Ecuador FM discusses Chevron appeal in a $9B lawsuit

Americas Now

Ecuador has a lot to lose if the climate should drastically change. Named for the equator on which it sits, the nation has a rich biodiversity. Its landscape includes the Andes Mountains, a part of the Amazon River Basin and the Yasuni National Park, the largest untouched rain-forest reserve in the country.

But the place that draws more attention is the Lago Agrio field known internationally for the serious ecological problems that oil exploitation has created there, including water pollution, and soil contamination.

Since 1993, lawyers representing local residents have sought to force Oil Company Chevron to clean up the area and to offer care of those allegedly affected. In February 2011, an Ecuadorian court ordered Chevron to pay $9 billion in compensation. But Chevron appealed to a U.S. court arguing that the sentence was obtained by “coercion, bribery, money laundering and other misconduct.”

Americas Now interviewed the Foreign Minister of Ecuador, Ricardo Patiño, in New York City as he attended the U.N. General Assembly.

Ecuador FM discusses Chevron appeal in a $9B lawsuit

Americas Now interviewed the Foreign Minister of Ecuador, Ricardo Patiño, in New York City as he attended the U.N. General Assembly.