On Wednesday, July 20th, 2011, at about 6:30 pm, in Guayaquil, two hit men shot Marlon Lozano Yulan, a young leader of the organization Land and Life.

This organization has been working in defense of the rights to land of farmers from Guayas Province, in lands that were previously owned by bankers and that were confiscated in 2000 due to the financial crisis.

Raquel Silva said in an interview with Real World Radio that the attack against the activist was aimed at the legal advisor of the organization, lawyer Milton Yulan.

In response, the Inter American Human Rights Platform, Fian Ecuador and Land and Life are demanding a thorough investigation about these events, punishment for those responsible and at the same time the safety of Yulan, his family and other leaders and members of Land and Life.

Raquel said that the farmers member of the organization are now always close to the lawyer, and highlighted that the people responsible for this are the people who oppose the distribution of lands and promote the concentration of lands in the hands of a few companies and economic groups.

Yulan, who is also a relative of the murdered activist, is focused on the defense of the rights of the people to land and has recently written reports to denounce how authorities are supporting the ones who speculate to recover the valuable extensions of lands in Ecuador.

Raquel Silva also said: “we are an organization that struggles for the right of peasants to their lands who have to fight against the previous owners. Our lawyer is focused on that and those are the interests that we are trying to protect.”