Lolita Chávez Ixcaquic

Lolita Chávez Ixcaquic is an advocate for life, for the land, and for the Mayan territory, she is a community feminist and a speaker for the K'iche' People's Council. Said council is made up of 87 Mayan communities from the regional district that shares the same name. She was likewise the coordinator for the Santa Cruz del Quiché Community Consultation of the year 2010, through which the population rejected mining and hydropower activities in its territories. Since then, Lolita has been threatened, persecuted, criminalised and legally attacked for her actions in defence of nature and the region. She is currently a beneficiary of interim protective measures from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

She acts as the direct petitioner in claims lodged against the Guatemalan State before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and in international claims against multinational companies. She participates in hearings by accompanying women affected by mining companies.

In 2017, she was a nominee for the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought presented by the European Parliament. Her work defending human rights was recognised in 2017 as she was a recipient of the Ignacio Ellacuria Award.