“They will take us out of here dead, no matter how military they are, we will not let them take our lands”: Celia Jordán Potes, 72, says firmly, convinced that the 10,448 hectares of land that the Ecuadorian Air Force (FAE) claims as its own, including part of Engabao and Engunga, belong to them through ancestors.
Celia is supported by the 1,500 inhabitants of the San Antonio commune and the nearly 5,000 of the Engabao commune. They recently received Captain Luis Vinueza, delegate of the FAE, and Jorge Carriel of the Land Sub-secretariat, to carry out a second inspection of the land and verify the boundaries of the commune and the area that belongs to the military.
Margarita Cedeño, President of the commune, says that between Engabao and San Antonio there are 6,800 hectares of land that belong to them and the rest to Engunga, totaling 10,448.87 Ha, the FAE has nothing, but now they want to leave us only with the part where the populations are, she denounced.
Vinueza says that the Ministry of National Defense and the FAE, through an award order dated April 2, 1992, are the owners of an area of land of 10,448.87 hectares located in the San Antonio Commune where a shooting range is located. The surface is considered a Reserved Area of National Security. (Shows documents).
The community members are surprised by this decision, since the community as such has been registered since 1989, with its boundaries established, but as a population it is more than 90 years old and no one has claimed anything. In 1941, the military base known as the Machala mechanized group, currently Saraguro Number 16, arrived, which carried out maneuvers on the communal lands now in dispute. Less than 20 years ago, aerial practices began and now they are the owners, says resident Petra Figueroa (60).
Juan De la A Panchana, president of the Engabao commune, points out that both San Antonio and Engabao have handwritten deeds dating back nearly 100 years from the then owners of these lands, later declared communal by the former IERAC, then INDA and ratified by the MAGAP, because they are areas of agriculture and cattle grazing.
The FAE has reported the community members to the Undersecretariat of Lands, because two months ago they invaded the vertex A of the shooting range, building three MIDUVI houses, dividing up an area inside the range and fencing various parts of the property. In addition, on the Cerro Verde de Engabao, the CONECEL company has laid a 7 kilometer electrical link for the installation of a cellular repeater antenna. The FAE is requesting their eviction.
Panchana acknowledges that the commune granted permission to CONECEL because the land belongs to them. In San Antonio, they say that the MIDUVI houses are more than ten years old. Carriel and Vinueza say that the community members can present their documentation for their respective analysis to determine what belongs to the commune and what belongs to the FAE.
DATA
The FAE conducts shooting practice at the range that is three kilometers from the town, with live ammunition up to twice a month (according to residents), and in Engabao as well.
The community members complain that these practices affect the environment. As a result, there have already been several injuries caused by ammunition left in the fields, collected by farmers or people who herd cattle.
ES_ES 
EN