Gloria Pérez, spiritual and political leader of the Ava Guarani people

In this comic we tell you why Gloria Pérez was a key defender for the Ava Guarani people and other indigenous nations of Jujuy and Argentina.

October 9, 2025

Moira Millán

Capella Flower

Edited by: Ana Fornaro, María Eugenia Ludueña

Gloria Pérez was born on December 2, 1952, in the Ava Guaraní community of Fraile Pintado, Ledesma, Jujuy. From a very young age, she began organizing her community and led territorial recovery processes for the Ava Guaraní people.

She was a founder of the Council of Indigenous Organizations of Jujuy (COAJ) and a tireless activist. She dedicated herself to the education of younger generations, because she believed they would carry on the struggle. She contributed her efforts to the transmission of knowledge in the areas of health, multicultural education, Guarani identity, and labor.

She received national and international awards and was one of the driving forces behind the 1994 constitutional reform, in which indigenous peoples achieved recognition of their pre-existence.

In 1999, she was elected Campinta Guazú , the highest spiritual and political authority of the Guarani people. When she met with former President Carlos Menem, she told him: “You are the president of the Argentine Nation, I am the president of the Guarani Nation, now we are going to talk as equals.”

She died on May 22, 2005, at the age of 53. In 2015, the Campinta Guazú – Gloria Pérez Intercultural Higher Institute was created in her honor in San Salvador de Jujuy.

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