Maria Mercedes Placencia

Maria Mercedes Placencia is an Ecuadorian sociologist who has completed studies at the Universidad Abierta de Cataluña, Universidad del Valle de Mexico, Université de Toulouse-Le-Mirail, and  the Universidad de Católica del Ecuador.  Currently she is Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economic and Social Inclusion, encouraging and strengthening the sector of popular economics in Ecuador, working with public policies and programs promoting social production, business, and consumption.
 
Placencia has more than 20 years of national and international experience in social and economic areas, both public and private, of design, execution and evaluation of strategic planning, policy, programs, and projects. She has been involved in various organizations at both the state and local levels, having served as Undersecretary of several Ministries and as Secretary of Development and Social Equity of the Municipality of the Metropolitan District of Quito. In her field of gender equity she was National Director for the National Office for Women and was the founder and General Manager of the National Corporation of Support for Small Businesses, the first public organization created in the 1990s supporting the sector of popular economics. In addition, she has worked in the diplomatic field as Minister of External Services in the Ecuadorian Embassy in France. She is the co-founder of two Foundations, Gender Equality and Small Business. Placencia was an official and consultant for the InterAmerican Development Bank in Washington, D.C., and other international organizations.