Reflexiones criminológicas y victimológicas del delito de minería ilegal en el cantón Zaruma

Abstract

In Zaruma province of El Oro, since 2017 subsidence of the earth's surface has been seen that affects urban areas and puts the lives of its inhabitants at risk. The magnitude of these events has caused severe deterioration and even loss of homes without a definitive solution being found, despite the fact that journalistic investigations have determined that the origin of the problem lies in illegal mining. In this regard, the Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code sanctions those who engage in this activity, however, the preventive function of criminal law does not seem to bear the expected results in this place, since this illegal practice continues to be evidenced. This work aims to analyze the criminal type of illegal activity of mining resources, the motives for the commission of the crime and the consequences on the victims. Qualitative research supported by exegetical, comparative, historical, analytical, and synthesis methods, among others; It allowed us to conclude that the problem in Zaruma obeys both survival needs and monetary ambitions, added to the ignorance of the criminal dogmatics that regulates this crime by the operators, and the lack of control by government agencies.