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Thalía Álvarez
Thalía Álvarez
Born	Thalía Álvarez Carvallo; 22 July 1962; Quito, Ecuador
Died	22 March 2011 (aged 48); Quito, Ecuador
Occupation(s)	Anthropologist, activist
Partner	Janneth Peña

Thalía Álvarez Carvallo (1962–2011) was an Ecuadorian anthropologist and feminist activist. She was a member of organizations such as Proyecto Transgénero and Corporación Humanas Ecuador, and was co-founder of the latter.^[1] She was also one of the country's first openly lesbian women to be candidates for elected office.^[2]^[3]

After her death in 2011, her partner, activist Janneth Peña, successfully petitioned the Ecuadorian Institute of Social Security (Instituto Ecuatoriano de Seguridad Social; IESS) to grant her Álvarez's widow's pension benefits, marking a milestone for Ecuadorian same-sex couples.^[4]

Early life and career

In 2002, Álvarez joined the organization Proyecto Transgénero, where she supported the creation of Casa Trans. Within the organization she was also a teacher of transfeminist activism.^[1]

In 2005, she and fellow feminists founded Corporación Humanas Ecuador. She also worked on several projects on sexual and reproductive health with the Ecuadorian Center for the Promotion and Action of Women. She was a member of Ecuador Adolescente until 2007.^[1]

For the 2007 Ecuadorian Constituent Assembly election, Álvarez was a candidate for assembly member for the alliance between the ¡Alfaro Vive, Carajo! and Pachakutik movements, as a representative of lesbian populations,^[2] which made her one of the first openly LGBT people to run for elected office in the country.^[3] During the work of the Constituent Assembly, she was an LGBT advisor on the preparation of the constitutional text, along with activists such as Elizabeth Vásquez and Sandra Álvarez [es].^[5] Specifically, Thalía Álvarez was an advisor to Assemblywoman María Augusta Calle on the workers' rights panel.^[1]

Death

Thalía Álvarez died from pancreatic cancer in Quito on 22 March 2011.^[1] Her romantic partner, the activist Janneth Peña, whom Álvarez had met in 2005 and with whom she registered a domestic partnership in 2010, had difficulties completing the procedures to be able to cremate her. These were due to discriminatory policies against lesbian couples, including in the removal of her body from the morgue and the signing of family authorizations at the funeral home.^[6]

In August 2011, Peña made a request to the IESS for the montepío (worker's fund) and severance pension that was owed to her as the domestic partner of Álvarez.^[7] After a months-long process in which she received several refusals,^[8] on 14 December of that year, it was announced that Peña would receive these benefits, marking the first time in the history of the country that a same-sex couple received this recognition.^[7] As a result of the case, the IEES announced that from that moment on, other same-sex couples could also benefit.^[9]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Becerra, Mauricio (21 December 2011). "Ecuador reconoce la pensión de viudez lésbica" [Ecuador Recognizes Lesbian Widow's Pension]. El Ciudadano (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 1 March 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
^ ^a ^b Written at Quito, Ecuador. "Aspirantes a asambleístas, para todos los gustos" [Assembly Candidates for All Tastes]. ABC Color (in Spanish). Asunción, Paraguay. EFE. 1 October 2007. Archived from the original on 18 February 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Candidatura alterna, la oferta recurrente que se le hace a la población LGBTI dentro de la política electoral" [Alternate Candidacy, the Recurring Offer Made to the LGBTI Population Within Electoral Politics]. El Telégrafo (in Spanish). Guayaquil, Ecuador. 10 September 2020. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
^ Written at Quito. "Lesbiana logra pensión por muerte de su pareja" [Lesbian Gets Pension for Death of Her Partner]. El Universo (in Spanish). Guayaquil, Ecuador. 15 December 2011. Archived from the original on 8 May 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
^ Del silencio a la visibilidad: activismos, politización y derechos humanos de las mujeres lesbianas en Ecuador [From Silence to Visibility: Activism, Politicization and Human Rights of Lesbian Women in Ecuador] (PDF) (in Spanish). National Council for Gender Equality. 2020. p. 60. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 April 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
^ Tejer República: Historia, memorias y visualidades a 200 años de la Batalla del Pichincha [Weaving the Republic: History, Memories, and Visuals 200 Years After the Battle of Pichincha] (PDF) (in Spanish). EdiPuce. pp. 2011–2015. ISBN 9789978776414. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
^ ^a ^b "El montepío es para todas las parejas" [The Montepío is for All Couples]. El Telégrafo (in Spanish). Guayaquil, Ecuador. 18 December 2011. Archived from the original on 1 March 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
^ "Discriminación halló lesbiana al inicio del trámite" [Discrimination Puts Lesbian at the Beginning of the Process]. El Universo (in Spanish). Guayaquil, Ecuador. 16 December 2011. Archived from the original on 1 March 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
^ Written at Quito. "Ecuador otorga por primera vez pensión a lesbiana por muerte de su pareja" [For the First Time, Ecuador Grants a Pension to a Lesbian for the Death of Her Partner]. El Universo (in Spanish). Guayaquil, Ecuador. EFE. 14 December 2011. Archived from the original on 8 January 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2024.