Atamaint was born in Sucúa,in the province of Morona Santiago,in 1972. She was the first of four children born to Bosco Atamaint and Aurora Wamputsar. both of whom were teachers.[1] She attended Río Upano School[1] before she studied for a degree in commercial engineering at the University of Cuenca,where she graduated in 2003.[2] She went on to gain a master's degree at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO).[1]
At the age of 26,she began to work for a Project for the Development of the Indigenous and Black Peoples of Ecuador,funded by the World Bank.[1] She visited communities in the provinces of Morona Santiago,Pastaza and Zamora Chinchipe,and she decided to be a politician.[1]
Political career
She entered politics in 2003 as alternate deputy for Sandra Palacios.[2] In the 2006 legislative elections,she was elected as a deputy of her home province of Morona Santiago[2] as a Pachakutik Plurinational Unity Movement candidate. She joined the Ministry of Agriculture as the Undersecretary for the Amazon.[2] She had become the first legislator of the Shuar people.[citation needed] She was unusual for being qualified technically and she had to persuade the voters that they could support a woman to take the role.[3] During her time in the National Assembly,on several occasions Atamaint wore the traditional dress of the Shuar community.[4]
In 2009,she was appointed undersecretary for the Amazon at the Ministry of Agriculture,but she resigned to participate as a candidate for assembly member in the legislative elections of the same year.[2] She won a seat representing Morona Santiago for Pachakutik.
During the protests of the Shuar community at the end of 2009,she participated as a representative of the protesters in the dialogues with the central government.[1]
Assemblywoman Diana Atamaint with Indigenous Leaders at a press conference in 2012
In June 2012,the environment minister,Marcela Aguiñaga,tried to sue Atamaint for slander after the she said in an interview that the minister had diverted public funds to friends' accounts. The National Court of Justice asked the National Assembly to lift Atamaint's parliamentary immunity,but it rejected the request.[2] The motion to deny the request was presented by Paco Moncayo and obtained 66 votes in favor,36 against and 11 abstentions.[5]
In February 2019 Marlon Santi[es],coordinator of Pachakutik,distanced himself and his party from Atamaint as they did not agree with her policies as president of the National Electoral Council.[6]
During the 2022 Ecuadorian protests,talks broke down between the Government of Guillermo Lasso and Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador's leader Leonidas Iza after the president said that talks were off. The president held meetings with Iza and others with mediation from church leaders and other political leaders despite an attack on a military convoy in Orellana province. Atamaint (as president of the National Electoral Council),the National Assembly President Virgilio Saquicela and César Córdova of the CPCCS all called on the president for calm and to continue talks. Atamaint was clear that there were long standing demands that had to be resolved. She conceded that there had been violence during the recent national strike but she believed this was due to "private interests".[8]
In July 2022,Atamaint was being impeached as it was alleged that the National Electoral Council had failed to investigate irregularities in the February 2021 general election. Charges were made against her and Esthela Acero,Enrique Pita,JoséCabrera and Luis Verdesoto (even though he was no longer a councillor). Joel Abad and Mario Ruiz Jácome alleged that the council had not investigated inconsistencies in 39,000 ballot boxes. There were doubts as to whether the National Assembly's Oversight Commission were allowed to impeach the council. On 12 July a proposal to halt the impeachment process,made by Ana Belén Cordero,was accepted by the commission.[9]
In August 2023 Atamaint reported that thousands of votes had been lost by mainly European voters due to cyber attacks in the 2023 general election. The attacks came from several different countries.[10]
The Shuar,also known as Jivaro,are an indigenous ethnic group that inhabits the Ecuadorian and Peruvian Amazonia. They are famous for their hunting skills and their tradition of head shrinking,known as Tzantsa.
The President of the National Assembly is the presiding officer of the legislature of Ecuador. In 2009 the National Congress of Ecuador was replaced by the National Assembly. The position of President of the National Assembly has existed since then.
Nathalie Andrea Arias Arias is an Ecuadorian politician in the Creating Opportunities party (CREO). She was elected in 2021 to Ecuador's 4th National Assembly
Wilma Piedad Andrade Muñoz is an Ecuadorian politician. Since 2017,she has served as a member of the National Assembly,which she was elected as part of the Democratic Left. In 2024 she became Ecuador's ambassador to Spain.
Pierina Sara Mercedes Correa Delgado is an Ecuadorian architect and politician,sister of the former president of Ecuador Rafael Correa and a National Assembly member for Union for Hope who was re-elected in 2023.
Gissella Molina is an Ecuadorian politician elected to the National Assembly of Ecuador. She was in the Pachakutik Plurinational Unity Movement but she moved to Movimiento Construye when she was re-elected in 2023.
Rosa Elizabeth Cerda Cerda is an Ecuadorian politician elected to the National Assembly of Ecuador. She is a member of the Pachakutik Plurinational Unity Movement –New Country party.
Sandra Sofía Sánchez Urgilés is an Ecuadorian footballer and politician. In 2021 she was elected to the National Assembly of Ecuador for the Pachakutik Plurinational Unity Movement –New Country party. She was re-elected in 2023 for the Construye party
Nathalie María Viteri Jimenez is a lawyer and an Ecuadorian Assemblyperson. In 2021 she joined the fourth legislative period of the National Assembly. She unsuccessfilly stood for re-election to the National Assembly in 2023.
Ligia del Consuelo Vega Olmedo is an Ecuadorian politician for the Pachakutik Plurinational Unity Movement –New Country party. She is a member of the National Assembly of Ecuador.
Pazmiño Arregui Mireya Katerine is an Ecuadorian politician representing the province of Bolivar in the National Assembly. She is a member of the Pachakutik Plurinational Unity Movement –New Country party who has been an independent.
Ana Belén Cordero Cuesta is an Ecuadorian politician serving in Ecuador's National Assembly from 2021. She is a member of the Creating Opportunities (CREO) party.
Segundo Leonidas Iza Salazar is an Ecuadorian activist and indigenous leader of Kichwa-Panzaleo ancestry who is serving as the president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) since June 27,2021. Alongside Jaime Vargas,Iza led the demonstrations held in Ecuador in October 2019 by the CONAIE against the economic measures taken by the then-government of Lenín Moreno. He is currently running for President of Ecuador in the 2025 general election.
Blanca Lucrecia Sacancela Quishpe is an Ecuadorian politician who served as a member of Ecuador's National Assembly. She defended the position of President Lasso who in May 2023 had to resign to avoid being impeached. He used a constitutional clause that required every assembly member,including Sacancela,to resign.
Esthela Acero Lanchimba is an Ecuadorian politician. She was chosen to serve on the Consejo Nacional Electoral (Ecuador) in 2018 for six years.
Mónica Chuji Gualinga is an indigenous Ecuadorian politician who has served in the National Assembly. She is a deputy director of Indigenous Peoples Rights International.
Isabel Maria Enriquez Jaya is an academic and politician who became a member of National Assembly of Ecuador in 2021. She is a member of the Pachakutik Plurinational Unity Movement –New Country and she represented the Zamora-Chinchipe Province until 2023.
Luzmila Mercedes Abad Morocho is an activist and Ecuadorian politician. She is an assembly member for the province of Morona Santiago.
Mónica Estefanía Palacios Zambrano is an Ecuadorian politician who was elected to Ecuador's National Assembly for the Citizen Revolution Movement in 2021. She was re-elected in 2023.
Fabiola Maribel Sanmartín Parra is an Ecuadorian politician who is a member of the National Assembly. She represents the province of Cañar and she is a member of the Pachakutik party.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
