Pueblos Indígenas, Derechos Humanos y Actividades Extractivas en Ecuador

The indigenous peoples in Ecuador throughout history have utilized various resistance mechanisms, including avoiding contact with the dominant population, as in the case of the isolated Tagaeri and Taromenane indigenous peoples. The history of Ecuador and its indigenous populations has been shaped by different models of nation-state, as well as by models of development and the continuation of colonial practices in indigenous territories. As a result of the oil boom, Ecuador's geopolitical situation underwent a drastic change with the entry of transnational actors and public indebtedness to international financial institutions, which ushered in a neoliberal and structural adjustment period. Subsequently, the results of over-indebtedness, neoliberal policies, different normative reforms, and the Texaco era led to the first national indigenous uprising called Inti Raymi. Following this event, indigenous peoples began to have greater political participation, eventually achieving one of the movement's greatest victories through the 2008 Constitution. The 2008 Constitution brought hope through the recognition of the Ecuadorian state within the Plurinational model, nature as a subject of rights, and advances in collective rights for indigenous peoples. However, the strengthening of the pink tide in the country resulted in the imposition of hegemonic practices that weakened the indigenous movement and expanded extractive frontiers in ancestral territories. In this context, the commodities boom and the decline of oil led to the emergence of mega-mining projects, which involved Canadian and Chinese companies. The Ecuadorian government, seeking to counteract North-South dynamics, declared a moratorium on external debt and found a new financing agent in China. Over time, progressivism focused on legal, oil, and mining reforms to attract foreign investment, instituting the Beijing Consensus in the country. Relations between China and Ecuador have been questioned and even accused of corrosive capital in the context of the iron triangle, as transnational companies have strengthened their presence in the country. Extractive projects in indigenous territories, the criminalization of social actors, and persecution of human rights and environmental defenders have raised questions about the role of the Ecuadorian state in protecting human rights within its jurisdiction. At first glance, the balance seems to favor the legal security of foreign investment. Nevertheless, this research aims to focus on the process of corporate capture and how a country with a primary economy can be influenced by transnational capital, all within the framework of the Ecuadorian state's human rights obligations and the lack of international responsibility of transnational corporations for human rights and environmental violations in indigenous territories.

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