Ecuador
The Yasuní National Park in Ecuador is one of the most biodiverse areas on the planet. On 20 August 2023, the people of Ecuador expressed themselves, after a decade-long campaign, in which they demonstrated their will to put an end to the exploitation of the natural park’s oil resources.
With the help of Alejandra Santillana Ortiz and David Fajardo Torres from the YASunidos Collective we will find out how, through the use of a direct democracy instrument - popular initiative referendum - it is possible to combine greater active participation of citizens with the necessary attention to environmental protection and to the rights of indigenous peoples.
Alejandra Santillana Ortiz
Alejandra is a sociologist and the current director of the Instituto de Estudios Ecuatorianos and a researcher at the Observatorio del Cambio Rural. She is a PhD candidate in Latin American Studies at UNAM, Mexico. She is part of the Working Group on Critical Studies of Rural Development and the Gender, Feminisms, and Memories Network of Latin America and the Caribbean. Additionally, she is part of the Feminist Confluence of the World Social Forum, the Feminist Digital Justice working group, the Transfeminist Assembly of Women and Dissidents, and the collective YASunidos in Ecuador.
David Fajardo Torres
David is an environmental lawyer and political scientist. Defender of the Rights of Nature, including the rights of the human species. He is a member of the YASunidos collective and Cabildo por el Agua de Cuenca.
Find more information about the YASunidos Collective here:
Website: https://www.yasunidos.org/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasunidos/
X: https://x.com/yasunidos?lang=en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YASunidos/
