19 August 2013 (14:44 UTC-07 Tango)/12 Shawwal 1434/28 Mordad 1391/13 Geng-Shen (7th month) 4711
“We are going to tell Latin America what Chevron has done in our country to shirk its responsibility, with that criminal campaign that it’s waging against Ecuador.”-Rafael Correa, democratically elected President of Ecuador
California based Chevron oil company has been declared by Ecuador to be an Enemy of the State!
That charge is based on the idea that any corporation that takes over another corporation economically, must also inherit any social/environmental responsibilities. Chevron took over Texaco, which operated for decades in Ecuador, and created at least $19 billion USD in environmental destruction, that is still ongoing. Chevron has refused to take responsibility for Texaco’s crimes.
President Correa, an economist educated in Europe and the United States, made the announcement about Chevron the same day he gave up on his plan to protect the Amazon rainforest from further oil drilling: “With deep sadness but also with absolute responsibility to our people and history, I have had to take one of the hardest decisions of my government.”
That plan failed due to the fact that not enough countries were willing to support the idea. Only $13 million of the needed $3.6 billion in funding was collected. It shows you that most leaders of most countries still believe in black gold!
Chevron has countered, but instead of targeting Ecuador, Chevron is targeting Argentina! Chevron raved in a public statement “That illegitimate Ecuadorian sentence threatens to make its effects resonate in Argentina, impacting subsidiary companies of Chevron who have nothing to do with the Ecuadorian judicial fraud.”
Chevron is now targeting Argentina’s YFP (Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales), which was partially seized in 2012 from Spain’s Repsol oil company. That same year Argentina’s President, Cristina Fernandez, gave Chevron huge rights in YFP in exchange for billions of U.S. dollars. Chevron now threatens to pullout of YFP if Argentina does not influence Ecuador to stop ongoing legal battles against Chevron.