President Gustavo Petro mourned the death of former congressman Wilson Borja.
Photo: Presidency / Social Networks
On Monday, the news of the death of Wilson Borja, former representative to the Chamber and labor leader, was announced. He was one of the most important figures for the Colombian left and was one of the defenders of a negotiated end to the armed conflict.
Several figures from the progressive movement expressed their sorrow at his passing. Senators from Pacto Histórico, such as Iván Cepeda and Wilson Arias, highlighted his commitment to peace, and President Gustavo Petro called him the “builder of [his] campaign in 2022.”
We suggest: Former congressman Wilson Borja, a key figure for the Colombian left, has died.
“Leader of the public workers’ unions in Colombia. Fierce congressman of the country, candidate for the mayoralty of Cartagena, member of the Polo Democrático, and builder of my campaign in 2022,” wrote the president in a tweet.
Ha muerto Wilson Borja. Dirigente sindical de los trabajadores públicos de Colombia. Congresista aguerrido del país, candidato a la alcaldía de Cartagena, militante del Polo Democrático y constructor de mi campaña en el 2022.
QEPD. pic.twitter.com/JtTMFuMfRc
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) August 5, 2024
Borja, who was 71 years old, graduated as an engineer from the University of INCCA of Colombia and had a specialization in Finance from the University of Rosario. He was a labor leader and president of the National Federation of State Workers (Fenaltrase). He was also linked to the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT), the Union Sindical Obrera (USO), and the National Association of Workers and Public Health Officials (Anthoc).
On December 15, 2000, he was a victim of an attack when leaving his residence while he was president of Fenaltrase. In the incident, two bodyguards from the DAS assigned to Borja, one of the hitmen, and a woman selling coffee were killed. By 2009, José Misael Valero Santana was captured by the authorities, accused of being the material author. Sixteen years after the attack, Regulo Rueda Chávez and Jorge Rojas Galindo, former members of the Capital Bloc of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, were identified as the coordinators of the criminal action.
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Borja was one of the staunchest defenders of the negotiated solution to the armed conflict. He was part of the negotiations between the administration of Andrés Pastrana and the ELN as a representative of the labor sector in the peace facilitating commission.
He arrived in Congress in 2002 as part of the Social and Political Front duo with former magistrate Carlos Gaviria, who ran for the Senate. From the House, he represented Bogotá and proposed projects to regulate the right of collective bargaining for public employee unions, create a comprehensive health social security system, and adopt the conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO) on “the protection and facilities that should be granted to workers’ representatives in the company.” Furthermore, he opposed the government of Álvaro Uribe Vélez.
He was reelected in 2006, supported by the Polo Democrático Alternativo. Borja was part of several leftist groups in Colombia, such as the Colombian Communist Party and the Patriotic Union.
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During his time in Congress, he faced an investigation for alleged links to the Farc-EP found in documents obtained during the operation against Luis Édgar Devia Silva (alias ‘Raúl Reyes’), which was dropped by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court’s inhibiting ruling indicates that the evidence obtained would have been illegal as it was collected abroad by agents who were not from the Prosecutor’s Office, the only entity authorized to undertake such investigations.
Upon learning of his passing, Wilson Arias called him an “tireless fighter” and an “active promoter of total peace.” For his part, Iván Cepeda stated that his work was focused on “building peace, defending workers’ rights, and weaving bonds of unity in Colombian society.”
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