Silvia Elena Buendía Silva (9 October 1967 – 24 August 2026) was an Ecuadorian lawyer, television host, columnist and feminist activist. She was noted for her work campaigning for the legalization of same-sex marriage in Ecuador.
Life and career Born in Guayaquil on 9 October 1967, Buendía was educated at Colegio Alemán Humboldt before graduating in law from the . She started working on women's rights in the 1990s and became known as a prominent figure in the Ecuadorian feminist movement, a campaigner against femicide and for LGBTQ+ rights, becoming a spokesperson for the LGBTI Diversity Network of Ecuador ().
In 2016, Buendía was part of a civil society team who travelled to Geneva to contribute to a UN report on LGBTQ+ rights in Ecuador, highlighting conversion therapy and the fight for equal marriage.
Buendía wrote a column in El Telégrafo, and contributed to other newspapers and magazines in Ecuador. In the 2010s she became known as a television presenter, hosting shows such as and on Ecuador TV 7.
Buendía died from cancer in Guayaquil on 24 August 2026, at the age of 58.
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