Ecuador Mobilizes Celebrity Friends as Chevron Verdict Nears
Barrett, Paul M. [2014], “Ecuador Mobilizes Celebrity Friends as Chevron Verdict Nears”, Business Week, New York, 29 de enero, http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-01-29/ecuador-mobilizes-celebr...
Mia Farrow has issues with Chevron. So do Sting, Danny Glover, and Cher. Actors, musicians, and other celebrities have long campaigned against the San Ramon (CA) oil producer, blaming it for pollution in the rainforest in Ecuador. Now, with a federal court in New York poised to issue a critical ruling in the two-decade-old controversy, the government of Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa is stepping in with a media campaign promoting the stars' animosity toward Chevron. A US public-relations firm called FitzGibbon Media sends journalists regular dispatches about what the celebrities are doing and saying during their trips to Ecuador. Determined to undermine the Ecuadorian verdict, Chevron filed a civil-racketeering suit in New York against the lead American lawyer, Steven Donziger. Ecuador, for its part, is trying to support Donziger and sully Chevron in the court of public opinion.