Mónica Chuji Gualinga (born October 30, 1973) is an indigenous Ecuadorian politician who has served in the National Assembly. She is a deputy director of

Indigenous Peoples Rights International Indigenous Peoples Rights International (IPRI) is a global, registered non-profit Indigenous Peoples organization that works to protect the defenders of Indigenous peoples' rights as well as uniting and amplifying the call for justice and respec ...

Life

Chuji was born in Pastaza Province in 1973. She was the daughter of a Shuar father and a Kichwa mother. She is a Kichwa from the Ecuadorian Amazon and belongs to the

Sarayaku Sarayaku (Quechuan: "The River of Corn"; also transcribed Sarayacu) is a territory and a village situated by the Bobonaza River in the province of Pastaza in the southern part of ''el Oriente,'' the Amazonic region of Ecuador. The territory inc ...

community of Sucumbios. Chuji graduated in social communication from the

Politecnica Salesiana University The Politecnica Salesiana University in Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Eq ...

in 2000. She was a member of the Correa government as an assembly member while the Constitution of Ecuador was being created in 2008. She was the government's General Secretary of Communication when Rafael Correa was President. Chuji joined the left wing Ethics and Democracy Network (RED) after she fell out with Correa, accusing him of authoritarian tendencies and for supporting extractive industries which she found ecologically harmful. Chuji became RED's frontrunner for the Congressional election, but the party failed to win even this seat. In 2011 she was fined and sentenced to a year in prison for slander against Vinicio Alvarado who was another politician. After the sentence was announced Vinicio Alvarado said that he forgave her. In 2013 Chuji became the Vice President of the

Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon ( es, La Confederación de las Nacionalidades Indígenas de la Amazonia Ecuatoriana) or CONFENIAE is the regional organization of indigenous peoples in the Ecuadorian Amazon or O ...

. She is a deputy director of

in 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chuji, Mónica 1973 births Living people People from Pastaza Province Ecuadorian politicians convicted of crimes