James Clinton 1

Precious Metals, Precious Forest, and Political Organization:

The Complex Effects of Globalization in Junn, Ecuador

James Clinton
GS 400
5/2/14

James Clinton 2
I. Introduction: Neoliberalism & The Global Justice Movement
After the 1970s collapse of the Bretton Woods system, the world began to shift towards
an embrace of free-market capitalism: deregulation, privatization, and free trade.1 All of these
economic policies combined became known as neoliberalism, as it was a re-application of David
Ricardo and Adam Smiths Enlightenment ideas regarding free-market economicsthat the state
should interfere as little as possible, in order to unleash the invisible hand of market
capitalism. The global embrace of neoliberalism has been slow and volatile, yet steady. Since
the 1980s, the World Bank and International Monetary Fundlargely led by free-market
proponents from the United Stateshave encouraged an embrace of neoliberal ideals, by tying
valuable loan and foreign investment packages to the adoption of neoliberal policies. This
embrace of neoliberalism has led to the abandonment of previous protectionist economic policies
pursued by many developing countries around the world, including Ecuador.2 The emergence of
neoliberalism led to a variety of responses, including organized opposition to neoliberal
economic reform in Latin America during the 1980s and 1990s.
The Global Justice Movement emerged in response to neoliberal reforms across the
world, and consists of NGOs, social movement and civil society organizations, transnational
advocacy networks, unions, religious groups, and individual activists opposed to neoliberalism
and war[.]3 The GJM organizes protests to neoliberal reforms such as the slashing of public
services, privatization of industry, and the embrace of international free trade, while supporting
1

Manfred B. Steeger, Globalization: A Very Short Introduction (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009), 4041. The Bretton Woods system, the economic system embraced by the West after World War II, was tied to
the gold standard and abandoned by US President Richard Nixon in 1971. The following decade was riddled
with economic stagnation, and this eventually led to the rise of neoliberalismspearheaded by Ronald
Reagan and Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s.
2 Jeanne A.K. Hey and Thomas Flak, From Protectionism Towards Neoliberalism: Ecuador Across Four
Administrations (1981-1996) (Studies in Comparative International Development Fall: 66, 1999).
3 Valentine M. Moghadam, Globalization & Social Movements (Rowan & Littlefield Publishers, Inc; Lanham,
2013), 171.

James Clinton 3
debt relief, fair trade, environmental protection, the rights of the poor and indigenous peoples, as
well as efforts to combat poverty. While globalization theorist Valentine M. Moghadam points to
Europe as the modern center of the Global Justice Movement, he points out that some of first
protests to neoliberal reform took place in Latin America, and that the World Social Foruma
meeting place for a variety of organizations engaged in resisting neoliberal and militaristic
policiesfirst met in Latin America.4 Both facets of globalizationneoliberal economics and
the GJMconverged in Junn in the 1990s, and have remained in tension ever since. In many
areas of the world neoliberal forces have easily swept aside resistance, but in Junn the local
oppositionaided and guided by elements of the GJMhas been successful in blocking the
extractive industries empowered by economic globalization.
This paper focuses on how economic globalization is felt at the local level in Junn,
Ecuadora rural and poor community in the very bio diverse Cloudforest region of Northwest
Ecuadoras well as how Junns inhabitants have responded to these international pressures.
The collective response by Junn citizens, and the assistance they received by international
actors, fits into broader narratives on the global and national level. Globally, the Junn
experience fits into Latin Americas history with the GJM, and nationally, the events in Junn fit
into Ecuadors history of organized resistance to neoliberalism. Since the 1980s, Ecuador has
incrementally adopted neoliberal economic policies; as early as 1982 marginalized groups have
organized to resist these neoliberal reforms. Several protests to neoliberal reform in Ecuador
have occurred, perhaps most notably the March of 1990, conducted by Indigenous and other
marginalized peoples in Ecuador rallying against the perceived injustices of top-down neoliberal

Moghadam, Globalization & Social Movements, 171, 201.

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reform.5 This tension between GJM organization and neoliberal reform has continued through
to the present Rafael Correa administration, which, despite a leftist political stance strongly
supports the neoliberal-backed mining proposals across the country. It is to the story of
neoliberalisms rise in Ecuadorand the opposition it createdto which we now turn.

II. Neoliberalism (and Opposition to it) Emerge in Ecuador

Prior to the adoption of neoliberal policies in Ecuador, the countrylike other Latin
American nationsemployed a protectionist approach to its economic development. This meant
basing development along a planned economy, increased power of the state in terms of economic
intervention, and restrictions on trade in order to encourage the development of national
industries. This model, known collectively as Import Substitution Industrialization (ISI) was in
place through the 1970s. ISI remained the dominant economic ideology until the slow move to
neoliberalism began in 1981.6
The Hurtado Administration began in 1981, and was arguably the first administration in
Ecuador to begin the transition to an embrace of neoliberalism. Hurtados rhetoric had a leftwing bent, as he was seen as a sympathizer to the poor and working classes, and the enemy of
wealthy elites.7 While Hurtado did increase the minimum wage in the country, he also declared
many protectionist policies bankrupt, and signed an agreement with the neoliberal-minded
International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 1983. Hurtado further eliminated subsidies to key sectors
of the economy such as gas and wheat, and attempted to implement structural reforms, such as
making Ecuadors petroleum industry more attractive to foreign investment. While not
5

Moghadam, Globalization & Social Movements, Table 6.2, 176.

Peter Henderson, The Course of Andean History (University of New Mexico Press; Albuqurque, 2013), 254258; Hey and Klak, 69-71.
7 Hey and Klak, 70.
6

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consistently pursuing a neoliberal agenda, Hurtado nevertheless shifted Ecuador toward the path
of neoliberalism.8
The Cordero Administration (1984-1988), unlike the Hurtado policies, overtly shifted
Ecuador onto a neoliberal path. Cordero was much more right-wing than Hurtado, and while his
programs were not fully implementedlargely due to social protest and political opposition after
the 1986 plummet of global oil pricesCordero aimed to implement a classical neoliberal
program.9 By 1985, Ecuador and the IMF signed a new loan agreement that increased foreign
investment in the Ecuadorian economy, and was greeted at the Reagan White House as model
debtor.10 Both Cordero and Hurtado, despite their difference in political ideology, shifted
Ecuadors economic policy toward neoliberalism, but did not fully transform the economy.
The Borja Administration (1988-1992) was more left wing like the Hurtado
Administration, yet still continued the shift towards neoliberalism. While Borja, like Hurtado,
spoke out against neoliberalism while campaigning, heagain, like Hurtadomoved closer to
the economic right after his election.11 By the late 1980s, aspects of neoliberalism, such as
austerity, had become widely accepted as indispensible in dealing with Ecuadors economic
issues.12
The Ballen Administration (1992-1996) was much more aggressive in its pursuit of a
neoliberal economy. Ballen was unapologetic neoliberal, who lamented the inefficiency of the
public sector. The Ballen Administration prioritized attracting foreign investment above all else,
and even withdrew from OPEC in 1992considered a signal to free-market economies that

Hey and Klak, 72.

Hey and Klak, 74.
10 Hey and Klak, 74.
11 Hey and Klak, 76.
12 Hey and Klak, 76; Henderson, 313.
9

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Ecuador was no longer standing in third world solidarity and was willing to embrace neoliberal
principles.13 The Ballen Administration would continue to face opposition to its policies, and
this opposition limited the extent to which neoliberal reform could be achieved. Still, by the
mid-1990s, it was clear that Ecuador was standing firm to a neoliberal path in economic
development: across four administrations, two left, two right, and all populist, the common
theme of neoliberalism endured.
As neoliberalism took hold in Ecuador and internationally, the lowest classes became
even more disadvantaged than before. Economic theorist William Robinson argues that as the
power of the transnational capitalist class (TCC) grows stronger, the power of the lower classes
decreases to an even lower degree than before. As the TCC grows stronger than even nationstates, the TCC can heavily influence national politics. This weakens the power of the lower
classes, because one of the only ways to voice their concerns previously was to work through
their own national governments. If international forceswho surely have more influence than
the poorest sectors of societypressure national governments to pursue neoliberal policies, poor
classes, particularly rural poor classes, are at a real disadvantage to be heard and listened to.
From a rural, poor perspective, neoliberalism translates into a profound loss of influence within
their national government.14
Since 1982, there have been five substantial and organized protests to the emerging
dominance of neoliberal economic policy, but perhaps none affected Ecuador quite like the
March of 1990,organized principally by indigenous groupsthat brought the Ecuadorian
government briefly to its knees. The March was tactically organized to paralyze the Ecuadorian
economy, blockading many roads to stop the flow of goods and capital across the country. This
13

Hey and Klak, 79.

William I. Robinson, Global Class Formation and the Rise of a Transnational Class (in Sociology of
Globalization, ed. Keri R. Iyall Smith, Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2013), 147-156.
14

James Clinton 7
march was organized by CONAIE (Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador), and
was calculated to make a statement against neoliberal economics. Historian Peter Henderson
notes, CONAIE wanted the government to rescind its neoliberal policies, which threatened to
further impoverish the indigenous folk and damage the Amazonian environment.15 With ties to
international NGOs as well as Liberation Theology oriented Catholic missionary group The
Silesians, The March of 1990 was a clear instance of the GJM protesting neoliberal reforms in
Ecuador. The main reason for the protest was not just the neoliberal policies, but the fact that the
Indigenous groups felt that they were not being listened to, and that the poor and marginalized in
Ecuador were not being listened to.
Current Ecuadorian politics suggest this result. President Rafael Correa was inaugurated
in 2007 on a high tide of populism. Correa ran as an independent and claimed that his election
signified a citizens revolution. Correa denounced neoliberalism, and called for a new kind of
socialism in Ecuador.16 While Correa has enacted social reforms, such as payments to the urban
poor and an increase in public services, he has alsosimilarly to the Hurtado and Borja
Administrationsadopted more neoliberal economic policies, particularly in terms of
extraction.17 Correa has championed the extraction of precious metals from some of Ecuadors
most bio diverse regions, such as Intagwhere Junn is locatedin order to fund his other
populist policies. While Correa has the support of many of the urban poor, many of the rural
poor, those that depend upon the land for subsistence and survival, do not see him in a favorable
light. Rather, they see Correa as another leader who gives in to the demands of the neoliberal-

15

Henderson, The Course of Andean History, 335-336.

Marc Becker, Pachakutik! Indigenous Movements and Electoral Politics in Ecuador (Rowman/Littlefield
Publishers, Lantham, Maryland, 2012), 112-120.
17 Becker, Chapter 8, 176-181.
16

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minded Westthe West that is made up and influenced by the TCC. While Correa emphatically
denies this accusation, he recently signed a free-trade agreement with the European Union.18
Junns recent experiencebefore and during the Correa Administrationreveals
Correas neoliberal tendencies, at least in terms of pursuing extraction industries at the expense
of the rural poor and of Ecuadors ecological integrity. Junn has organized, with the help of
international actors, to block the advance of the Correa-backed neoliberal agenda. The tide of
resistancebased in the global GJM as well as its Ecuadorian manifestations like CONAIE
that occurred in Junn was based on many of the same themes that informs the Global Justice
Movement: the rights of the Indigenous and working poor, environmental protection, and
resistance to economic globalization.

III. Trouble in Junn

On the morning of December 3rd, 2006, 120 paramilitaries approached the small, rural
community of Junn, Ecuador, located in the Intag Zone, north of Quito. The paramilitaries
demanded entry into the community, but a group of local citizens stopped them; they had grown
used to confrontations with authority figures. Over the past months, tensions had escalated
between Ascendant Coppera Canadian mining company that desired the copper beneath the
Junn soiland Junn locals that wanted to preserve the integrity of the land.
By the time paramilitaries walked toward the gate in 2006, Junn, and the larger Intag
Zone that encompasses it, had experience dealing with foreign mining companies. In the early
1990s, first the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and then the Ecuadorian
government via a World Bank-financed loan funded Bishimetals survey to locate precious

18

Becker, 191-192.

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metals in Ecuador. The World Bank did this through the creation of the Project for Mining
Development and Environmental Control (PRODEMINCA), which pushed heavily for copper
mining in the Intag Zone of northern Ecuador through the influencing of mining laws in Ecuador,
and perhaps more importantly, to map out the locations of mineral deposits for potential
extraction companies.19
Bishimetals, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi, began work setting up a mining camp and
purchases the Junn cession of land outlined in the World Bank-funded mineral survey. Tensions
rose quickly. Social conflict manifested between the mining company and the locals, and
between the locals themselvessome the mining would lead to jobs, decent wages, even
prosperity, while others were skeptical and thought protecting the land was in their families best
interests. Violence broke out between neighbors on the issue of whether or not to allow the
mine, and one man who had protested to allowing the mining was shot dead, nearby the
Bishimetals mining camp. In addition, local people witnessed members of the mining camp
dumping latrine waste into a nearby river, which Junn citizens used as their primary drinking
water. Something had to be done. Anti-mining locals and environmental activists both argued
that Bishimetals was there illegally, due to a provision in the then Ecuadorian Constitution that
states that locals must be present and consulted when governmental actions affect their land, but
received no results. Finally on May 15, 1997, locals from Junn came together and burned down
the Bishimetals campwhich did not have anyone inside or any propertyit was a symbolic
act.20
In 2006 the issue was the samea foreign company attempting to access copper after
purchasing the Junn cession via the Ecuador government. Again citizens unfavorable to mining
19

Carlos Zorrilla, Brief History of Resistance to Mining in Intag (DECOIN.org, 2010).

Zorrilla, DECOIN.org; Veronica Davidov, Land, Copper, Flora: Dominant Materialities and the Making of
Ecuadorian Resource Environments (Anthropological Quarterly, 2014), 45.
20

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claimed this was illegal because they were not fairly represented in the decision, while some
Junn citizens welcomed the mining for the promise of economic development. In 2005, the
anti-mining locals even burned the companys mining camp down after repeated threats and
rising animosity on both sides. The fact that the origin of the company had changedAscendant
Copper is Canadian, while Bishimetals is Japanesemattered little to the Ecuadorians. The fact
that did matter was that these approaching men had guns and body armor, and were demanding
entry into the small community of Junn. The people standing at the gate did not flinch and
threatened to call the police. The paramilitaries had not come to talk or negotiate, however.
Soon after approaching the gate, the paramilitaries discharged pepper spray and fired their
weapons into the unsuspecting crowdleaving one seriously wounded and terrifying the Junn
community.21
The threat of encounters like the 1997 and 2006 confrontations has loomed over Junn
ever since international groups (JICA and the World Bank) pressured and funded a mineral
deposit survey of the region. These international bodies were not acting out of international
protocol, they were following the logic of neoliberal economic theory: in order to provide
economic development to Ecuador, Ecuador needed something to attract foreign investment, and
foreign investment would certainly follow the discovery large deposits of precious minerals.
These international groupsnot just JICA and the World Bank, but the multinational
corporations as well, among other international forces such as the international market price for
copper and other precious metalsall stand to benefit from the extraction of Junns copper.
According to neoliberal theory, Ecuador (and Junn) would benefit as well. However, as many
scholars have pointed outsuch as William I. Robinson and Valentine Moghadam

21

Zorrilla, DECOIN.org; Davidov, 46-49.

James Clinton 11
neoliberalism, like any other economic theory, does not work smoothly all the time, and certainly
does not provide equal benefit to all. Local Junn citizens feel the harsh social and
environmental effects of international economic globalization: their families are harassed and
sometimes fractured, and their natural environmentthe Andean Cloudforestis threatened by
the open-pit mining proposals, that have triggered organized opposition in Junn. These repeated
instances of organized resistance to neoliberalism, and the goals of the organized Junn groups
protecting the environment, defending the rights of the politically marginalizedplace the Junn
conflict within the larger GJM context. Junn constitutes a clear example of local organization,
aided by international scholars, activists, and NGOs, resisting economic globalization.
The mining issue is not a simple business versus community debate however. The issue
has polarized the inhabitants of this small rural community, with many citizens on both sides of
the miningsome in support and some in opposition. Junn is a very poor area, and the
economic benefits could be substantial, especially if one is to believe the promises made by the
mining company (schools, hospitals, roads, even secondary education was promised to Junn).
But the small community relies upon the land for subsistence farming, and many people feel that
sacrificing the land is too great a price to pay for the economic gain that the extraction industry
brings with it.22 Open pit copper mines would have disastrous effects on the Intag region from
an environmental standpoint.
The Junn mining cession is located in one of the most ecologically diverse zones on the
planet. In the Intag region, where Junn is located, two of the worlds biodiversity hotspots
overlap, and the largest remaining remnants of Ecuadors western forests.23 Biodiversity
hotspots are defined as having exceptional levels of biological diversity and exceptional
22

Linda DAmico, Environmentalism and Gender in Intag, Ecuador (In Gender & Sustainability: Lessons from
Asia and South America, ed. Maria Luz Cruz-Torres, University of Arizona Press, 2012), 28.
23 DAmico, 28-29.

James Clinton 12
numbers of endemic species as well as being extremely threatened by modern forces. 24 There
are only 32 hotspots globally, so the fact that two intersect in the Intag region, make the area
extremely valuable from an ecological and biodiversity standpoint. The proposed Junn mining
site is located in this area of ecological wealth and sensitivity, yet the forces of neoliberalism do
not consider the destruction of these hotspots as important as potential economic gain.
President Correa, despite his stated anti-neoliberal stance, has strongly advocated for the
advancement of extraction industries, arguing that these types of economic activities would
grow the economy, provide more employment, and contribute to spending for social
programswhich, except for the emphasis on social programs, suggests a clear neoliberal
stance in terms of the economy. Correa even asserted that such mining practices would have not
have substantial environmental impact, something that the JICA preliminary Environmental
Impact Study strongly refutesby admitting that the mining project would result in
deforestation, water contamination, and the flight or endangerment of numerous wildlife
species.25
Junn is not alone in facing grave ecological damage, as Global Studies scholar Manfred
Steger points out, globalization processes such as the expansion of trade and transport drive
overconsumption and environmental degradation and the entire world faces an overall reduction
in biodiversity.26 The expansion of trade Steger refers to clearly refers to the emerging
dominance of neoliberal economic theory, which espouses the benefits of free trade without
entertaining its costs. Neoliberalism has exacerbated ecological issues globally, and certainly
Junn is no exception. But it is important to remember that prior to neoliberal forces Junn
residents, like other rural, poor villages, were not environmentalists by any means.
Zorrilla, DECOIN.org.
Becker, 176; Zorrilla, DECOIN.org.
26 Steger, 87.
24

25

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IV. The Global Nature of Junn Resistance

It is important to note that the locals in Junn and Intagand in Ecuador in general
were not historically sustainable farmers. The common clich portrayed by Western green
primitivist fantasies, that prior to the advance of international neoliberalism farmers in Ecuador
lived in an untouched Edenic forest and lived in perfect harmony with nature, is far from
accurate.27 These inhabitants exploited nature in order to survive in the harsh, rural environment,
and because the Ecuadorian government offered them land in exchange for developing that land.
This is important in order to fully understand the rise of environmentalism in the Intag region,
while it should also be stressed that these early settlers of the Intag region cannot be considered
nearly as exploitive as an extraction-based economy.28
Despite the negative effects from neoliberalism, globalization increased political
mobilization and activism in several rural and poor areas in Ecuador, including Junn. While the
confrontation with paramilitaries in 2006 was undoubtedly a traumatic event for the community,
equally important is the way Junn inhabitants cooperated and came together (and have come
together since mining proposals began in the early 1990s) in well-organized groups to defend the
peace of their town. After the paramilitaries left following the hostilities, A large group of Intag
citizens, who had gathered in Junn, organized and went, unarmed, to the paramilitaries camp
and peacefully disarmed them. They then escorted the paramilitaries back to Junn and kept
them there, feeding them and providing shelter in the local church. Through this protestand
other efforts made by Intag residents and activiststhe Junn community succeeded in stopping
Ascendant from mining the area. The community engaged in a successful non-violent protest
27
28

Davidov, 53.
Davidov, 53-55.

James Clinton 14
against an international economic body, a very impressive exercise of local political organization
and power. The style and goal of this resistance are consistent with, and place Junn within, the
larger Global Justice Movement.
Increased political participation did not just involve purely local entities, however.
Through the practice of the ideal of Interculturalism, an indigenous concept that stresses the
value of diverse epistemologies and the exchange of knowledge sets based upon mutual respect,
dialogues developed between diverse groups, which stressed social and environmental justice in
areas in Intag.29 The open exchange of ideas that Interculturalism advocates contributed to the
intersection of several agendasthe environmental, social, and interculturaleventually brought
about inclusive expectations for local rights, including rights for non-human species, according
to Anthropologist and activist Professor Linda DAmico.30 It was these ideas that laid the
foundation for the anti-mining movement in Intaga foundation that consists of a fusion of
social and environmental justice and an emphasis on local control. Sonia Cordova a mestiza,
who lives and works in Intag, spoke to the importance of Interculturalism in 2009:
Weve learned to be proud of who we are. Were farmers and our work is important.
Now, thanks to Auki (a Mayor in Intag who supported Interculturalism throughout his tenure),
we are proud of our indigenous roots. Through Interculturalism were all brothers and sisters
struggling for our development the way we want. We know that for social change, we have to be
united and do things from the ground up31
While Interculturalism existed long before globalization, elements of economic
globalization indirectly energized various local groups who, relying on Interculturalism, came
together and formed a cohesive ideological base that supported (and continues to support) the
anti-mining movement in Intag. This resistance was as much a product of globalization as were
29

DAmico, 26-27.
DAmico, 27-28.
31 Sonia Cordova, qtd. In DAmico, 34.
30

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the neoliberal policies that the opposition rose up to challenge. The notion that nature should be
protected for natures sakein the interest of protecting biodiversity and in protecting the rights
of non-humansreally only began to emerge in reaction to transnational neoliberalism.32 It was
only after the Ecuadorian government became focused on defining the Intag region as an
extraction-centered zone, instead of an agricultural one, that Intag residents began developing,
with the assistance of NGOs and transnational environmentalist groups, a sustainability-focused
consciousness. It was local resistance with strong local ties, which emerged within the broader
GJM, that fostered the creation and development of this consciousness.
DECOIN, one of the most important groups formed upon the principles of
Interculturalism and a group instrumental in promoting a sustainability consciousness among
Intag residents, was started in 1995 in direct response to the first neoliberal mining attempts.33
DECOIN was started by several concerned individuals, including Linda DAmico and Carlos
Zorrilla, a Cuban-American expatriate and sustainable farmer, who still leads the organization.
DECOIN has been instrumental in organizing and effectively assisting the anti-mining
movement in Intag, and is a key example of how neoliberalism indirectly led to the creation of
meaningful political bodies, in this case a body that acts as a conduit between the global and the
local. DECOIN was founded by local leaders and transnational activists, which, among other
activities, helps to bring international attention to local issues.34 DECOINs other activities
include putting on workshops in rural communities to demonstrate the importance of ecological
integrity to both the natural and social environment. The resistance that has emerged in the Intag

32

Davidov, 48-49.
DAmico, 27; Zorrilla, DECOIN.org.
34 Zorrilla, DECOIN.org
33

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region is a blend of concerned citizens, local leaders, transnational activists, and dynamic NGOs:
a globalized response to global neoliberalism.
With this in mind, care should be taken to avoid what scholar Anthony Bebbington calls
the crisis narrative of economic globalization: when globalization is viewed as a singularly
economic force that forces rapid and novel change on previously isolated communities.35 The
crisis narrative, as Bebbington argues, is true in many respects but fails to describe the full view
of globalization on rural and poor Andean communities. While it is true that the force of
international neoliberalism creates economic problems for the rural Andean communities, many
of the problems the communities face are environmental and social, rather than purely economic.
Further, the crisis narrative disservices residents of rural Andean communities because it does
not focus on the dynamic reactions from the communities and other global actors, and treats
residents as passive actors, unable to take action to defend themselves. As the successful
political actions in Junn suggests, rural Andean people can and do form effective political
coalitions to defend their interests.
Considering this, globalization has a very complex effect on the Intag region. While
neoliberalism creates very real negative effectsincluding environmental destruction, social
tension and destabilization, and a threat to a socially important landscapethe ideas and tactics
of the GJM has also organized successful resistance in Junn. The pressures brought by
international neoliberalism has fostered the creation of dynamic, organized and cohesive political
groups among the Intag rural communities, and greatly enhanced the political voice of these
communities.36 In Junn, as has occurred in many places globally, neoliberal forces have

35
36

Anthony Bebbington, Globalized Andes? Livelihoods, Landscapes, and Development (Ecumene, 2001), 415.
Becker, Chapter 8; DAmico, 28-33; Bebbington, 431; Zorrilla, DECOIN.org.

James Clinton 17
collided with GJM elements. So far in this instance, the GJM has proved successful in blocking
the neoliberal advance.

V. Conclusion
Globalization as a whole has had a strong impact on rural, poor communities in Ecuador,
and this impact is neither positive nor negative: it is complex. Some impacts are largely
negative: the fractioning of previously tight-knit family groups and communities, the threat of
environmental destruction (and thus health hazards) and violent confrontationssuch as the
paramilitary conflict in Junn. However, there is an important effect of this economic
globalization: the emergence of successful local organization in the vein of the Global Justice
Movement.
The economic component of globalization is usually given the most attention by the
West, but the international network of scholars, activists, and NGOs from abroad that contribute
financially and intellectually to the formation of political organization in Junn is as much a
product of globalization as the international dominance of neoliberalism. In Junn two forces of
globalization came into conflictneoliberalism and the Global Justice Movementand in this
instance, for now at least, the GJM has proven the more successful.

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Ecumene 8 (4): 414.

James Clinton 18
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