TWEEDLE DEE & TEEDLE DUM
Environmentalists dismayed by Ecuador presidential candidatesAFP 2021-04-07
Environmental activists will feel stuck between a rock and hard place when forced to choose a new president
"Ecuador remains immersed in an extractivist policy. That is to say that both candidates believe Ecuador's future is in oil and that has nothing to do with reality," Carlos Larrea, the director of the socio-environmental unit at the Simon Bolivar University, told AFP.
Environmental activists will feel stuck between a rock and hard place when forced to choose a new president
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© Rodrigo BUENDIA Ecuadorans must choose between Andres Arauz (left) and Guillermo Lasso to be their next president, but environmentalists are not impressed LASSO WON
THE LEFT AND RIGHT WING OF CAPITALISM
Leftist Andres Arauz faces the right-wing Guillermo Lasso in a run-off election with both vowing to continue oil and mineral extraction, which has already devastated a sixth of Ecuador's Amazon jungle.
"Ecuador remains immersed in an extractivist policy. That is to say that both candidates believe Ecuador's future is in oil and that has nothing to do with reality," Carlos Larrea, the director of the socio-environmental unit at the Simon Bolivar University, told AFP.
© Rodrigo BUENDIA Should he be elected, former banker Guillermo Lasso (C) has pledged to reduce the use of fossil fuels, "stop" deforestation and launch projects to generate electricity using renewable sources
"Extractivist" policy refers to plans for extracting natural resources for export.
It's left the Environment Front -- a collective of 60 ecological and human rights organizations -- feeling glum about the future government of one of the most biodiverse countries in the world.
Having evaluated their election manifestos ahead of the February 7 first round, the Environment Front gave Arauz a "worrying" score of 63.6 out of 100, while Lasso was deemed "toxic" to the natural habitat with just 36.5.
"Extractivist" policy refers to plans for extracting natural resources for export.
It's left the Environment Front -- a collective of 60 ecological and human rights organizations -- feeling glum about the future government of one of the most biodiverse countries in the world.
Having evaluated their election manifestos ahead of the February 7 first round, the Environment Front gave Arauz a "worrying" score of 63.6 out of 100, while Lasso was deemed "toxic" to the natural habitat with just 36.5.
© CAMILA BUENDIA Andres Arauz, who plans to switch to clean energy instead of fossil fuels for generating electricity and for the public transport system, speaks during a campaign rally with rappers in Quito on April 1, 2021
"We're starting off with candidates that are not green, which is why we're demanding compromises from them," Natalia Greene, the vice-president of the CEDENMA group of organizations defending nature, told AFP.
It could have been different, though, had Lasso not defeated socialist indigenous campaigner Yaku Perez to make it into the runoff round of voting.
Perez, a long-time campaigner against mining and for the defense of water, scored 93.4 in the Environment Front evaluation.
He's a member of Pachakutik, the political arm of Ecuador's largest indigenous movement battling the mass exploitation of natural resources in their lands.
"We're starting off with candidates that are not green, which is why we're demanding compromises from them," Natalia Greene, the vice-president of the CEDENMA group of organizations defending nature, told AFP.
It could have been different, though, had Lasso not defeated socialist indigenous campaigner Yaku Perez to make it into the runoff round of voting.
Perez, a long-time campaigner against mining and for the defense of water, scored 93.4 in the Environment Front evaluation.
He's a member of Pachakutik, the political arm of Ecuador's largest indigenous movement battling the mass exploitation of natural resources in their lands.
Ecuador officially recognizes the rights of "Pacha Mama" -- an indigenous deity that means "Mother Earth" in the Quechua language -- such as her existence and the maintenance and regeneration of her cycles of life.
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