Collecting 200.000 signatures by October 2022, this is the goal of the ongoing campaign “Quito sin mineria”. The campaign was launched in March 2022 by a group of organisations, collectives and people from the towns in the northwest of Quito who want to defend the Metropolitan District of Quito (MDQ) from mining. With the campaign they want to collect enough signatures to let the inhabitants of northwestern Quito decide for themselves whether they agree or not with mining in Ecuador’s Chocó Andino Biosphere reserve. Although seeking public consultation is a constitutional right in the country, the campaign is a large undertaking, especially given Ecuador’s mining favourite climate and the ongoing violations against environmental and human rights defenders.
Towards a Consulta Popular in Quito
The campaign “Quito sin mineria” opposes mining projects in the Metropolitan District of Quito and the Chocó Andino region. But first and foremost, the initiators of the campaign want the people of northwestern Quito to be able to decide for themselves, through public consultation, whether or not they agree with mining in the region.
The organisations, collectives and people behind the Quito Sin Minería campaign, find it important to make their voices heard on issues that affect their lives and their futures.
The Quito sin Mineria campaign: what’s next? .
Once the period for collecting signatures is over, the National Electoral Council (CNE) must validate the signatures. If the threshold is passed, the entity will have to set a date for the referendum and guarantee the resources for the voting day [as cited by CATAPA]. The signatures are required to include this consulta popular in the mid-term elections in 2023. This will hopefully allow the inhabitants to exercise their right to public consultation and to safeguard the Metropolitan District of Quito and the Chocó Andino from mining once and for all.
You can support the campaign by following their networks and share their content to give more visibility to their struggles:
Twitter: @Quitosinminería
Facebook: @Quitosinminería
Instagram: @Quitosinminería
You can also contribute by donating directly to their campaign account: https://www.quitosinmineria.com/unete/
Reposted from CATAPA. Read the full article here.
