In early 2008, I began working for the Human Rights Foundation (now defunct). One of my first assignments was to investigate the human rights situation in Bolivia and Ecuador, two countries that had fallen under the Chavista model of using democratic tools to undermine the very principles that uphold democracy, such as the rule of law and due process. The first report I was in charge of producing, regarding Bolivia’s intention to grant constitutional legitimacy to an indigenous justice system called ‘communal justice,’ caused quite a stir. Bolivian officials reacted swiftly to our report, in which we stated:
“The constitution proposed by Morales’ government contains flagrant contradictions. For instance, it explicitly states that sentences from communal judges are not subject to judicial review and that these sentences are binding for all. At the same time, it foresees a Plurinational Tribunal that can address and resolve conflicts between ordinary and communal justice jurisdictions. The Plurinational Tribunal cannot review sentences, but it can determine whether specific sentences were issued by competent judicial authorities (ordinary or communal judges). The Bolivian government is proposing discriminatory legislation that would deny ‘indigenous’ and ‘peasant’ communities access to ordinary justice, forcing them to seek redress solely before communal judges. This legislation would also prevent Bolivia’s ordinary legal framework from reviewing or overturning decisions made by communal judges. Regarding the bill, communal justice sentences are unappealable.”
As time went on, I found myself vindicated on many political issues in Latin America, and unfortunately, this case was no exception.
While investigating human rights conditions in Ecuador, I stumbled upon the fascinating story of Guadalupe Llori: a democratically elected governor from the Ecuadorian province of Orellana, who had been unlawfully arrested after President Rafael Correa accused her of being a terrorist. Her crime was saying on local television (TV Amazonas) that President Correa was a fool. This statement came after excessive force was used during a military raid ordered by Correa to suppress protests in Orellana, where most of Ecuador’s oil is produced. Given that Guadalupe Llori was the governor of that province and was fully behind the rightful civic right to protest, President Correa deemed it appropriate to launch unfounded accusations against her, have her illegally arrested, and strip her of her democratically elected position as governor.
When I learned about how this all unfolded, with ample evidence of brutality against her father, niece, and other young relatives, and much less against her personally, I vividly remember thinking, “this is one of only two women holding such a position across the Americas” (the other being Sarah Palin). How is it that no international human rights NGO has raised a stink about this? How is it that no one has heard of this woman’s abuses and violations? It was clear to me that we had to take on the case, and as if further confirmation was needed, it became even clearer that the human rights NGO establishment was far from objective, dividing human rights violations into left and right, with the latter being the main target of almost all the work done in the field. There was this political woman, leftist, indigenous, a former ally of Rafael Correa, being completely ignored by those who claim to defend the rights of women, indigenous peoples, and the oppressed.
We launched an international campaign for her release, which followed many months of illegal detention, during which she was abused both physically and psychologically. Once the case became too evident to ignore, Amnesty International even copied verbatim from a letter we had sent to President Correa, demanding her immediate release and the withdrawal of all charges. However, I was the only representative from an international human rights NGO to visit Guadalupe twice in El Inca prison in Quito.
Fortunately, Guadalupe Llori accepted an invitation to speak about her case during the recent Oslo Freedom Forum. Listen to her words on justice in Ecuador, a heart-wrenching account that many in the left-dominated human rights world should pay attention to.