Women and indigenous people are traditionally considered highly vulnerable groups and at risk in the event of planned mega-mining operations in Ecuador.
The following are some of the consequences that can be foreseen for these two human groups in the areas of influence of open-pit mining activity in our country, considering the experience lived in some cases in the region.
- How does large-scale mining affect women?
The impacts of mining areas are much more complex for women.
In general, mining companies are established in areas where agro-pastoral economies and even small-scale mining are practiced. These communities assign a minor role to money as a source of economic security for the family. The great majority of the inhabitants consume the food produced on their farms and the fruit of raising their animals. The arrival of the mining company violently disrupts the local economic dynamics; the jobs offered by mining are mostly assigned to young men, who become the sole providers of money for the home. The inhabitants become totally dependent on the company's salaries and neglect work on their land, if they still have it, and other non-monetary forms of survival. In most cases, women take on all the work that men stop doing because they work in the mining company and are left alone to care for children, animals, land production, etc. When they have lost their property, they are forced to migrate to nearby towns in search of work, leaving their children in the care of their grandparents.
Women suffer greater impacts in terms of psychological and physical health. The arrival of young men in search of work and the loss of economic sovereignty pushes many women into prostitution. Cases of rape and the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases are increasing. Violence against women is increasing dramatically due to the large increase in alcohol and drug consumption.
At the political level, women are generally excluded from the negotiation processes that are usually undertaken between the community and the mining companies and their demands are generally ignored or minimized. Traditionally, women safeguard the social cohesion of the community, which is why they are in many cases the strongest opponents of the entry of companies.
Furthermore, environmental pollution caused by mining can lead to miscarriages, birth defects or other serious pathologies in children, which puts a greater burden on women, who are traditionally responsible for their care.
Finally, the few women who do find work in the mines are exposed to workplace discrimination and constantly suffer from sexual harassment.
- What specific impacts do indigenous peoples face?
In addition to the socio-environmental consequences mentioned in the previous questions, it is worth highlighting that the arrival of mining projects in the territories of indigenous peoples and nationalities entails specific consequences for these groups.
The way of life of indigenous peoples and the richness of their worldview, closely linked to Nature, are irreversibly trampled upon by the destruction and pollution of the environment caused by mining. In many cases, mining activity also involves the destruction of places of worship, sacred sites, meeting places, among others.
In some cases, the community structure of indigenous politics and economy is shattered by the money that companies offer to their leaders or to certain members of the community. Perhaps the most profound impact is the shift from a community economy, based on a direct and organic link with Nature, to a capitalist, consumer economy, dependent on money.
In addition, the identity of peoples and nationalities is disrespected by those who promote mining, rulers, businessmen, and transnational actors, who constantly disqualify the indigenous worldview in practice and discourse.
Finally, there are numerous cases in which indigenous rights - guaranteed both nationally and internationally - have been violated. In certain extreme cases, industrial mining has led to the disappearance of entire indigenous peoples.
- What are the possible violations of human rights?
Just look at what is happening in the Andean region. For example, around 70% of the forced displacements that occurred in Colombia between 1995 and 2002 occurred in mining areas. In mining regions, territories belonging to entire communities are expropriated to allow access to the deposits. Certain communities disappear completely if they are unlucky enough to find themselves within the area of influence of a mining project. In the case of Ecuador, this type of practice has already been observed in San Marcos, at the site of the Mirador copper project of the company ECSA in the Cóndor mountain range. In the case of the Junín project in Íntag, at least four communities would have to be relocated if exploitation were to take place.
To evict residents or suppress acts of resistance, companies hire private security companies, security agents and paramilitaries, but in many cases it is the State itself that puts public forces at the service of private mining companies.
In the mining areas of Peru, a country that is intended to be used as an example of mining liberalization, human rights violations have multiplied exponentially; the massacre that took place in Bagua in June 2009 is just one of the most publicized episodes in a long chain of repression and systematic violation of human rights.
In Peru, mining and oil conflicts, especially the former, account for more than 80% of all registered social conflicts. In other parts of the world, murders of community and indigenous leaders involved in resistance to mining activity have been recorded.
In the mining areas of Peru, a country that is intended to be used as an example of mining liberalization, human rights violations have multiplied exponentially; the massacre that took place in Bagua in June 2009 is just one of the most publicized episodes in a long chain of repression and systematic violation of human rights.
In Peru, mining and oil conflicts, especially the former, account for more than 80% of all registered social conflicts. In other parts of the world, murders of community and indigenous leaders involved in resistance to mining activity have been recorded.
In Ecuador, some of the most serious cases of human rights violations in recent years are related to transnational mining companies. This reality was recognized in 2008 by the Constituent Assembly when it granted amnesty to hundreds of people criminalized by mining companies. It is worrying to see that, even though there are still no industrial projects in the exploitation phase, state repression against indigenous and community leaders has been fierce. Currently, more than 90% of those accused of terrorism and sabotage come from social movements opposed to large-scale mining.
FOUNTAIN: The perverse verses of mining
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