Rosario Ibarra de la Garza, known by her married name as Rosario Ibarra de Piedra, was born on February 23, 1927 in Saltillo, in the state of Coahuila.
Rosario Ibarra de Piedra was an iconic human rights activist and prominent figure in Mexico.
In 1975, her son disappeared after he was arrested at an anti-government rally. After his disappearance, her search for her son was relentless. She founded Comité Eureka, a Committee for the Defense of Prisoners, Persecuted Persons, Missing Persons, and Political Exiles. She helped hundreds of people who went through a similar situation and became a defender of the disappeared, hundreds and eventually thousands of “desaparecidos” for many decades.
Her activism gave rise to the human rights movement in Mexico. Later, her role as a human rights defender led her into politics.
Rosario Ibarra de Piedra was Mexico’s first female presidential candidate in 1982.
She was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986, 1987, 1989 and 2006.
In 2006 she served in the Mexican Senate.
She died at the age of 95 on April 16, 2022.
At the time of her death, she was serving president of Comité Eureka.