Effects of illegal mining on State security in Ecuador

Abstract

Illegal mining constitutes one of the main threats to economic stability, environmental sustainability and security of the Ecuadorian State. Its expansion is linked to illicit economies, corruption, fiscal loss, environmental degradation and the presence of armed actors and supports the economic strengthening of transnational organized crime. This study analyzes the phenomenon from a legal-institutional and economic-strategic perspective, identifying normative gaps and weaknesses in the application of the current legal framework. The Mining Law, the Integral Organic Penal Code (COIP), constitutional jurisprudence and the interaction between the extractive economy and illicit finances are examined. The objective is to demonstrate that illegal mining is not a sectoral problem, but a structural phenomenon that compromises national security and requires an integral response from the Ecuadorian State sustained by interinstitutional coordination, economic stability and normative coherence.