Maria Victoria 'Vivi' Jaramillo

María Victoria Jaramillo is a human geographer and ecological activist working at the intersection of environmental justice, youth engagement, and collective care. In 2015, she received a scholarship to study in London, where she focused on human–environment relations and joined Extinction Rebellion, a civil disobedience movement confronting the ecological crisis. From 2021 to 2022, she coordinated with Extinction Rebellion’s Latin American regional network.

Back in Ecuador, Victoria co-founded the Movimiento de Organizaciones Ambientalistas del Ecuador (MOAE), organizing youth climate strikes on a national scale. She has contributed to mutantia.ch with research on the harms of Ecuador’s industrial agriculture and participated in the Eco-social Pact of the South, a broad-based initiative for post-COVID transformation.

In 2022, she joined Quito Sin Minería (Quito Without Mining), helping to collect nearly half a million signatures in support of a popular consultation against mining. In 2023, she led the volunteer team and coordinated the territorial campaign—giving talks to more than 4,000 students and mobilizing collective support for nature. The vote succeeded in prohibiting mining in six districts of the Metropolitan District of Quito.

Victoria is currently pursuing studies in mental health, with a focus on women and children, while continuing her work as an advocate for ecological integrity and collective well-being.