Ecuador's Yasuni National Park. Image: Jason Koebler
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In recent days there’s been a shift in the protest’s message—what was once strictly a protest intended to save the environment and the indigenous people living in the ITT has become fiercely political, with protesters marching in Quito carrying signs that say “Democracia en extincion”—democracy in extinction.Correa’s decision to invalidate the signatures probably shouldn’t come as a surprise—the president has been slowly increasing his power in the country and has changed his tune about drilling in the Amazon. He was seen as an innovator for originally asking the world to donate money to offset the amount of money the country would earn by extracting the oil, framing it as an environmental gift to the world.Firmé x el #Yasuní Este es mi #PedidoEscritoEIndividual al @cnegobec Exijo se pronuncie. #defiendetufirma @Yasunidos pic.twitter.com/4sFJodeRpb
— Rosa María Torres (@rosamariatorres) May 14, 2014
But, since August, he has been fiercely pro-drilling, and protesters have been shot with paintballs and otherwise beaten back. Ecuador’s constitution says that any petition that garners signatures representing 5 percent of the country’s voters will be put to a referendum. Yasunidos says it has collected signatures from roughly 7 percent of voters.The referendum vote was considered the last and best remaining hope of stopping the drilling, but it appears increasingly likely that Correa doesn’t care either way.Por allí veo a darth vader #CNETransparente #DefiendeTuFirma @lolacienfuegos @kevinhurlt @jennifercoloma pic.twitter.com/Ehs25cikDq
— Horacio Yépez (@HoracioYepezM) May 7, 2014