Leydy Pech Castillo

Maya biologist leading global movement against GMO crops in Mexico's Yucatán

Leydy Pech Castillo is a Maya biologist and environmental activist from Mexico's Yucatán peninsula who successfully halted the expansion of genetically modified soybeans in her region. Her 2016 legal victory against Monsanto and the Mexican government established precedent for indigenous rights over biotechnology, recognized by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in 2020. As founder of the Maya Women for Life Collective, she organized over 60 communities to document biodiversity impacts, proving GMO crops contaminated native maize strains critical to Maya cultural identity. Her work led to Mexico's 2019 moratorium on GMO soy cultivation in Yucatán, protecting 2 million hectares of ancestral lands. Pech's advocacy connects environmental justice with indigenous rights, influencing global debates on biopiracy and seed sovereignty. Her research at University of the Atlantic focuses on agroecology, and she co-authored the UN's 2021 report on Indigenous Environmental Defenders. Follow her work through Maya Women for Life.