Indigenous communities from Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest have filed a lawsuit against the government of right-wing President Guillermo Lasso to halt his plans for a massive expansion of oil and mining extraction in the region — endangering millions of acres of pristine and sacred land and the livelihood of Indigenous nations.

Quito.- Hundreds of Indigenous elders and youth arrived in the capital Quito on Monday to file the lawsuit with Ecuador’s highest court. This is a Waorani leader speaking yesterday.

One of the organizers of the protest, Nemonte Nenquimo, told reporters: “As Waorani de Pastaza, our territory is life. We live there, cultivate, fish, hunt. We grow yucca and plantains to feed our children. We rely on the rainforest, on the land, on the river. If oil companies enter the Waorani of Pastaza territory, all the 22 communities that live there and others will be affected.” (RHC)