Could this mandate be a trial balloon?
From what we have read no mining company in Ecuador has received any direction from the government on how to proceed and implement the so called mining mandate. Of course, it could be that it is so hastily passed that no one has thought of the implementation details yet. Or it could be a trial balloon to see how the public would react to such an outlandish 180 turnaround on the whole issue of mining.
Somehow someone forgot to mention to them that this would completely destroy the country's credibility and put Ecuador on the list of rogue nations that all foreign investments should avoid. Could that be a possibility?