Thalía Álvarez Carvallo (1962–2011) was an Ecuadorian

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

and

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

activist. She was a member of organizations such as Proyecto Transgénero and Corporación Humanas Ecuador, and was co-founder of the latter. She was also one of the country's first openly

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

women to be candidates for elected office. After her death in 2011, her partner, activist Janneth Peña, successfully petitioned the Ecuadorian Institute of Social Security (''Instituto Ecuatoriano de Seguridad Social''; IESS) to grant her Álvarez's widow's pension benefits, marking a milestone for Ecuadorian same-sex couples.

Early life and career

In 2002, Álvarez joined the organization Proyecto Transgénero, where she supported the creation of Casa Trans. Within the organization she was also a teacher of

transfeminist Transfeminism, or trans feminism, is a branch of feminism focused on transgender women and informed by transgender studies. Transfeminism focuses on the effects of transmisogyny and patriarchy on trans women. It is related to the broader fie ...

activism. In 2005, she and fellow feminists founded Corporación Humanas Ecuador. She also worked on several projects on sexual and reproductive health with the Ecuadorian Center for the Promotion and Action of Women. She was a member of Ecuador Adolescente until 2007. For the

2007 Ecuadorian Constituent Assembly election Constituent Assembly elections were held in Ecuador on 30 September 2007. A Constituent Assembly was established following an April referendum on doing so. A total of 130 delegates were elected; 24 members from national lists, 100 elected from pr ...

, Álvarez was a candidate for assembly member for the alliance between the

¡Alfaro Vive, Carajo! ¡Alfaro Vive, Carajo! (AVC) (''Alfaro Lives, Dammit!''), another name for the Fuerzas Armadas Populares Eloy Alfaro (''Eloy Alfaro Popular Armed Forces''), was a clandestine left-wing group in Ecuador, founded in 1982 and named after popular ...

and Pachakutik movements, as a representative of lesbian populations, which made her one of the first openly LGBT people to run for elected office in the country. During the work of the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

, she was an LGBT advisor on the preparation of the constitutional text, along with activists such as Elizabeth Vásquez and Sandra Álvarez. Specifically, Thalía Álvarez was an advisor to Assemblywoman María Augusta Calle on the workers' rights panel.

Death

Thalía Álvarez died from

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

in Quito on 22 March 2011. Her romantic partner, the activist Janneth Peña, whom Álvarez had met in 2005 and with whom she registered a

domestic partnership A domestic partnership is an intimate relationship between people, usually couples, who live together and share a common domestic life but who are not married (to each other or to anyone else). People in domestic partnerships receive legal be ...

in 2010, had difficulties completing the procedures to be able to cremate her. These were due to discriminatory policies against

couples, including in the removal of her body from the morgue and the signing of family authorizations at the funeral home. In August 2011, Peña made a request to the IESS for the ''

montepío Montepío is a small village on the Gulf Coast of Mexico, within the San Andrés Tuxtla municipality, Veracruz, 1 hour away from the major tourist center of Catemaco. Situated at the confluence of two of the smaller rivers draining Volcano S ...

'' (worker's fund) and severance pension that was owed to her as the domestic partner of Álvarez. After a months-long process in which she received several refusals, on 14 December of that year, it was announced that Peña would receive these benefits, marking the first time in the history of the country that a same-sex couple received this recognition. As a result of the case, the IEES announced that from that moment on, other same-sex couples could also benefit.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez, Thalia 1962 births 2011 deaths Deaths from pancreatic cancer in Ecuador Ecuadorian anthropologists Ecuadorian feminists Ecuadorian lesbians Ecuadorian LGBTQ rights activists People from Quito Women anthropologists

Early life and career

Death

See also

References