Indigenous communities in Ecuador’s Amazon are protesting mining projects in their territories, as constitutional court judges held a historic hearing in the region on the communities’ roles on mining project decisions.

The country’s President Guillermo Lasso, a conservative ex-banker, wants to expand mining to bring in more private investments but has promised legal stability and respect for some of the concessions already granted. 

Indigenous communities have halted some other large mining projects that directly affected their territory, while two mines are currently operating in the country’s Amazon.