Causecast

by AARON HORWITZ, Contributing Writer

For more than fifteen years, a fierce battle has been going on in the jungles of Ecuador, but it’s not the kind you might think. This is a war fought not with guns and tanks, but pens and paper, not with soldiers or rebels, but with corporate lawyers and local activists. The Davids of this story are the people living in the Amazon of northern Ecuador. The Goliath is massive oil conglomerate Chevron.

In 1993, a legal case was officially filed in New York, but Texaco had it moved to the courts of Ecuador, claiming that their courtrooms were both impartial and professional. Thus, the long and tedious trial began that will finally have a decision by year’s end (hopefully).

The locals claim that throughout the 1970s and 80s, Texaco (which was purchased by Chevron in 2001) irresponsibly polluted the Amazon that they call home, contributing to hundreds of cancer-related deaths and a host of other health problems. And that’s just the beginning.

Texaco arrived in Ecuador in 1964, and pumped for over 18 years of full-scale production, extracting 1.5 billion gallons of oil. In that time, the plaintiff claims, Texaco’s pipeline breaks spilled more than 17 million gallons of oil. They also dumped 20 billion gallons of waste water into rivers that tens of thousands of locals drink from and bathe in regularly. As if this didn’t sound like a potential movie script already, the lawyer for the plaintiffs is 36 year-old local Pablo Fajardo Mendoza, and this is his first legal case. Among his past professions, he spent four years working for an oil company.

The effects oil drilling has had on the Ecuadorian Amazon, which contains 5% of all the world’s plant and animal species, are undeniable. Hundreds of unlined pits filled with the muddy sludge dumped by the oil company still remain, and are rife with toxins that have seeped into the ground. A 14-member scientific team appointed by the court did a thorough environmental investigation, and announced findings that completely support the plaintiff’s claims. They have assessed potential damages at $27 billion.

Chevron Corp. meanwhile is pointing fingers in every direction but their own. They acknowledge the pollution in the region, but blame it on local oil company Petroecuador. Similarly, they dispute the findings of the scientific team’s report, claiming the group was biased toward the plaintiff. Chevron is similarly complaining about the local courts in the tiny Ecuadorian town of Lago Agrio (despite their request to relocate the trial to the South American country).

The government admits that Petroecuador does share part of the blame (they own the local oil company, after all), but is strongly on the side of the locals, claiming Texaco deserves everything filed against them.

Hopefully, like the fabled David, the Ecuadorians will prevail, sending a message to the oil companies that they cannot simply come in and take as they please, while leaving a mass of environmental and health problems in their wake.

In the meantime, all they can do is wait as Lago Agrio judge Juan Nunez sifts through a staggering 145,000 pages of case files and legal documents.

Chevron is already discussing a possible appeal.

If you’d like to learn more about the conflict and do your part to support the Ecuadorians, visit ChevronToxico.com today.

Image by jrubinic, flickr