Sofía Gatica

Argentinian community leader who banned toxic pesticides through grassroots activism.

Sofía Gatica, a former factory worker from Ituzaingó, Argentina, led a movement that banned toxic pesticides in her community. Born in 1973, she organized neighbors after noticing alarming cancer rates and birth defects linked to agrochemicals. Her Greenpeace-backed campaign collected 4,000 signatures, pressured local officials, and inspired a 2009 provincial pesticide ban. This became a model for national policy changes under President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

Gatica’s methods included mapping pollution sources and training residents to monitor air quality. A 2013 documentary "Sofía" highlighted her work. Critics accused her of anti-progress radicalism, but studies by WHO confirmed her claims. She co-founded Movement for Sovereignty and Health, expanding to Uruguay and Paraguay. In 2015, Time Magazine named her one of the "Heroes of the Environment".