Mónica Chuji Gualinga (born October 30, 1973) is an indigenous

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

ian politician who has served in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

. She is a deputy director of Indigenous Peoples Rights International.

Life

Chuji was born in

Pastaza Province Pastaza () is a Provinces of Ecuador, province in the Oriente (Ecuador), Oriente of Ecuador located in the eastern jungle. The capital is Puyo, Ecuador, Puyo, founded on May 12, 1899, with a population of 33,325. The city is now accessible by pave ...

in 1973. She was the daughter of a

Shuar The Shuar, also known as Jivaro, are an indigenous ethnic group that inhabits the Ecuadorian and Peruvian Amazonia. They are famous for their hunting skills and their tradition of head shrinking, known as Tzantsa. The Shuar language belongs to ...

father and a

Kichwa Kichwa (, , also Spanish ) is a Quechuan language that includes all Quechua varieties of Ecuador and Colombia ('' Inga''), as well as extensions into Peru. It has an estimated half million speakers. Classification Kichwa belongs to the Nor ...

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 i ...

community of Sucumbios. Chuji graduated in social communication from the

Politecnica Salesiana University The Politecnica Salesiana University in Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It a ...

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 The Ethics and Democracy Network (Spanish ''Red Ética y Democracia'', RED) was a centre-left political party in Ecuador. It was formed by labour union leaders and other leftist militants, led by León Roldós, former vice-president and brother ...

(RED) after she fell out with Correa, accusing him of authoritarian tendencies and for supporting

extractive industries Extractivism is the removal of natural resources particularly for export with minimal processing. This economic model is common throughout the Global South and the Arctic region, but also happens in some sacrifice zones in the Global North in E ...

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 () or CONFENIAE is the regional organization of indigenous peoples in the Ecuadorian Amazon or Oriente region. Nine indigenous peoples present in the region — Quichua, Shuar, A ...

. She is a deputy director of Indigenous Peoples Rights International in 2022.

References

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