The Ecuadorian National Anti-Mining Front condemned on Saturday the large-scale deployment of police and military personnel in the community of Palo Quemado, Cotopaxi province, where the Ministry of Environment is advancing a new environmental consultation to approve the exploitation phase of the La Plata mining project, managed by the transnational company Atico Mining.

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In a statement, the Front warned Ecuadorian society as well as national and international human rights organizations about the emergence of “a scenario of repression against peasant communities,” supporting their claim with videos circulated on digital platforms showing the deployment of personnel to the area.

Since the 1990s, Ecuador has been the scene of conflicts between rural communities and extractive projects, mainly mining, which have resulted in forced displacements, judicial persecution of social leaders, criminalization of protests, and irreversible damage to fragile ecosystems.

Areas such as Intag, Mirador, Río Blanco, and Fruta del Norte have witnessed confrontations between state forces and residents opposing large-scale mining.

Environmental and anti-mining organizations have denounced the lack of prior, free, and informed consultations, violating the Ecuadorian Constitution and the International Labour Organization’s Convention 169, which establishes the obligation to consult indigenous peoples before undertaking projects that affect their territories.

According to these groups, the processes are often marked by irregularities, pressure, co-optation of leaders, and excessive use of force.

In the case of Cotopaxi, communities have long denounced that mining threatens their water sources, agricultural soils, and traditional productive activities, generating risks of heavy metal contamination and destruction of paramo ecosystems.

Despite the complaints and appeals by the communities, the Provincial Court of Justice of Cotopaxi rejected their appeals on August 15, clearing the way for the Ministry of Environment to call this new consultation process “under the same parameters of unconstitutionality,” according to the MICC.

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