Las políticas extractivistas del Ecuador y los derechos de la naturaleza. Un estudio crítico

Abstract

This research aims to analyze the structural contradiction between the constitutional recognition of the rights of nature in Ecuador and the implementation of extractivist policies, especially in the mining sector. Using a legal-dogmatic, deductive, and analytical approach, the study examines how the current legal framework, particularly the 2008 Constitution, has been systematically undermined by state practices that prioritize economic and transnational interests over life, water, and territory. The methodology included the study of legal, doctrinal, and jurisprudential sources, as well as the analysis of emblematic cases such as Kimsacocha and Fruta del Norte. These reveal a profound disconnect between the discourse of guarantees and the reality of extraction, in which nature is instrumentalized in the name of development. Based on this diagnosis, the research proposes legal reforms aimed at strengthening the binding participation of communities, active social oversight, and the protection of environmental defenders. The study concludes that as long as the State maintains a dual role as guarantor of rights and promoter of extractivism, the rights of nature will remain an unfulfilled constitutional promise, lacking real effectiveness in the territories. Keywords: rights of nature, extractivism, mining policy, good living, communities