During his first 100 days in office, Ecuador's new president, Guillermo Lasso, made it clear that his government's economic policy will be based on extracting more and more fossil fuels.

According to his administration, the country's natural resources, such as oil, gas, and minerals, are "essential" and must be exploited for the good of the economy. Past presidents have made the same claims, and the end result has always been more debt, dependence, and destruction. It was not that long ago that oil was valued at negative $37 a barrel (that is not a typo!).

Regardless, President Lasso recently signed two executive decrees to immediately deregulate fossil fuel and mining activities. Indigenous leaders and grassroots organizations rejected both decrees outright, and they forewarned him that any such initiatives require the prior consultation and consent of Indigenous peoples.

These decrees are a threat to the Amazon, its peoples, and the climate. They pave the way for a massive expansion of extraction in some of the most ecologically fragile and culturally sensitive areas, and if history is any lesson, promise continued rights violations of Indigenous peoples. We must stand with them in defense of their territories, their rights, and the Amazon that we all depend on.