For Ecuador's Party Of the Indigenous, Back to the Streets

[Say_What]

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QUITO, Ecuador -- In the bare headquarters of Pachakutik, the largest political party representing Ecuador's indigenous population, a small altar sits in a corner next to a metal folding chair. From afar it appears similar to antiques found in the graceful centuries-old Catholic churches across this Andean capital, but on closer inspection it is a political statement.

The altar consists of the laughing head of Uncle Sam against a backdrop of skyscrapers, missiles and the Statue of Liberty. The Spanish initials for the International Monetary Fund run across his chest, and in the background pigs are flying across a blue sky. The attached kneeler, usually a worn leather cushion, is a panel of rusty spikes.

As the only decoration in the party offices, the altar is a commentary on how indigenous Ecuadorans view the political priorities of their government and the United States, which they blame for their impoverished condition. It is also a symbol of the party's failed efforts to end years of disenfranchisement. After a short-lived experiment in which it participated in the national government, Ecuador's indigenous political movement has been consigned to its more familiar role as an opposition force.

The U.S.-backed president, Lucio Gutierrez, abruptly ended his alliance with the indigenous party in August, which left his administration with only a small base of support. Indigenous leaders are now planning a campaign of civil protest, perhaps as early as next month, to express their displeasure with the president and force changes in the country's economic policies.

<http://www.oneworld.net/external/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fwp-dyn%2Farticles%2FA38082-2003Oct29.html>

[Say_What]

1. Testimony ends in oil giant's Ecuador trial

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LAGO AGRIO, ECUADOR -- Testimony in the oil pollution trial of ChevronTexaco came to a close Wednesday with a spectacular pre-dawn lightning storm capping three days of sometimes explosive evidence.

The final stretch of this weeklong trial included testimony from a former minister of Ecuador's Ministry of Mines and Energy -- the government division responsible for oil drilling -- who caught the weary court audience's attention when he said a Texaco subsidiary knowingly used primitive waste disposal techniques in the 1970s and '80s.

Potentially just as surprising is an internal Texaco letter buried among the thousands of pages of documents still awaiting the judge's eyes. Presented by lawyers for the 30,000 rain forest residents suing ChevronTexaco, it indicates the oil company rejected the option of lining its earthen waste pits to protect the environment as too expensive.

"The current (unlined) pits are necessary for efficient and economical operation of our drilling ... operations. The total cost of eliminating the old pits and lining new pits would be $4,197,958. ... It is recommended that the pits neither be ... lined nor filled," a Texaco manager wrote in a 1980 letter.

"They decided not to spend the money," Cristobal Bonifaz, the lead U.S. attorney for the rain forest residents, charged in an interview outside the courtroom. "And the consequence of not spending money was sacrificing peoples' lives."

http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/7694198p-8633965c.html

[Judi Lynn]

2. As long as their own families live well, eh?

Isn't it amazing how much suffering some of our businessscums will inflict on the lives of other people?

From the article:

The documents on file with the court also detail a grim history of spills from the Trans Ecuadorean Pipeline, which carries oil over the Andes to world markets, including California.

From 1972 to 1989, breaks hemorrhaged 297,000 barrels of oil along the pipeline's 300-mile path. Seventy-three percent of the oil was spilled in what Texaco called the "East side, Amazon" region. (snip)

"Texaco knew ... its waste pits were not well-constructed, that they were" polluting the rain forest, Vargas Pasos said in a subsequent interview with The Bee at a nearby motel.

"I believe they were committing a crime against the region and the country," he added. "The consequences have demonstrated this: hundreds of people dead and sick. The water from the rivers is not good for drinking, not for bathing. It is a disaster." (snip)