Oil as Risk in Waorani Territory

In a visit to the Amazonian city of Coca in 2014, President Correa told local residents that petroleum brings Buen Vivir, that oil is a blessing not a curse, and that through infrastructure and services, people there can achieve a life of dignity. Traditional ecological knowledge, subsistence practices, and cultural lifeways were equated with ignorance, poverty, and misery; through urbanization, education, medical care, and economic growth, the Revolucion Ciudadana promised good living and “just compensation” for the disproportionate burdens experienced by oil-afflicted communities. We examine how these promises have fared through the collection of qualitative and quantitative data in two Waorani communities subject to development projects via Ecuador Estrategico: Gareno and Tiwino. Wage labor opportunities, mostly in oil work or construction, are unstable and fleeting; bureaucratic obstacles, logistics, and lack of information keep families from accessing bonos; and subsistence activities such as hunting are de-emphasized due to declining ecological conditions. In Gareno, the departure of the Anglo–French company Perenco (due to a disagreement with Correa’s government) led to the arrival of the national company, Petroamazonas, whose contractual agreement with the indigenous community was rife with problems. In Tiwino, the relationship between Waorani residents, the Brazilian company Petrobell, and Ecuador Estrategico has led to protests, violence, arrests, injuries, and deaths. Risk mapping interviews at the household level with residents in Gareno and Tiwino reflected patterns in how indigenous peoples think with and about risk and oil promises: local concerns about contamination, education, and health highlight how the most basic services (education and health) are not being met, while the negative consequences of extraction (noise, trash, polluted water) are palpably felt. While the Revolucion Ciudadana has facilitated the acquisition of material aspects of modernity (e.g., cell phones, DirecTV), the value of these goods are questionable if basic needs—potable water, sewage, healthcare, education—continue to go unmet.