Elvia Alvarado is a peasant leader in Honduras, the poorest country in Central America and a nation known for the abhorrent practices of sweatshops, decades of U.S. military occupation and the destruction wrought by Hurricane Mitch. For 30 years, Alvarado has been at the forefront of human rights and land reform struggles. She is a passionate voice on the effects of economic globalization, particularly on women and children.
In the best selling book,
Don't Be Afraid Gringo, and the PBS documentary "Elvia and the Fight for Land and Liberty," she tells her story. Trained by the Catholic Church to organize women's groups to combat malnutrition, Alvarado began to question why peasants were malnourished to begin with. Her growing political awareness, her travels by foot over the back roads of Honduras, and her conversations with people from all over the country gave her insights into the internal workings of her society.
As an organizer, Alvarado has led dangerous land recovery actions in an effort to enforce national land reform laws. As a result of these activities, she has been harassed, jailed and tortured at the hands of the Honduran military. She is currently the head of International Relations of the Union of Rural Workers.
Elvia Alvarado is a dynamic and eloquent speaker on the nature of poverty and conflict in the Americas.
