Weekly Report - 15 March 2012 (WR-12-11)

Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa is facing what he is calling the final test of strength before the formal start of the election campaign on 18 October, ahead of presidential and congressional elections on 17 February 2013. An indigenous march is approaching Quito from Zamora Chinchipe, the country’s southernmost province, and should reach the capital on 22 March. The marchers are protesting against large-scale mining projects: Conaie, the umbrella indigenous group organising the march, maintains that mining will consume and contaminate vital water supplies and that it has never been consulted by the government about its plans. The march will pass through Andean highland provinces where support for Correa has waned in recent years. The government is trying to undercut support for the march by rolling out projects in these provinces in advance of its arrival, as Correa seeks to crush any confidence the political opposition could derive from it.