Chevron racism toward Ecuador highlighted by court decision in BP case
[Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited Chevron to respond. Response provided.] A legal decision handed down last week…found that BP's "gross negligence" caused the Deepwater Horizon blowout in the Gulf of Mexico…Judge Barbier's finding underscores the obvious racism behind Chevron CEO John Watson's claim that the company's $9.5 billion judgment in Ecuador represents some sort of gouging by that country's courts. While BP pays for its spill, Chevron has managed to obtain effective impunity…BP's liability for the less impactful Gulf spill in the U.S. is now five times higher…than Chevron's in Ecuador. Yet Chevron's contamination in Ecuador is more widespread, has lasted far longer, was deliberate, has severely impacted indigenous groups, and is afflicting the world's most delicate ecosystem…[L]et's speak the unpleasant truth about environmental racism in the oil industry today. The truth is that in Ecuador, the victims of Chevron's contamination are Ecuadorian indigenous peoples and poor villagers. In the U.S., the victims are Americans…[Also refers to Andarko Petroleum]