In a referendum, 59 percent of Ecuadorians voted not to allow new oil drilling in an Amazon reserve in eastern Ecuador. International news agencies report this on Monday, after almost all votes had been counted. Two indigenous tribes live in the Yasuni reserve and there is a lot of biodiversity.
Read also: Ecuador votes in referendum to halt oil production in Amazon reserve
Environmental organizations have been calling for the plebiscite for ten years. One such organization, Yasunidos, says on X (formerly Twitter) that history has been written with this outcome. “It is the first time that a country has decided to defend life and leave oil in the ground. This is a historic victory for Ecuador and for the planet.”
“This is what real climate action looks like,” said activist Greta Thunberg on Instagram. The referendum also caught the attention of well-known actor and climate activist Leonardo DiCaprio, who on Instagram said Ecuador “can become an example for the democratization of climate politics.”
Lost billions
The Ecuadorian government was against the referendum. Currently, 12 percent of Ecuador’s daily oil yield comes from the Yasuni Reserve. According to the government, the cessation of oil extraction here will lead to more than 16 billion dollars (converted to 14.86 billion euros) in losses over the next twenty years. The state has not yet officially commented on the results.
Ecuadorians voted on the referendum on Sunday, at the same time as the first round of the presidential election. That round produced no winner, requiring a second round of voting to elect a new president. The elections were called early by President Guillermo Lasso. He had previously dissolved parliament to avoid impeachment after being accused of failing to intervene in a corrupt contract between the state oil transport company and a private tanker company. Lasso planned to double Ecuador’s oil production.