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| Photo of a panel discussion at WFYS. Photo by Mathieu Breton www.QuebecphotoMB.com |
By Peter Miller
With
Ecuador hosting the World Festival of Youth and Students, participants heard
about movements fighting against imperialism and for social transformation. One
movement highlighted was Ecuador's battle against the oil giant, Chevron.
The festival had panel discussions about the importance of nationalization of energy and oil resources. Countries that use revenue from these resources to combat poverty and to develop infrastructure, health‑care, and education are much better off than countries that allow profits to go to shareholders of large corporations.
Texaco (now Chevron) was
drilling in the Ecuadorian rainforest without the consent of indigenous
communities from 1964 to 1990. Throughout Texaco's stay, the company dumped
more than 18 billion gallons of toxic wastewater, spilled roughly 17 million
gallons of crude oil, and left hazardous waste in 916 open pits. Texaco chose
to use environmental practices that were illegal in the United States and
Ecuador to increase profits. The company saved 3 dollars per barrel of oil
produced as a result of its substandard environmental practices in Ecuador.
The result of this
capitalist‑made environmental disaster has been the devastation
of indigenous and campesino communities that live in the Oriente region of the
Amazon Rainforest. Contamination has reduced fish and game stocks and harmed
the way of life of indigenous peoples including the Cofan, Siona, Secoya,
Kichwa and Huaoran people. Studies have found that there have been at least
1401 excess cancer deaths in the region because of contamination. Communities
have experienced an excess rate of birth defects and miscarriages as well.
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| Delegates at lunch area. Photo by Mathieu Breton |
In
a case now in New York, the oil giant claims that plaintiffs have been trying
to extort money from Chevron with the help of corrupt Ecuadorian courts.
Chevron is working hard to not fix its mess, including using substandard
practices when testing pollution in the Oriente and blaming pollution on Petro‑Ecuador. The company claims that its remediation
from 1995 to 1998 was adequate, when the cleanup ignored many contaminated
sites and served to hide contaminated areas.
With Chevron refusing to
pay the court judgment, villagers have filed collection actions in Canada,
Brazil, and Argentina to seize Chevron's assets in order to generate funds to
clean up their lands. Recently an Ontario court has ruled that indigenous
communities have the right to attempt to seize Chevron's assets in Canada. A
later court will decide if the plaintiffs can seize assets or not.
At the World Festival of
Youth and Students, around five delegates from each country biked for justice
against Chevron. They rode from the festival grounds to an anti‑imperialist court, where representatives of
delegations listed the imperialist crimes against their countries. The
representative from Ecuador spoke out against Chevron's crimes.
At one point in the
festival, workers from the Ecuadorian Government interviewed participants about
the Chevron case. They were particularly interested in the views of the Pan‑Canadian delegation. making sure to stop by our
booth. We made sure to speak out in solidarity with Ecuador.
Canada must respect the
judiciary of Ecuador, and allow Oriente communities to seize the assets of
Chevron. Environmental activists, progressive students, and workers are encouraged
to show support for Ecuador outside Canadian courts that will be deciding
whether assets can be seized. Call for justice for Ecuador!
(The author was a member of the Pan‑Canadian delegation to the WFYS in Ecuador.)
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