Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies The Perelman Center for Political Science and Economics, 2nd Foor Forum, 133 S. 36th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
La Participación Política Desde Cosmovisiones Indígenas / Indigenous Worldviews of Political Participation
Presentation by Yaku Pérez Guartambel, a Kichwa Kañari leader, lawyer, professor, and author of nine books.
This talk will be in Spanish with live simultaneous interpretation. Please bring an internet-connected device and headphones to listen to the English interpretation.
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Description of talk
Political Participation from Indigenous Worldviews
Where do we come from, and where are we going? Contrary to Western thinkers since Aristotle, the idea that man is superior to Nature, and beyond the Cartesian binarism that separated man from Nature, Indigenous worldviews understand that we are made out of the same elements of the world we inhabit. In this inspiring talk, Yaku Pérez takes on the journey toward Pachamama as his answer to where we are going. As he revisits Western philosophy and the ideas of governance on which it is based, he draws parallels with Andean cosmovision and their laws, exploring political participation from the views of Sumak Kawsay, the four political commandments, the Law of Ayni, and the principles of pan-Amazonian Andean philosophy.
To read the full abstract in Spanish, please click here.
About Yaku Pérez Guartambel
Yaku Pérez Guartambel, is a Kichwa Kañari leader, lawyer, teacher, and author of nine books.
For over three decades, he has been an environmental and Indigenous activist and leader involved in several significant legal processes and actions to protect the rights of nature in the Andes and Amazon. Some of his notable achievements include the suspension of activities by the Chinese mining company Ecuagoldmining in Rio Blanco (2018); the suspension of the Dandee Precious Metal mining company in Kimsakocha (2022) (which was ratified by the Provincial Court of Azuay in Cuenca, Ecuador), and the suspension of mining in the community rivers of Sinangoe Cofanes. He was also instrumental in preventing the building of a road in the Collay Protected Forests (2019), defending youth in their fight for the rights of nature in Cuenca/Ecuador, and defending Puerto Madero farmers against oil spills in the Ecuadorian Amazon, among other eco-struggles.
Pérez Guartambel has faced significant challenges in his advocacy, including being criminalized and arrested for defending human rights and nature on six occasions. He has also experienced kidnappings and assassination attempts. As a result, he received precautionary measures from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in 2018.
In the international arena, he serves as a judge at the International Tribunal for the Rights of Nature. He also received recognition from the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) for his marriage, which was officiated by Indigenous authorities. In a 2022 ruling, CERD found Ecuador in violation of its obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. This ruling was a victory for the self-determination of Indigenous peoples in marriage.
With over 30 years of experience in eco-social struggles in Ecuador and Latin America, Pérez Guartambel has been actively involved in Indigenous communities, water, and environmental protection. He served as the president of the Confederation of the Kichwa Peoples of Ecuador - ECUARUNARI for two terms (2013-2019) and as the general coordinator of the Andean Coordination of Indigenous Organizations - CAOI (2016-2019). He also led the Federation of Indigenous and Peasant Organizations of Azuay - FOA, playing a key role in preventing the privatization of water in Ecuador through social mobilization in 2000.
In 2019, he was elected as the Prefect of the Province of Azuay, running on an Ecological Azuay government plan. He also ran for the presidency of Ecuador in 2021 and 2023 with a post-extractivist agenda focused on the defense of water. Despite being initially announced as a candidate in the second round of the 2021 election, he was subsequently eliminated in a process widely suspected of fraud in favor of the banker Guillermo Lasso, which resulted in a historic null vote.
Pérez Guartambel holds a PhD in Jurisprudence, a Diploma in Watershed Management, a Specialty in Indigenous Justice, a Specialty in Environmental Law, and a Master's Degree in Criminal Law and Criminology.
He has taught at various universities. He was a professor at the State University of Cuenca, University of Azuay, and Salesian Polytechnic University. He lectured at many universities throughout the Americas and worldwide, including Amherst College, George Washington University, New York University, University of Toronto, University of Ferrara, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Universidad Nariño de Colombia, Universidad Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Universidad de San Andrés en Bolivia, among other universities in Europe, Central America and other places.
Pérez has also presented in different spaces of the UN, Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and other international organizations.
To read Yaku Pérez's bio in Spanish, please click here.