Ecuador v. Chevron

It's October 15, 2000 and Chevron has just agreed to buy Texaco for the price of $36 billion. By merging together the companies believed they would be able to compete with other major gasoline suppliers. The deal between the companies was swap their stocks for Texaco's. Once the merge was made the company would be renamed Chevron-Texaco. With the combined revenues of the companies estimated at $66.5 billion this sounds like a sweet deal. Because of Texaco's recline in the oil business, the merge would help to boost the company's production. This would also help Chevron from being taken over by the larger companies.

Well eight years later irony strikes. In a sixteen year conflict Chevron is being sued by residents of the Amazon for a sum of $27 billion for the alleged dumping of toxic wastes into the environment. The conflict stems from Texaco's dump of oil into the surrounding rain forests of Ecuador. The Plaintiff claims that polluted water had been dumped into the environment for almost twenty years. The dumping of the toxic waste water amounted to almost 18 billion gallons; and almost 17 million gallons in crude oil. The effects of the pollution have led to cancer, birth defects, and micarriages. This pollution of the Amazon has been dubbed "the rain forest Chernobyl". The suit, since filed in 1993 has seen little improvement in a decade.

In current news the judge ruling over the hearings was accused of bribery by Chevron. Judge Núñez Recusal was secretly taped in conversation saying he believed Texaco guilty. Due to this scandal Chevron asked that the trial be held out of Ecuador's judicial system. This was asked by Chevron accusing the court of breaking a bilateral treaty between the U.S. and Ecuador. As the trial goes on its basically being dragged out so that the trial won't be finished anytime soon.

So basically the people of Ecuador are right to be mad. The pollution of their land was was wrong and they had no right. If they don't want to pay the price for the suit then they shouldn't have done the deed. I'm not saying that Chevron is bad or anything I think it was just a unwise move buying Texaco. Though they did not technically pollute Ecuador, Chevron should still assist the residents of the polluted Amazon. Since they bought Texaco knowing that they had polluted. The responsibility falls on them to aid Ecuador. They should not try to cover this conflict up with petty claims. Chevron should at least create an organization to help the natives, and provide them with clean water. If someone came into your home and started to mess it up wouldn't you want the ones responsible to pay?