On February 29, the Shuar Arutam People (PSHA) of Ecuador filed a complaint against Vancouver-based Solaris Resources Inc. before the British Columbia Securities Commission over its repeated failure to disclose material information to shareholders regarding its Warintza mining project, a large-scale copper and gold mine which overlaps with PSHA’s titled territory.

In the final years of his presidency, AMLO has faced opposition from Canada and the US, weathering legal challenges and diplomatic pressures from Ottawa and Washington over his efforts to increase the state’s role in his country’s energy and agriculture sectors. Likewise, Canada has vocally opposed AMLO’s measures to strengthen the Mexican state’s hand in mineral extraction.

At a time when the Ecuadorian government’s social disinvestment has wrecked the country’s economy and security sector, Canada is arguing for its right to deprive Ecuador of even more public money. Ottawa’s main concern is Ecuador’s resources: how to access them, and how to ensure Canadians can bring home as much profit as possible while exploiting them.

While the administration of Peruvian President Dina Boluarte prioritizes the growth of the mining sector, with the full-throated support of the Canadian embassy, organizations like Red Muqui are clear: in a time of increasing environmental pressure, those who stand to gain the most from mining are not those who will pay the biggest price.

On November 28, Panama’s Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the 20-year contract granted to Canadian mining company First Quantum is unconstitutional. The decision came after weeks of nationwide protests forced the government to announce a referendum on First Quantum’s contract for December 17. Now, however, the court seems to have decided the fate of the mine.

Argentines weary of annual inflation soaring above 140 percent and a poverty rate that reached 40 percent have elected right-wing libertarian economist Javier Milei. He had campaigned on the promise to privatize state-owned enterprises, slash government spending, dollarize the economy, eliminate the central bank, and close key ministries, among them health and education.

The Cobre Panamá copper mine, owned by Vancouver-based First Quantum Minerals, is once against facing widespread grassroots resistance from Panamanian activists. As Owen Schalk explains, the mine, which is the largest foreign investment in the country, has remained a central focus of Panamanian protest movements for more than a decade.

Cuba had been exciting, romantic, adventurous. The Chile of Allende appeared dull, tranquil, orderly. And for these very reasons, Chilean socialism was more dangerous. More dangerous in part because, if Chile could find a path to socialism without widespread violence ending in dictatorship, its example would effect a tremendous appeal throughout the world.

Ecuador just showed the world what it means to take climate change, biodiversity loss, and Indigenous sovereignty seriously, all with one national referendum. Canada is a rich country and one of the nations most responsible for climate change. It is long past time we catch up to reality and end our mad rush to burn the planet to the ground.

On August 20, 2023, Ecuador held two major referenda, one regional and one national. As Owen Schalk explains, the results of these votes indicate an overwhelming preference for environmental preservation over the expansion of mineral and oil extraction—as well as the nation’s desire to move away from the right-wing, pro-business policies of Guillermo Lasso.