Communities in Ecuador are denouncing an attempt to advance a consultation in the southern community of Escaleras on the issue of mining – a consultation they say is being carried out with only a select handful of people and one that is not necessary, given communities have already voted against mining in three previous popular consultations.
Escaleras is one of the communities that will be affected by the underground Loma Larga gold mine, proposed by the Canadian company Dundee Precious Metals to be built in the highly sensitive and ecologically diverse páramo de Kimsakocha. A 2022 independent review found the proposed gold mine was a “ticking time bomb” for arsenic contamination. For years, surrounding communities and urban groups from Cuenca have organized to oppose mining and protect the páramos, the high-altitude wetlands that play a crucial role providing fresh water to the region. Despite widespread opposition in rural and urban areas and the results of several community-organized consultations to date, Dundee has continued to push its project forward.
In a press conference held in the nearby city of Cuenca this week, several community representatives denounced a Ministry of Energy and Mines notice about an upcoming information session where the government will outline its process for consultation in San Pedro de Escaleras. This notice follows a recent pattern by the Ecuadorian government in pushing forward consultations in areas where local opposition has successfully held up mining projects, using the consultation as a rubber stamp process meant to fastrack projects rather than meaningfully fulfill government obligations to uphold democracy and guarantee Indigenous rights.
Romulo Guzman is President of the Gobierno Autónomo Descentralizado (GAD) of Victoria del Portete, a parish which includes the community of San Pedro de Escaleras. During the press conference, Guzman said that only five people received the government notice about the information session instead of the 1500 who should have the right to participate in this process. At the same time, he emphasized, “There has already been a resounding ‘no’ to mining exploitation in the 2011 consultation in Victoria del Portete, the 2019 consultation in Girón, and the 2021 consultation in Cuenca. I don't know why they insist on organizing another prior, free and informed consultation on a matter that has already been settled. We absolutely do not want mining exploitation. What we want is for [the government] to respect the dignity and sovereignty of our ancestral peoples.”
The Loma Larga project was suspended by a provincial court in August 2023 – a decision ratified by the Constitutional Court in February 2024 – for failure to obtain a social licence from affected Indigenous communities through a process of free and prior consultation, and for failing to carry out an environmental consultation. The government carried out the environmental consultation in October under the highly controversial Decree 754, confirming fears that this process for consultation is being imposed without guaranteeing the participation of affected communities, including rural and urban communities. This latest government notice of an upcoming free, prior, and informed consultation with Indigenous communities is now sparking similar concerns. It is for this reason that groups such as Cabildo por el Agua told MiningWatch they are asking the Court of Justice to “annul these fraudulent consultation processes, which seek to advance the project by trampling on our rights to water, the environment, and civic participation.”
This week’s press conference is happening one week after the fifth round of trade negotiations concluded between Canada and Ecuador. Hortencia Zhagüi, who represents the Kimsakocha Women’s School of Agroecology and the Board of Potable Water Administrators of Victoria del Portete and Tarquí, was part of a Ecuadorian Indigenous women and rights defenders delegation who came to Canada in early October to bring message of concern to Canada about the trade negotiations. Zhagüi met with government leaders, parliamentarians, Indigenous leaders, civil society organizations, and the press in Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal and spoke about the risks of the Loma Larga project.
During the delegation, she said “We came to Canada to speak out against Canada-Ecuador free trade, given the lack of respect for life, for nature’s fragile ecosystems and the beings who depend on them in Ecuador. The FTA would open the doors to uncontrolled mining, which would cause massive environmental destruction, affecting sensitive ecosystems and depleting water sources that we’ve protected for 30 years now.” Despite these serious concerns raised in Canada, the FTA continues to be negotiated and the Loma Larga project continues to be promoted.
The following are statements from other local representatives during this week’s press conference in Cuenca, speaking further about what this consultation process means for communities:
Cecilia Paute - leader from San Pedro de Escaleras
“I reject the deceitful actions of the government, wanting to advance the consultation with our community. Let it be clear that the community has already had consultations: in 2011 in Victoria del Portete, in Giron in 2019, and in Cuenca in 2021. What we demand from the government is to provide us with seeds. We need support from the government, not from the mining company. Let it be clear that our community totally rejects this [government] consultation in Escaleras… We are fighting not only for ourselves but also for future generations and for our water.”
Lizardo Zhagüi - Community Water Systems of Tarqui, Victoria del Portete
“We have organized ourselves and we have totally rejected this farce [of a consultation]. We want absolutely nothing to do with mining. We want absolutely nothing to do with this consultation, because we already held our consultations. They want to divide the community and they will not succeed. Thousands of people have to be consulted, not only four or five people in secret.”
Licenciado Lauro Sigche - President of the Federation of Campesino and Indigenous Organizations of Azuay (FOA in Spanish)
“We have been defending Kimsakocha for 20 years… We have been carrying out this struggle in the face of the arrogance and abuse on the part of the government acting together with the mining companies that want to develop this mining project at any cost. Water is for everyone. Without water, we are nothing. Without water, we have no electricity. Without water, we have no food. Without water, we have no life. And with the pollution these mining companies want to impose on us, they will permanently harm Cuenca. If the mining company goes ahead, the Tarqui River and the Yanuncay River will be territories of death. Cuenca will stand up and will not allow mining. Our comrades have already said it: [the mining project] will never go ahead because our territories are united.”
Romulo Guzman - President of the Decentralized Autonomous Governments of Victoria del Portete
“How is it possible that such an important and sensitive issue is handled in such a [silent and mysterious] way? They make calls for consultations and socialize these issues in a secretive way. As a Parish, we will not allow it! Stop playing with the most sacred feelings of the people, which are dignity and respect for Mother Nature. We are in resistance, we will continue in this constant struggle. We are urging more and more authorities at the provincial and canton level to join this voice and to fight for what is most sacred, which is the defense of water and the Pachamama. The women who are here are the true defenders of water. We will not stop until the day this situation is resolved. It is inconceivable that they are trying to extract an unnecessary resource in the middle of vital sources of water – because agriculture is our source of income and livelihoods.”
During the press conference, the communities expressed that they are on alert and mobilizing. They announced a big minga in the páramo de Kimsakocha this weekend where they will plant native plants. They also announced an Assembly for Water in Cuenca on Wednesday, December 18, to define a platform to unite everyone. The concerns expressed during this latest press conference by the FOA and the Community Water Systems of Tarqui, Victoria del Portete Girón and Escaleras sends a strong message to investors seeking to invest in Dundee Precious Metals: there continues to be no social license for the Loma Larga mine.
Photo: Cecilia Paute, a leader in San Pedro de Escaleras, speaks during this week's press conference in Cuenca.