Palo Quemado is a territory with eight indigenous communities, and there is one in particular where deposits of gold, silver, copper and zinc have been found, all minerals needed for industry and technology.

In the parish, the Canadian company Atico Mining has a mining concession and a planned investment of USD 100 million. The construction of the La Plata mining project depends on the environmental licence, granted by the Ministry of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition. But this licence depends on the Ministry of Environment socialising the project with the community. This process began in June 2023 and has been paralysed since then due to opposition from an anti-mining group in the parish.

In March 2024, protests began in the parish following an alleged attempt by the company to revive this consultation process, and turned violent after the company allegedly called in hundreds of police and paramilitaries to quell them.

At least 36 people were injured. Clashes erupted again on 18 March, after which around 70 protesters were charged as terrorists.

The communities claim that, on 28 October, Palo Quemado was militarised to put pressure on the consultation process. At least eight truckloads of military personnel arrived at the site.

In November, organisations published an open letter addressed to President Noboa, Atico Mining Corporation and the Canadian Embassy in Ecuador, calling on the company to ‘cease its harassment and judicialisation of the communities’.

We invited Atico Mining to comment on the allegations, but the company did not respond.