Being an economics class one of the focuses of this course is exploring the influence of oil Ecuador’s largest export, on Ecuador’s economy. Today we heard from Petro Ecuador, a company that transports, refines, and commercializes oil. Through this presentation we gained some insights into just how integral oil is to the Ecuadorian economy. Oil production funds 30% of Ecuador’s budget, employs thousands and is the largest source of exports. Being an outsider it is easy to say that oil exploitation is bad, especially for the environment, but this presentation showed that it is much more complex than that.
Later in the day we heard from Dr. Rene Bedon Garzon about “derechos de la naturaleza” or the rights of nature. In recent years there has been a movement from viewing nature as an object to viewing it as an active subject. This is shown through new articles being written into the constitution that give nature legal rights. Since oil is such an important part of Ecuador, it is interesting to learn how economics and bio diversity are being balanced.
By Mariah Gingrich
