Francisca Ramírez Torres

Francisca Ramírez Tórrez (also known as Doña Francisca or Doña Chica, Ramírez's family was originally from the Pacific coast of Nicaragua but had been displaced in the 1950s in a Somozas regime program of relocating farmers with small orchards in the region to make way for burgeoning cotton crops.

As part of this organizing, Ramírez served as head of the environmental and peasants rights organization, the National Council for the Defense of the Land, Lake and Sovereignty (Consejo Nacional para la Defensa de la Tierra, Lago y Soberanía). Per its bylaws, and Ramírez personally does not belong to a political party; she has refused offers of office in exchange for joining a party.

Recognition

In 2016, Forbes Mexico named Ramírez one of the 50 most powerful women in Central America.

In 2017, Ramírez was a runner up for the Front Line Defenders award for human rights defenders.