Nina Pacari
Encyclopedia
Nina Pacari born as María Estela Vega Conejo (born 9 October 1961 in Cotacachi
, Imbabura
) is a Kichwa
politician, lawyer
and indigenous leader from Cotacachi, Ecuador
.
Nina Pacari studied jurisprudence
at the Central University of Ecuador in Quito
, where sho got to know other indigenous students and began to fight for indigenous rights and the defensse of the Kichwa
language. At the age of 24 she changed her Spanish name officially to the Kichwa Nina Pacari.
Nina Pacari worked as lawyer for the Federación de los pueblos Kichwa de la Sierra Norte del Ecuador (FICI), an organization in Imbabura which is now member of ECUARUNARI
. After that she supported Kichwa communities as lawyer in the Chimborazo Province
.
In 1989 she became legal adviser of the indigenous confederation CONAIE
, founded in 1986. In the uprising of 1990 she supported indigenous communities in Chimborazo and participated in the negotiations with the government. In 1994 she worked out an alternative draft against the draft law of president Sixto Durán Ballén
, which was not realizes due to the peasants' resistance.
In 1997 she was representative of Chimborazo in the National Assembly and collaborated in the elaboration of the new constitution. In August 1998 she was the first indigenous woman to be elected to the Ecuadorian parliament, being member of the newly established Pachakutik movement.
In 2003 she became foreign minister in the government of Lucio Gutiérrez
, but soon after she resigned together with the agriculture minister Luis Macas
because of the neoliberal policy of Gutiérrez.
In May 2007 she was elected judge of the Supreme Court of Ecuador.
"The Political Participation of Indigenous Women in the Ecuadorian Congress: Unfinished Business"lInternational IDEA, 2002, Women in Parliament, Stockholm (http://www.idea.int).
Cotacachi (city)
Cotacachi is a city and the seat of Cotacachi Canton, Imbabura Province, Ecuador. for a map of the Cotacachi area.Cotacachi is an artisan town that is famous for its leather goods and handicrafts. Cotacachi residents are also well known for their bizcochos and queso de hoja ....
, Imbabura
Imbabura Province
Imbabura is a province in Ecuador. The capital is Ibarra. The people of the province speak Spanish and the Imbaburan Quechua language.Imbabura Volcano is located in the province. Best reached from the town of La Esperanza, the 4,609-meter-high mountain can be climbed in a single day.- Cantons...
) is a Kichwa
Quechuas
Quechuas is the collective term for several indigenous ethnic groups in South America who speak a Quechua language , belonging to several ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia and Argentina.The Quechuas of Ecuador call themselves as well as their...
politician, lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and indigenous leader from Cotacachi, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
.
Nina Pacari studied jurisprudence
Jurisprudence
Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal theorists , hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions...
at the Central University of Ecuador in Quito
Quito
San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito , is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains...
, where sho got to know other indigenous students and began to fight for indigenous rights and the defensse of the Kichwa
Kichwa
Kichwa is a Quechuan language, and includes all Quechua varieties spoken in Ecuador and Colombia by approximately 2,500,000 people...
language. At the age of 24 she changed her Spanish name officially to the Kichwa Nina Pacari.
Nina Pacari worked as lawyer for the Federación de los pueblos Kichwa de la Sierra Norte del Ecuador (FICI), an organization in Imbabura which is now member of ECUARUNARI
ECUARUNARI
ECUARUNARI , also known as Confederation of Peoples of Kichwa Nationality is the organization of indigenous peoples of Kichwa nationality in the Ecuadorian central mountain region, founded in 1972.Twelve ethnic groups of the region—Natabuela, Otavalos, Karanki , Kayampi...
. After that she supported Kichwa communities as lawyer in the Chimborazo Province
Chimborazo Province
Chimborazo is a province in Ecuador, located in the central Ecuadorian Andes, containing a section of Sangay National Park. The capital is Riobamba. The province contains Chimborazo , Ecuador's highest mountain.- Cantons :...
.
In 1989 she became legal adviser of the indigenous confederation CONAIE
CONAIE
The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador or more commonly, CONAIE, is Ecuador's largest indigenous organization. Formed in 1986, CONAIE has pursued social change on behalf of the region's significant native population using a wide range tactics including direct action...
, founded in 1986. In the uprising of 1990 she supported indigenous communities in Chimborazo and participated in the negotiations with the government. In 1994 she worked out an alternative draft against the draft law of president Sixto Durán Ballén
Sixto Durán Ballén
Sixto Alfonso Durán-Ballén Cordovez is an U.S.-born Ecuadorian political figure and architect. He served as Mayor of Quito between 1970 and 1978, and as president of Ecuador between 1992 and 1996...
, which was not realizes due to the peasants' resistance.
In 1997 she was representative of Chimborazo in the National Assembly and collaborated in the elaboration of the new constitution. In August 1998 she was the first indigenous woman to be elected to the Ecuadorian parliament, being member of the newly established Pachakutik movement.
In 2003 she became foreign minister in the government of Lucio Gutiérrez
Lucio Gutiérrez
Lucio Edwin Gutiérrez Borbúa served as President of Ecuador from January 15, 2003 to April 20, 2005.- Political rise :Gutiérrez was prominent in a popular uprising that replaced President Jamil Mahuad for three hours in January 2000...
, but soon after she resigned together with the agriculture minister Luis Macas
Luis Macas
Luis Macas Ambuludí is a Kichwa politician and intellectual from Saraguro Ecuador.Macas has honorary university degrees in anthropology, linguistics and jurisprudence. He was one of the founders of the CONAIE and of the Pachakutik Movement, and was member of the National Congress of Ecuador...
because of the neoliberal policy of Gutiérrez.
In May 2007 she was elected judge of the Supreme Court of Ecuador.
Works
- Las cultures nacionales en el estado multinacional ecuatoriano. Antropolgía, cuadernos de investigación 3 (noviembre de 1984): 113-22.
- Los indios y su lucha jurídico-política. Revista ecuatoriana de pensamientomarxista 12 (1989): 41-47.
- Levantamiento indígena. In Sismo étnico en el Ecuador: Varias perspecti-vas, edited by José Almeida et al., 169-86. Quito, Ecuador: CEDIME—Ediciones Abya-Yala, 1993.
- Taking on the Neoliberal Agenda. NACLA Report on the Americas 29,no. 5 (March-April 1996): 23-32
"The Political Participation of Indigenous Women in the Ecuadorian Congress: Unfinished Business"lInternational IDEA, 2002, Women in Parliament, Stockholm (http://www.idea.int).