Defying Ecuador referendum, oil drilling planned in world’s most biodiverse region

By Rosamma Thomas* 

On April 7, 2026, Ecuador’s Electoral Disputes Tribunal (TCE) imposed fines totaling USD 18,000 on two members of YASunidos, an ecological organisation defending democracy and the rights of nature. The fines are to be paid within 30 days. The penalty was imposed for their participation in the 2023 Yasuní Popular Consultation process, a citizen-led initiative to decide whether the region’s vast natural wealth should be further opened to oil exploration.

Oil exploration in the area began in 2016 and was expanded in 2019. In the August 20, 2023 referendum, held alongside general elections, voters chose to ban oil extraction in the region. Under its terms, the state oil company Petroecuador was required to dismantle drilling operations, with all extraction to cease within a year.

The nearly 10,000 sq km Yasuní National Park, established in 1979 between the Napo and Curaray rivers, is a dense rainforest and one of the most biodiverse areas on Earth. It is home to Indigenous communities living in voluntary isolation, while tributaries of the Amazon River serve as vital waterways. Its extraordinary ecological richness had earlier led former President Rafael Correa to propose an international initiative to protect the region in exchange for global compensation.

The TCE’s action against democratic organising follows an earlier complaint by the National Electoral Council (CNE) that had been dismissed. Weeks later, after an appeal by the CNE, the TCE issued a sanction, reinforcing concerns about the use of electoral institutions to penalise civic engagement.

Significantly, the referendum itself was initiated by citizens and later incorporated into law. Yet regulations intended for political parties were applied to judge non-partisan civic participation.

The punishment rests on questionable grounds. YASunidos is accused of failing to submit campaign accounts, even though case records indicate that these were filed within the deadline. Authorities instead cited “insufficiencies” in addressing technical observations, rather than a complete failure to comply. “In other words, the category of the offense was stretched to persecute our organisation,” YASunidos said in a statement.

The group has highlighted what it calls the disproportionality of the case, pointing to trivial discrepancies such as an accounting difference of USD 0.39, and extra-legal requirements concerning the closure of the Taxpayer Registry (RUC). Bank statements were demanded for a zero-balance account—documents that banks do not issue under such conditions. A USD 100 contribution was also questioned for lacking notarisation, despite no legal requirement for it.

Procedural irregularities have also been alleged, including the possible expiry of the CNE’s sanctioning authority, lack of personal notification of key rulings, introduction of new objections during hearings, denial of witness testimony and judicial assistance, and the fact that reports commissioned by the CNE found no evidence of illicit financing.

YASunidos maintains that the case is not about misuse of funds, but about elevating minor formalities into grounds for exemplary punishment.

“No real offense is being sanctioned: what is being punished is citizen participation, the exercise of the right to defend nature, and the persistence of a critical voice that has, for years, denounced the failure to comply with the popular mandate on Yasuní and the accelerating democratic erosion in Ecuador,” the organisation said, describing the action as political persecution.

The case raises broader concerns about citizens’ freedom to organise and participate in public life without fear. According to the group, the penalties are intended to wear down, discipline, and silence critics of the extractivist model.

YASunidos has called for international support, urging wider dissemination of its message. The fines are due within a month, and the organisation operates without formal legal registration, relying on volunteers. It is also preparing to approach Ecuador’s Constitutional Court, which it describes as “the last space within the justice system not under the control of the current government.”

Developments in Ecuador, it argues, carry global implications, touching on environmental protection, democratic rights, and geopolitical alignments. President Daniel Noboa is seen as a close ally of US President Donald Trump, while Ecuador has expanded cooperation with the United States on anti-drug trafficking operations. The FBI has recently opened a permanent office in the country.

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*Freelance journalist