This Wednesday, in the closing activity of the campaign in favor of the referendum that will take place next Sunday in conjunction with the presidential and legislative elections, Prensa Latina spoke with the young Esteban Barrega, of the Quito Sin Minería group.
Choco Andino, for example, has a variety of birds similar to all of Europe and there are also the city’s last crystal rivers, with five hydrographic basins benefiting a million people, Parega explained.
He criticized those who believe in responsible mining, because here there is no control by the authorities, only by the community, even discovering concessions operating illegally and already damaging water sources and archaeological remains.
In the midst of the batucadas centered in La Carolina Park, north of town, people were heard saying “Vote yes!”.
The day before, during a discussion organized by the National Electoral Council, the President of the Ecuadorian Chamber of Mines, María Eulalia Silva, stated that minerals are essential to modern life, and that is why they must be extracted responsibly.
“Good at it,” said the executive, who advocated mining, according to international standards, as a way to increase employment in areas where it has been carried out.
On Sunday, August 20, Quito residents must, in addition to going to the polls to elect a president, vice president and legislators like the rest of Ecuadorians, issue their standards on extractive mining activity in that nature reserve. In all, there will be four questions for the residents of the metropolitan municipality to say whether or not they agree with the ban on mining on a large, small, medium or artisanal scale.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has declared the area, which has an area of more than 286,000 hectares, as a biosphere reserve.
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