Introduction

Indigenous organizations argued that they rejected the extractivist economic model put forward by the Garcia government as this threatened their natural environment. As indigenous people continue to be pushed away from their ancestral territories, and natural resources become scarce, it is hard for indigenous leaders to maintain cultural and political control of their territories. American context affords unique opportunities to evaluate the interaction between the legal implementation of indigenous rights and national politics aimed at expanding extractivism. The lack of job opportunities for locals and environmental degradation has led to strong opposition by surrounding communities. This industry is responsible for more than 200 socio-environmental conflicts taking place in the Latin American region. Finally, new venues for indigenous rights advocates and environmental activists are pointed out in the hopes of contributing to their task of protecting indigenous natural environments. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.