María Blanca Chancoso Sánchez (born 1955) is an Ecuadorian educator and indigenous leader of the Otavalo people. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Chancoso was born in Cotacachi, Imbabura Province, Ecuador in 1955, in an indigenous family which had moved from the countryside into the town. [5] She studied in a rural college and has a bachelor's degree in educational sciences. [6] She was unusual in being a teacher who spoke both Spanish and Kichwa language, and began to organise the local communities. She established the Federación de Indígenas y Campesinos de Imbabura in 1974, and in 1980 was at the forefront of campaigns for bilingual education and the recognition of multinationality in Ecuador. [5] She is one of the founders of ECUARUNARI (Ecuador Runakunapak Rikcharimuy or Confederation of Peoples of Kichwa Nationality) and of Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE). [6] [7]
Chancoso has written on the theme of Sumak kawsay, which can be translated as "the plentiful life". [8] In 2014 she was a judge at the 2nd International Rights of Nature Tribunal held in Lima. [9] [10]