Part 2 / Ecuador's Shuar Arutam tribe vs The Mining Machine

Threatened by lawsuits and standing in the way of billions of dollars  worth of raw material deemed necessary to drive the "green" renewable  energy transition, an indigenous family is defending their rainforest,  while a multinational mining company and the Ecuadorian government find  ways to circumvent constitutionally enshrined indigenous rights.

In the second chapter of filmmaker Oscar Leon's series on Ecuador's resistance, Leon travels to the rural Andean community of Buenos Aires to meet rural campesinos and indigenous citizens defending their land against multinational mining companies. The clash over land and resources goes to the heart of the conflict that paralyzed Ecuador's society in the summer of 2022 and challenged the presidency of billionaire neoliberal banker Guillermo Lasso.

In the latest installation of an ongoing series by The Grayzone, filmmaker Oscar Leon meets the leaders of an anti-mining and indigenous strike that paralyzed Ecuador for two weeks during June 2022. Leon visited two of the most representative towns of the Ecuadorian resistance and spoke to some of the key indigenous leaders to understand the issues behind their still-simmering conflict with the government.  

Check out this great video

Check out this great video

Check out this great video

Days after proclaiming that Ecuador had been "kidnapped by the mafias,"  Villavicencio was assassinated at close range by a gunman allegedly  hired by the narco gangs he had vowed to destroy. Our investigation  raises new questions about police and high-level political involvement  in the killing, while examining its impact on the country's August 24th  national election.

Facing impeachment, neoliberal Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso  pulled the trigger on a political reset. Lasso has effectively declared  one man rule until new elections are held on August 20. His move has  ignited the anger of the social organizations that led a country-wide  revolt last year.