Event Summary
On 27 September 2025, in the context of the national strike, the Pachamama Foundation, an environmental organization with 27 years of experience in the defense of the Amazon, the rights of Indigenous peoples, and the promotion of regenerative economic models denounced the freezing of the organization’s bank accounts and the initiation of a judicial investigation against its president, Belén Páez. These measures were carried out under the newly approved Organic Law on Social Transparency, which empowers the Financial and Economic Analysis Unit (UAFE) to immobilize the funds of social organizations without prior judicial order (although requiring subsequent validation within eight days). The Pachamama Foundation also pointed out that the impact of this measure extends to the Amazonian communities that benefit from the organization’s projects. All those affected have received notifications from the Office of the Attorney General indicating that a preliminary investigation has been opened for alleged unjustified private enrichment.
This event constitutes a critical alert for the enabling environment, as it reflects a strategy of financial suffocation that undermines the right to property, freedom of association, and due process. Civil society—including local environmental organizations and the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), which was likewise affected by account freezes in recent days—has denounced these actions as acts of intimidation that criminalize dissent and paralyze community projects, setting a dangerous precedent of using legal tools to silence critical voices.