In an effort to bring a wider perspective to Elephant Journal, I am pleased to start a series of articles by Ecuadorians about social activism here in Ecuador.

In my experience, most North Americans are completely ignorant about Ecuador, and Latin America in general, only having access to the little, and usually false and misleading, information that their mainstream media deigns to offer every once in a while. There are thriving social movements and many dedicated, intelligent, passionate activists and citizens fighting for a better world here in Latin America; in fact, Latin America has a long tradition of protest and resistance movements that North Americans could learn from, and I’m proud to showcase those in my adopted home of Ecuador.

The first post is a video by Jorge Reyes, with English subtitles, about his thoughts on the state of society and why he supports the Zeitgeist Movement, which is an active group here in Ecuador.

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“The Zeitgeist Movement is a Global Sustainability Advocacy Group with roughly 500,000 members across virtually all countries, currently working in over 1000 Regional Chapters. Each group works to spread awareness about new economic & socially progressive ideas which seek to reform our methods and perceptions in the interest to create a truly progressive, sustainable, peaceful, global society. The core interest is to bring about a more responsible, humane and sustainable socio-economic system, known as a “Resource- Based Economy”. Core Movement operations work with Chapters, Teams and Team Specific Projects & Events.”

Source: http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=18&Itemid=52&lang=en

Jorge Reyes is an Ecuadorian business engineer interested in raising awareness about social issues. He also produces and provides alternative products and services with an environmental and solidarity spirit, with the intention of making our world healthier and saner.