA), y contó con la participación de delegaciones de Victoria del Portete, Nabón, Gualaceo, Girón, Chordeleg, Paute, Octavio Cordero Palacios, Sidcay y Tarqui, entre otras. Estas comunidades se encuentran en la zona de influencia de diversas concesiones adjudicadas a compañías mineras transnacionales.
Desde hace más de tres años los pueblos y comunidades de esta región del Ecuador, potencialmente afectados por proyectos mineros a gran escala, vienen resistiendo el avance de las empresas mineras extranjeras. "Victoria del Portete no se rinde carajo, fuera IamGold!", "Rafael Correa, ¿qué es más sustentable, 200 mil litros de leche por día o tu proyecto Quimsacocha?", "En defensa de la vida", "No a mineros en las fuentes de agua!", "Rafael Correa, ¿para quién gobiernas, para Ecuador o para empresas canadienses?", se podía leer en varios de los carteles que acompañaron la marcha, pacífica y sin incidentes, por las principales calles de la ciudad. "La ley de minería es una porquería", "Tenemos chicha, tenemos maíz, mineras gringas fuera del país" fueron algunos de los cantos entonados por los protestantes.
Con botellas, cuencos y cántaros de agua en sus manos, los manifestantes exigieron el archivo de la ley minera enviada por el gobierno a la Comisión Legislativa el viernes pasado.
Miriam Chuchuca, campesina de San Pedro de las Escaleras, en Victoria del Portete, de la agrupación Defensoras de la Pachamama, dijo: "ya no queremos los diálogos, los diálogos no traen ninguna cosa buena... Rafael Correa dice la patria ya es de todos, pero el país es de las mineras, que andan regalando cuyes, pollos. Eso no queremos. Nosotros tenemos animales de dónde vivir. La ganadería necesita agua limpia, agua buena... nosotros proponemos que se vaya la minera."
Un representante del Sistema de aguas de Victoria-Tarqui, indicó que "salimos por la agua, que es la vida para todo el país. Hemos salido por culpa de Correa. Estamos defendiendo nuestros pajonales de Quimsacocha, nuesta agua".
Rigoberto Sanchez, dirigente de la Junta de Agua del Río Portete, en Girón, recordó que "estamos luchando hace tres años en defensa de la vida. La nueva ley minera es atentatoria contra nuestros derechos, porque incluso hay artículos que dicen que dirigentes en contra de las mineras serán penalmente responsables. ¿Cómo puede ser que personas luchando en defensa de la vida, ese líquido vital, seamos enjuiciados y encarcelados?".
Angelita Espinoza, de Chordeleg, se dirigió al gobernador de la provincia de Azuay, Oswaldo Larriva, quien estuvo presente en el acto, con estas palabras: "En ningún momento han llegado a socializar esta ley minera, ¡que falta de respeto para nosotros los campesinos!. No vamos a permirtir que nos maten, que nos quiten nuestra vida con el cianuro y el mercurio".
En el Puente Centenario, sobre el río Tomebamba, se realizó luego de la marcha la ceremonia del agua (ver fotos). Celebrada por Lautaro Villevicencio, representante de la Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas del Ecuador (CONAIE), la ceremonia buscó fortalecer el espíritu del río. "El metal sirve para el agua, no el agua para el metal", propuso Villavicencio. "Vamos a sembrar el agua, compañeros, toda el agua que ustedes han traido, pongan un poquito en esa hoya, y luego la vamos a brindar al mayu (río en kichwa) Tomebamba, río grande de nuestros ancestros, de nuestros pueblos originaros... Vamos a repartir la hoja de coca, mascando esta hoja recuperamos nuestra identidad... Además de eso, vamos hacer un pago en moneda compañeros... una moneda para botarle al río Tomebamba, para que crezca. Todo esto, lo vamos a recuperar luego", concluyó.
Detenidos y liberados en El Pangui
Después de permanecer detenidos por alrededor de 28 horas, fueron puestos en libertad el asambleísta indígena Jorge Sarango y otros cinco campesinos arrestados en la provincia amazónica de Zamora Chinchipe, durante el desarrollo de la jornada nacional de protesta. La orden de libertad fue emitida por el presidente de la Corte Provincial de Justicia de Zamora Chinchipe, en respuesta a una solicitud de hábeas corpus interpuesta por Sarango, en nombre de todos los detenidos. De acuerdo con la Constitución ecuatoriana, la acción de Hábeas Corpus procede cuando la privación de la libertad tiene vicios de arbitrariedad, ilegalidad o ilegitimidad.
A pesar de que la noticia de la liberación generó júbilo entre las organizaciones sociales opuestas a los planes mineros del gobierno de la "Revolución Ciudadana", como se ha dado a conocer la administración del presidente Correa, no logró disipar la preocupación de que la criminalización de la protesta social vaya en aumento.
Rodrigo Aucay, dirigente del Comité por la Vida y la Naturaleza de El Pangui, liberado junto con Sarango, expresó que "sabíamos que este Gobierno terminaría mandándonos a la cárcel por defender nuestra vida y la vida de las futuras generaciones, en contra de sus intereses y los de las compañías mineras."
Diferentes líderes sociales coinciden en que este operativo policial, que de acuerdo con informes vertidos por el mismo Rodrigo Aucay, fue ordenado desde la gobernación de la provincia y desde el ministerio de Gobierno, es un atropello al derecho a la resistencia que sienta un precedente siniestro en contra de las comunidades y pueblos en lucha. Las detenciones se dieron en horas de la mañana, después de que una partida policial lanzara un operativo contra varios colectivos sociales que se encontraba manifestando en una vía aledaña a la ciudad de Zamora, capital de la provincia.
La conflictividad social en los territorios concesionados a mineras transnacionales, se mantiene alta desde fines de 2006, al punto que incluso el mismo presidente Correa hablaba de regiones que estaban al borde de la guerra civil. Eso no obstante, el proyecto de Ley de Minería formulado por el régimen y remitido por éste a la Comisión Legislativa y de Fiscalización para su aprobación el pasado viernes, reactivó las protestas de las organizaciones sociales, comunitarias y campesinas en todo el país, por cuanto pone en riesgo fuentes de agua, territorio agrícola y zonas de alta biodiversidad.
También en Azogues
Unos 700 pobladores de la ciudad de Azogues, las parroquias de San Marcos, Luis Cordero, Quillocungo, Ayazamana, Zaday y representantes de juntas de agua, del Movimiento de Mujeres Luna Creciente Sur, del Frente de Defensa de la Vida y Agua del Cañar, entre otros, se congregaron frente a la terminal terrestre local. A las 9 hs. la nutrida columna de manifestantes inició su recorrido por la Avenida Che Guevara, escoltados por la policía. La columna avanzó pacíficamente por la ciudad desplegando carteles y ocupando las calles. Se distribuyeron hojas informativas entre automovilistas, peatones y vecinos.
Luego de tres horas de marcha los protestantes se reunieron frente a la gobernación de la provincia del Cañar, donde el gobernador Raúl Eugenio Abad Vélez recibió a una pequeña comitiva. Los pobladores expusieron sus preocupaciones por la gestión actual del gobierno nacional, el proyecto de ley minera y la falta de espacios de participación para su tratamiento y análisis.
El gobernador, por su parte, nego la existencia de concesiones mineras en la provincia de Cañar, invitando a los vecinos a visitar el sitio de Internet del ministerio de Minas y Petróleo para verificarlo. También puso en duda la legalidad del proyecto de ordenanza enviado por la Comisión Legislativa de la Prefectura provincial, en octubre pasado, que declara a la provincia del Cañar "libre de minería metálica en mediana y gran escala". Los presentes desmintieron las afirmaciones del gobernador, refiriéndose a la vigencia de las concesiones mineras y la presencia de empresas mineras en sus territorios, en particular sobre las fuentes de agua. La comitiva también se refirió a la falta de espacios de participación sobre el proyecto de ley minera enviado a la Comisión Legislativa por el ejecutivo ancional.
Las declaraciones del gobernador motivaron la inquietud de los manifiestantes, que continuaron luego con la movilización hacia la Prefectura Provincial para obtener precisiones sobre el futuro de la mencionada ordenanza provincial que restringe la actividad minera.
Hacia las 14 hs. un grupo de pobladores fue recibido por funcionarios de la Prefectura. Se escucharon las demandas e inquietudes de los manifestantes sobre la prohibición provincial y avance de la actividad minera. Los funcionarios informaron sobre la situación de la normativa local. Los funcionarios invitaron a los pobladores y organizaciones a ser co-legisladores en una nueva normativa provincial que prohiba la minería metalífera a gran escala, adaptando su formulación a los preceptos de la Constitución y nuevas leyes mineras. Se habló sobre la posibilidad de coordinar un diálogo en la Comision Legislativa, aunque los vecinos se mostraron poco confiados sobre la utilidad de dicho diálogo.
Corte de ruta en Santa Isabel
Antes del amanecer, un grupo de manifestantes bloquearon la ruta que conecta Cuenca, la tercera ciudad de Ecuador, con la costa, en las sierras sureñas de la provincia de Azuay. Los pobladores del valle del río Jubones acordaron con la policía mantener la protesta hasta las 5 de la tarde.
De acuerdo a uno de los coordinadores de la protesta, la jornada transcurrió en calma y sin represión. La manifestación alcanzó las 700 personas, provenientes de los cuatro Departamentos representados en la Coordinadora Contra la Minería a Gran Escala. Una bandera colgaba de un camión que, cruzado sobre el camino, impedía el tráfico. El mensaje en la bandera desafió el notorio apoyo del presidente Rafael Correa al sector minero. "¿Qué vale más: el agua y la tierra, o el oro y el cobre? Señor presidente, la respuesta es obvia y contundente".
El presidente de la Junta de Aguas del río Santa Isabel, djo que el agua se utiliza principalmente para agricultura. Debido a las bajas precipitaciones, en el valle dependen de las nacientes de agua en las tierras altas, o páramos, para irrigación. Es allí donde las empresas transnacionales han logrado obtener conseciones mineras. "Nuestra producción se distribuye a las provincias de Azuay, Cañar, El Oro y Guayas. Claramente, si nuestra producción es afectada, todos aquellos que la compran también lo serán".
"Estamos pidiendo al gobierno no entregar conseciones en áreas sensibles", agregó. De otra forma, lucharán para defender la tierra y detener la minería. "El oro no nos hace ningún bien, lo que necesitamos es agua para producción y consumo" concluyó.
Los manifestantes demandaron que la Comisión Legislativa archive el proyecto de ley minera enviado por el ejecutivo, en Quito. También una extensión del Mandato Minero aprobado por la Asamblea Constituyente en abril pasado, que suspendió todas las conseciones de exploración minera hasta tanto se apruebe la nueva ley. La Coordinadora Contra la Minería a Gran Escala asegura que la ley de soberanía alimentaria debería tener prioridad sobre la ley minera. También anticipa que la movilización social, a nivel nacional, crecerá y logrará impedir que los proyectos mineros a gran escala alcancen la etapa de producción.
En Quito
(Por José Cueva, Gloria Chicaiza y Líder Góngora)
En Quito se concentraron alrededor de 1000 personas miembros de organizaciones sociales, indígenas, campesinas, afro ecuatorianos usuarios del manglar: Junín, Chalguayacu Alto, Barcelona, Cerro Pelado, Palmar, Peñaherrera, Cuellaje, Apuela, Plaza Gutíerrez, García Moreno. Parroquias del Noroccidente de Pichincha: Los Bancos, Puerto Quito, Nanegal, Nanegalito, Pacto, Gualea, de Esmeraldas: Muisne, San Lorenzo, Eloy Alfaro, de Manabí: San Vicente, Bahía de Caráquez, San Jacinto, de Guayas: los Cerritos, Isla Santaí, Isla Puná, Santa Elena, de la Provincia del Oro: Costa Rica, Puerto Bolívar, Gualtaco, Guaquillas entre otras muchas afectadas tanto por concesiones mineras como por la industria camaronera.
Los manifestantes afirmaron que las jornadas de movilización "se acrecentan, se fortalecen, hemos roto el cerco del silencio, hemos inaugurado el derecho constitucional a la resistencia, aquí estamos cercanos, convencidos que la resistencia es el camino hacia la sustentabilidad de los Pueblos".