Transito Amaguana “Mama transito”, a leader, an advocate, the image of union in the indigenous groups in the Andean mountains, Ecuador. Her will to fight for equality has been her life and her legacy; indigenous representation and drastic changes on labor laws and social threats.

Like any other child at the owned farms (haciendas) Amaguana had to leave school and start working at a very young age. She had witnessed mistreat and physical injuries from working everyday. “In these times, we never saw any money. Nothing. Only when we really didn’t have anything at all, would they give a little help.” Transito remembered..  

As she grew up, she started to attend meetings and communitary strikes. With other indigenous women’s support, she started a labor strike focusing on the change of labor rights: ownership of the land, remodeling cultivation laws. “The land is to the body what blood is to the people”, Amaguana claimed. 

Later on, she formed the confederation of Indian Ecuadorians in 1946, in which quality education for bilingual students (Spanish & Quechua) was formed. “We must fight for everyone beautifully, honestly, rationally,” said Tránsito Amaguaña. Many of these schools closed during Rafael Correa’s presidency (2007-2017).

Her leadership led to prosecution; her formal house was set on fire. And later arrested accused of having entered Soviet weapons and money after representing Ecuador in the Soviet Union and Cuba. When she was being released, she was taken to sign enclosed paperwork in which she promised to abandon political intervention. “I have traveled, I have walked everywhere, but I have never NEGOTIATED with the BLOOD OF MY BROTHERS” Amaguana claimed. She refused signing and kept her work stronger than ever.