I just finished talking to Roberto Castro, our principal employee and Decoin member, who, on his latest trip to Otavalo, told me someone on the bus talked out loud almost the whole way about the wonders of mining, and about the bad work of the "few persons" who oppose progress, and who are keeping inteños from good roads, clinics, good schools and so on. This comes right after we found out that a few persons have shown up in several communities, including Junin and Apuela, asking a lot of questions about mining and the opposition groups. We were recently also informed there is someone spying on DECOIN in a nearby town (the woman's own nieces told us secretly). Additionally, on two separate occasions, letters containing donations to Decoin have not made it to our Po box. The Ministry of Energy and Mines has signed a number of contracts with the Imbabura government to build community bridges in the area- illegally, without the knowledge of the County government officials. The dots connect, and are troubling.
It feels like the government is gathering information to try and dismantle the opposition in Intag anyway they can.
I'll try to keep you informed.
