Criminalization of defenders of the Rights of Nature in the Molleturo-Río Blanco parish of the province of Azuay during the period 2015-2020

Abstract

Activism represents a work that translates into a process of violent criminaliza-tion that affects men and women in different magnitudes, such is the case of the Molleturo-Río Blanco parish where activists have seen the need to defend nature and the affected communities. For this, in this investigation, the mega-mining is known, which is the criminalization process suffered by environmentalists in Molleturo-Río Blanco and thus unveil said process, in addition to comparing the conditions in men and women who exercise activism. The methodology used was the qualitative approach carried out through semi-structured inter-views based on a question guide, the results obtained from the research reveal that this process begins with the arrival of the mining company and this also causes forced migration. Finally, this research recognizes that men and women do not suffer in the same way since men go through judicial processes unlike women, however, activists, being the first line of resistance, suffer greater vio-lence and a surcharge in activities thus reinforcing the triple role.