LatinNews Regional Monitor: Andean Group - 24 February 2020

* Ecuador’s constitutional court (CC) has ruled for a second time against a popular consultation on whether to ban metal mining in Azuay province. Provincial governor, Yaku Pérez, requested the consultation on 7 January, after the CC rejected his initial petition in September 2019. Local activists contend that gold and copper mining in Azuay – worth an estimated US$390.9m between 2020-2021 – has damaged the local environment, and the province’s water supply in particular. In June 2018, a local court ruling suspended operations at Azuay’s Río Blanco mine, in response to evidence of water source pollution. Pérez insisted that he would continue fighting, promising that “actions are coming at a national and international level”.

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