The corporation announced it would appeal the ruling and there are also other suits pending filed by 30,000 pepole affected.

They claim that, even though money could never be enough to compensate for the loss of human lives and environmental damages, the amount set by the judge will not be enough to cover the necessary costs to recover the area. For this reason, the organization Accion Ecologica said they will ask the court to review that amount.

Nancy Rodriguez of the Assembly of Peoples Affected by Texacto told Real World Radio “This ruling is not a final victory. There are some reservations about the amount for the compensation established by court. An effective remedy would cost 113 billion dollars, a big difference”.

Despite this, Rodriguez believes that this first ruling sets an important precedent for transnational corproations to begin “spending enough” money to minimize the impacts they cause on nature and the communities.

The plaintiffs, nearly 30,000 indigenous and settlers, are represented by 40 people who signed the documents they filed before the provincial court, and the process is estimated to take between six months to a year.