'This is something that divides us': Ecuador's turbulent transition from oil dependence

With economic crises bearing down on the government, honouring the result of a referendum that demanded an end to drilling in a national park is proving difficultIn a small corner of Ecuador's Yasuní national park is the village of Llanchama. This Indigenous Quichua community is carved out of the dense Amazonian rainforest along the Tiputini River. But for nearly 10 years an entirely different development has been attempting to establish itself on the village's borders: the Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini (ITT) oilfield.Holmer Machoa Grefa grew up in Llanchama, and since 2013 has been fighting to get the oil industry out of his territory. Last August, he and his family were overjoyed when Ecuadorians voted to halt oil extraction in a historic referendum. Continue reading...