One of the first issues I could see returning to the table with the situation concerning the IMF loan was mining. It seems to me we tend to buckle on our principals and morals when faced with losing our way of life. When a poor country has such massive debt, it unfortunately makes them vulnerable to the countries/corporations of greater power. I grabbed this image from a video I watched the other night wanting to translate it, making sure I understood what it’s implications were. As you can see from the third point, significant allowances are being made for heavy machinery, in other words, mining…….
I received a video of the meeting we attended in Pucara a few weeks ago showing such passion and determination to prevent the mining here. One can only hope their good intentions will prevail, but it seems to me, the government many have alternate plans for the future of the people in Ecuador. Their strict environmental policies taking a back seat to their need for financial gain. It is the opinion of some gringos here, this is connected to the IMF loan, Julian Assange’s asylum being withdrawn, supposedly for repeated violations and finally a visit from Pompeo in July. I confess to not having enough information to confirm or deny these coincidences, but my feelings are, it is true. For the people I am staying with right now, following these stories is kind of a religion, so I assume they know what they are talking about. According to them, the mining will not create jobs for the people because they use heavy machinery, not human labor. So if it’s not about creating jobs, then it is strictly greed in my opinion. Control the government, steal the resources and impoverish the people, this is the intention of the IMF – sort of a continuing saga down here.
In any case, my intuition tells me fighting off the mining companies will not be so easy now, but the people here are strong and do band together to stand against government decisions they do not agree with. While the buses and taxies were ordered to go back to work, a human blockade was formed in it’s place, so this will not go away easily, I think. But there you have it – the positive and the negative of a serious issue. Which way will the tide go I wonder…….
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