Cristian Polo

Cristian André Polo Loayza (Pasaje, b. October 24, 1969) is an Ecuadorian lawyer, teacher and activist for LGBTQ rights. He was one of the main figures in the process to achieve the decriminalization of homosexuality in Ecuador in 1997, being the lawyer who wrote the lawsuit (Case No. 111-97-TC) with which the law that criminalized LGBTQ people was declared unconstitutional.

Biography He was born on October 24, 1969, in Pasaje, El Oro Province. He completed his higher education at the University of Cuenca, where in 1992 he obtained a bachelor's degree in political and social sciences. In 1994 he obtained a doctorate in jurisprudence at the same university.

After completing his studies he moved to the city of Quito, but was fired from the bank where he worked when his superior found out that he was homosexual.

On November 25, 1997, the Constitutional Tribunal gave its unanimous opinion in the case, which received the name Case No. 111-97-TC and agreed with the plaintiffs, so it declared the first paragraph of article 516 of the Criminal Code unconstitutional and thus decriminalized homosexuality in Ecuador.

Later activism Polo was also the lawyer who drafted the statutes for the legalization of the Coccinelle Association, which became the first openly LGBTQ organization to obtain legal recognition in the history of Ecuador.

In December 1997, the Ecuadorian Constituent Assembly of 1997 and 1998 was installed in order to draft a new constitution for the country. Thanks to the political contacts of Irene León, Polo and Orlando Montoya attended as representatives of the Andean Triangle conversations with assembly members to propose changes in favor of LGBTQ populations. With the support of Assemblywoman Nina Pacari, this allowed sexual orientation to be included among the categories protected against discrimination in article 23 of the constitution.

After the achievement achieved in the 1998 Constitution, Polo decided to leave the country due to the constant homophobic harassment and death threats that he began to suffer from the time of the campaign for decriminalization and that did not stop after reaching the opinion of the Constitutional Tribunal. Polo finally moved to the United States, where he started working as a Spanish teacher.