Humberto Mata Espinel

Humberto Mata Espinel (born 1967 or 1968, Guayaquil)^[1] is an Ecuadorian activist and former politician. He currently serves as the manager of the VIHDA Foundation, an organization that aims to reducing HIV transmission from mothers to their children.^[2]

Humberto Mata Espinel
Born	1968 (age 56–57) Guayaquil, Ecuador
Alma mater	Harvard University
Occupations	LGBTQ activist politician

In 2011, he became the first Ecuadorian public figure to marry a person of the same sex. The marriage took place in Argentina, and his spouse is activist Maximiliano Novoa.^[3]

Biography

Mata began his secondary education at the Cristóbal Colón Salesian School in Guayaquil before continuing his studies in the United States. He earned a degree in Political Science from Harvard University and later obtained a Master of Business Administration from the University of Pennsylvania.^[1]

Political career

Mata entered politics in 1994 as part of a youth group affiliated with the Concentration of People's Forces party, led by former deputy Rodolfo Baquerizo Nazur.^[1]

In 1997, he founded the Fuerza Ecuador Movement.^[1] He ran for prefect of Guayas Province in the 2000 sectional elections, but lost to conservative candidate Nicolás Lapentti Carrión.^[4] One of his main campaign proposals was to increase the province’s autonomy.^[5] In the 2002 presidential election, Mata and his movement supported the candidacy of socialist León Roldós Aguilera.^[6]

In the 2004 sectional elections, Mata again ran for prefect of Guayas, finishing second to Lapentti.^[7] He also ran unsuccessfully for the 2007 Constituent Assembly, where he opposed the policies of President Rafael Correa.^[8]

Following these campaigns, Mata withdrew from political life.^[5]

Personal life

Before publicly coming out as gay, Mata was in a relationship with dancer and television presenter Carla Sala.^[9]

In April 2011, he announced his marriage to activist Maximiliano Novoa in Argentina,^[10][2] becoming the first Ecuadorian public figure to enter into a same-sex marriage.^[9] Actress and news anchor Érika Vélez later stated that the couple had been in a relationship for five years at the time of the wedding.^[11]

After coming out, Mata said he had concealed his sexual orientation during his political career to prevent it from being used against him or his family.^[5]