Copyright by Lindsey Tamar Engelman 2011
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Copyright by Lindsey Tamar Engelman 2011 The Thesis Committee for Lindsey Tamar Engelman Certifies that this is the approved version of the following thesis: The Forgotten Case of Esmeraldas: Perceptions of Contamination and Collective Action in an Ecuadorian Refinery Town APPROVED BY SUPERVISING COMMITTEE: Supervisor: Bjørn I. Sletto Co-Supervisor: Javier Auyero The Forgotten Case of Esmeraldas: Perceptions of Contamination and Collective Action in an Ecuadorian Refinery Town by Lindsey Tamar Engelman, B.A. Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts and Master of Science in Community and Regional Planning The University of Texas at Austin December 2011 Acknowledgements This work could not have been accomplished without the help and support of many. Most importantly, I would like to thank Wendy Mosquera who had the kindness to open her home to me and who took the time and energy to introduce me to anyone and everyone she thought would enhance my understanding of environmental issues in Esmeraldas. Her patience, hope, and determination are inspiring. I am also extremely grateful to everyone in Esmeraldas who took their time to speak with me and share their stories and knowledge. In particular, I would like to thank Eduardo Nazareno, Juan García Salazar, and Pablo Minda. I would also like to express my gratitude do Fernando García of FLACSO Ecuador for helping me with contacts in Esmeraldas. I am also appreciative of Nicholas Welcome for sharing his perspectives around environmental contamination and mobilization in Esmeraldas and look forward to reading his forthcoming work on similar subjects. I would like to thank Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies and the Long Foundation for their financial support throughout my research and graduate studies. I would also like to thank the School of Architecture for their financial support in my second phase of research. I am grateful to Karen Engle and the University of Texas Rapoport Center for allowing me to participate in the 2009 human rights delegation to Ecuador. It was essential in introducing me to my research topic and to several of my key contacts in Ecuador. I am also grateful to Javier Auyero for providing me the opportunity to explore issues of environmental suffering in Esmeraldas and giving me feedback throughout my research and writing process. I am of course immensely grateful to Bjørn Sletto who has always gone above and beyond his duties as my academic and iv thesis advisor. I am particularly grateful for his patience and encouragement that got me through some of my greatest struggles in writing up my research. Finally, I want to thank my family – my father, mother, siblings and fiancé - for the constant love and support they have provided me throughout my research, writing, and in all aspects of my life. They each have helped me make this happen in their own way. v Abstract The Forgotten Case of Esmeraldas: Perceptions of Contamination and Collective Action in an Ecuadorian Refinery Town Lindsey Tamar Engelman, M.A.; M.S.C.R.P. The University of Texas at Austin, 2011 Supervisor: Bjorn I. Sletto Co-Supervisor: Javier Auyero Although much national and international attention has been given to the disastrous effects of oil spills in indigenous, Amazonian communities, virtually nothing is known about the effects of oil refinement, storage and shipping that takes place in the urban, largely Afro-descendent communities of Esmeraldas. This work addresses the near disregard of environmental suffering and injustice experienced by people in Esmeraldas and provides an understanding of both their resistance and acquiescence to the burdens created by the oil economy. I look at how these perspectives feed (and do not feed) collective action to demand protections from the environmental harms of the refinery and other industrial facilities in the area. In addition to exploring questions of mobilization, my hope is that this work gives voice to the environmental suffering in the city of Esmeraldas and that it adds to a growing body of work that considers the urban environmental suffering in Latin America. vi Table of Contents List of Figures ......................................................................................................... ix List of Acronyms & Glossary of Terms .................................................................. x Chapter 1: Esmeraldas Forgotten ............................................................................ 1 Methodology ................................................................................................... 6 Limitations & Challenges of Research ......................................................... 10 Chapter 2: The History of Esmeraldas .................................................................. 18 Oil in Ecuador ............................................................................................... 22 From Bananas to Black Gold: The Boom & Bust Development of Esmeraldas ............................................................................................................. 25 The Growth of 15 de Marzo & The Barrios del Sur: Development & Challenges ............................................................................................................. 31 Chapter 3: The Far Reach of Contamination ......................................................... 39 Sources of Pollution in Esmeraldas .............................................................. 39 Rates of Pollution & Contamination: A Scientific Perspective .................... 44 Beyond Contamination: The Disrepair of REE ............................................ 53 Poverty, Health & Human Impact ................................................................ 58 Chapter 4: Cognitive Liberation? Local Knowledge, Perceptions, ....................... 64 and Uncertainties Regarding Contamination and Health ...................................... 64 Local Knowledge, Uncertainty, & Toxic Experiences in Esmeraldas ......... 68 Toxic Uncertainty or Forms of Knowing? ................................................... 73 The Role of Health Studies & Lead Tests .................................................... 75 Chapter 5: Collective Action and Social Protest ................................................... 81 Around Contamination in Barrios del Sur ............................................................. 81 Forms & Categories of Collective Action .................................................... 84 Types of Environmental & Health Claims in Esmeraldas ............................ 87 Historic Cases of Environmental Action ...................................................... 89 vii Responses to the 1998 La Propicia 1 Oil Spill & Fire: Legal Cases & Social Protest Activity United .................................................... 90 2002: A Year of Mobilizations ............................................................ 95 Social Protest Activities & Negotiation to Demand a Sewer System & Other Basic Services in the Barrios del Sur: ................. 95 The Case of the New Oil Pipeline: Negotiation & Dialogue ..... 99 The La Concordia Strike & Blockade: Social Protest Activity 101 Analysis of Mobilizations ........................................................................... 102 Conclusion: Impediments to Sustained Collective Action .................................. 106 Appendices .......................................................................................................... 115 Map A: National Context Map ................................................................... 116 Map B: Regional Context of Esmeraldas ................................................... 117 Map C: Map of Oil Infrastructure in Ecuador ............................................ 118 Map D: City Map of Esmeraldas ................................................................ 119 References ........................................................................................................... 120 viii List of Figures Figure 2.1: View of refinery from slopes of 15 de Marzo ...................................... 19 Figure 2.2: Lookout over 15 de Marzo from hills. ................................................. 20 Figure 2.3 Entrance to pre-school in 15 de Marzo ............................................... 34 Figure 2.4 Street in 15 de Marzo after a rain ........................................................ 36 Figure 2.5 Street in 15 de Marzo .......................................................................... 37 Figure 3.1 Refinería Estatal de Esmeraldas .......................................................... 40 Figure 3.2 Oil Tanker trucks line Vía Refinería .................................................... 41 Figure 3.3 Termosesmeraldas and REE from road to Atacames .......................... 42 Figure 3.4 “Do Not Throw Garbage: School Zone” ............................................. 52 Figure 3.5 River cleanup after 2010 oil spill ......................................................... 62 Figure 3.6 Girls washing clothes next to oil cleanup workers .............................. 63 Figure 5.1: Streets in Propicia 1 paved through court award ............................... 93 Figure 5.2 Nursery in La Propicia 1 built through court award ........................... 94 Figure 5.3 UOSAFE Community House in financed by Petroecuador” ............... 98 ix List