José Esach is a Shuar indigenous leader and a dedicated environmental defender in Ecuador. To protect his territory from mining he was persecuted in 2016 and had to hide for two years. In 2021 he was criminalized for opposing new mining explorations in his community.
He is currently the president of the Territorial Defense Committee of the Kutukú Shaimi Protective Forest, an area of great biodiversity that is already 58% concessioned. After walking five days in the jungle, the Shuar leader arrived in Yaap, his native community, and remained hidden for two years in a cabin in the middle of the forest. During that time Nelly Wampash experienced harassment and persecution from those who wanted to find out the whereabouts of her husband. However, she did not give in because she feared that she would never see him again, as happened with José Tendetza's family. This Shuar leader was assassinated in 2014 for fighting against mining in Tundayme, 100 km in a straight line south of Yaap.
In January 2021, Esach was criminalized again, but this time for expelling the Ecuasólidus mining company, supported by his community. And it is that, in February 2017, the Government of Rafael Correa delivered 42 mining exploration licenses to this company and again the Shuar argue that this occurred without complying with the constitutional mandate of prior consultation. José Esach, being one of the most visible characters of this resistance, was accused in January 2021, along with 15 other people, of paralyzing public services due to the closure of roads. On May 17, 2021, the Yaap community finally expelled Ecuasolidus from their territory. A small plane landed on the runway of the Yaap community with a company representative, two technicians and Mesías Nayap, representative of the Logroño canton, to which the Shuar community belongs. Since that episode, the company has not returned to the territory, but according to previous experiences, the fear now responds to possible reprisals.
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