A referendum on banning

oil exploitation Petroleum is a fossil fuel that can be drawn from beneath the Earth's surface. Reservoirs of petroleum are formed through the mixture of plants, algae, and sediments in shallow seas under high pressure. Petroleum is mostly recovered from oil d ...

in the

Yasuní National Park Yasuní National Park () is a protected area comprising roughly between the Napo River, Napo and Curaray Rivers in Pastaza Province, Pastaza and Orellana Province, Orellana Provinces within Amazon basin, Amazonian Ecuador. The national park lie ...

was held in

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

on 20 August 2023 alongside

general elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

. If the proposal was accepted, a progressive withdrawal of all activities related to oil extraction would occur within one year from the announcement of the official results, and the state would not be able to take action intending to initiate new contracts to continue

oil exploration Hydrocarbon exploration (or oil and gas exploration) is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for hydrocarbon deposits, particularly petroleum and natural gas, in the Earth's crust using petroleum geology. Exploration methods V ...

in the block. The referendum was a

popular initiative A popular initiative (also citizens' initiative) is a form of direct democracy by which a petition meeting certain hurdles can force a legal procedure on a proposition. In direct initiative, the proposition is put directly to a plebiscite o ...

demanded by

indigenous communities There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

for more than ten years before being finally validated by the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...

in May 2023. The proposal was approved. The choice was seen as a blow to President

Guillermo Lasso Guillermo Alberto Santiago Lasso Mendoza (; born 16 November 1955) is an Ecuadorian businessman, banker and politician who served as the 47th president of Ecuador from 2021 to 2023. He was the country's first conservative president in nearly tw ...

, who had advocated for drilling. State oil company

Petroecuador EP Petroecuador (''Empresa Estatal Petróleos del Ecuador''; ''Empresa Pública Petroecuador''; meaning: State Petroleum Company of Ecuador) is the national oil company of Ecuador. Ecuador is a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporti ...

will have to dismantle its drilling operations in the area in the coming months.

Political campaign

The positions presented by the various political and social organizations are as follows:

Support Yes vote

* Popular Unity *

Socialist Party – Broad Front of Ecuador The Ecuadorian Socialist Party () is a left-wing political party in Ecuador. It was founded in 1926 and reconstituted as the Socialist Party – Broad Front of Ecuador in 1995 after a merger with the Leftist Broad Front, the electoral wing of th ...

* * * General Union of Ecuadorian Workers *

Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador () or, more commonly, CONAIE, is Ecuador's largest indigenous rights organization. The Ecuadorian Indian movement under the leadership of CONAIE is often cited as the best-organized and ...

Support No vote

AMIGO Movement The AMIGO Movement (; short for '','' AMIGO) is an Ecuadorian political party. It was founded in the province of Manabí by former assemblyman Daniel Mendoza, under the name "Mejor: Emprendimiento, Justicia, Oportunidades Reales". In 2019, it w ...

*Confederación Intercultural de Pueblos y Nacionalidades del Ecuador Amaru

Position of presidential candidates

The campaigns of

Jan Topić Jan Tomislav Topić Feraud (born 23 April 1983) is an Ecuadorian businessman, economist, and politician who ran for President of Ecuador in the 2023 Ecuadorian general election. He was eliminated in the first round held on 20 August 2023, coming ...

Yaku Pérez Yaku may refer to: * Yakushima, Japan (屋久島), which could be referred to as Yaku Island * Yaku, Kagoshima, Japan (屋久町), a town on the island of Yakushima in Kagoshima Prefecture * Yaku, Nepal *A specific combination of tiles or cards th ...

, Daniel Noboa Azín, Christian Zurita and

Otto Sonnenholzner Otto Ramón Sonnenholzner Sper (, ; born 19 March 1983) is an Ecuadorian radio broadcaster, politician, and economist who served as the 50th Vice President of Ecuador from December 2018 to July 2020. He was a candidate for President of Ecuador ...

have indicated they support a yes vote in the referendum, while the campaigns of Bolívar Armijos, Xavier Hervas and

Luisa González Luisa Magdalena González Alcivar (born 22 November 1977) is an Ecuadorian politician and lawyer. She has been the President of the Citizen Revolution Movement since 2023 and was the party's presidential candidate in the 2023 Ecuadorian general ...

have indicated support for a no vote.

Opinion polls

Results

References

{{Ecuadorian elections

Yasuní Referendums in Ecuador Guillermo Lasso