"Indigenous and environmental leaders in Ecuador say they are facing state intimidation", 16 October 2025

...Indigenous and environmental leaders in Ecuador say they are facing a wave of state intimidation ahead of a national referendum next month on whether to rewrite the world’s only constitution that recognises the rights of nature...

The referendum on 16 November will decide whether to establish a constituent assembly to reform or replace the constitution, a process that would enable the president to put pressure on the main organisation that is resisting his push for more power: the constitutional court. It will also address several other far-reaching changes proposed by Noboa, including a reduction of seats in the legislative assembly, party funding and foreign military bases...

A protected areas law, for example, purportedly enhances environmental sustainability and the management of conservation areas, but Indigenous groups say it is a ruse to bypass their right to free, prior and informed consent, while potentially opening up protected land to privatisation and extractive industries...

Demonstrators are also angry that at least 61 civil society leaders and organisations have had their bank accounts frozen, pending an “unjustified private enrichment” investigation by the public prosecutors office.

The Guardian has seen a list of those facing persecution. More than half were Indigenous activists, several of them campaigning against mines. Another quarter were environmental defenders. The rest were academics, journalists, women’s rights activists and local politicians...