The Expansion Of Oil Extraction Versus The Indigenous Amazonians

A human rights publication, Intercontinental Cry reported that on May 11th, thousands of Amazonian indigenous people marched through the streets of South America, including Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil to protest against the expansion of oil extraction in the Amazon.

As oil blocks often consist of regions that are home to many indigenous nationalists, Amazonian indigenous people are resisting the intervention of the multinational and state-owned oil companies that are leading the ‘land-grab’ displacement of indigenous communities, which is contributing to the devastation of their biological and cultural diversity throughout the continent. Industrial pollutants are also the prime contaminant of water that is consumed by the surrounding communities and have caused dreadful diseases, such as cancer to those who cannot afford any substantial treatment. Organization Pastoral de Terra reports that, in Brazil alone, more than half a million people are directly affected by territorial conflicts in the Brazilian Amazon.

Furthermore, Amazon Watch reports that the Ecuadorian state government has been accused of assisting multinational corporations with the maintenance of oil extraction, which is in the violation of their law and the UN Charter. In proceeding with the extraction on the oil blocks 79 and 83, the government and Andes Petroleum consortium were accused of violating Article 57 of the country’s constitution and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, to which Ecuador became a signatory in 2007, by not consulting the Sápara indigenous people about the business deal.

According to Central Intelligence Agency, the negative impacts of oil extraction are most severely absorbed by the poorest segment of the population, which often includes indigenous, mixed race, and rural populations. That is because the matter of their livelihoods often heavily depends on the quality of accessible natural resources. With that said, the poorest are the primary victims of the extreme income inequality that has been worsened by the inflow of the oil windfall.

Development has always been the excuse behind oil extraction, as both political left and right parties of the continent have invested in extractive development for decades. However, it is clear that such ‘development’ is not sustainable as it does not directly benefit, if not causing more harm, to the most vulnerable. “Such development is the problem, not the solution,” says Carlos Pérez Guartambel, from the Andean Network of Indigenous Organizations (CAOI) and the Confederation of Kichwa Peoples of Ecuador (ECUARUNARI).

Similarly, many studies show that being highly dependent on oil revenue for government funding, and being a so-called ‘rentier state’ encourages corruption at national, regional, and local levels. For instance, Toribia Lero Quishpe, from the CAOI and the Council of Ayllus Markas of the Quillasuyu (CONAMAQ) argues that the high-profile officials of Evo Morales have become more corrupted, as a result of licensing over 500 rivers to multinational companies.

Drilling the ancestral land may contribute to the short increase in the government’s budget in the name of development, yet it forces indigenous communities to the point of extreme desperation. The norm of the international community is clear that no human rights abuses are justifiable with economic reasons, especially after the issue of Dakota pipeline that triggered enormous media outrage.

Lina Na Gyoung Lee

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