Ecuador and Peru are located on the west coast of South America. They are home to numerous indigenous groups that have inhabited the Amazon forest, the Andes, and coastal regions for thousands of years. Because of the natural resources (oil and minerals) many indigenous people have been evicted or manipulated off their ancestral lands. The surrounding areas of mining and oil development have been contaminated causing sickness and death.

In Ecuador, after civil unrest in 2006, a socialist economist, Rafael Correa, was elected president in January 2007. He is leading a political movement that advocates reforms to the constitution that will take into consideration the native peoples and that will unchain Ecuador’s economy from the World Trade Organization (WTO) and World Bank.

Continued in Peru section...

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