Joel Ayala Almeida, a prominent union leader, passed away last Monday, January 27, at 2:30 AM in a hospital in Mexico City at the age of 78. The Federation of Workers in State Service (FSTSE) confirmed his death.
Born on December 20, 1946, in San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, Ayala Almeida studied economics at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). In 1988, he was elected for the first time as leader of the FSTSE and was reelected in December 2024, maintaining a prolonged union leadership.
In addition to his union career, Joel Ayala Almeida also had a notable political career as a deputy and senator for the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) on various occasions.
After the news of his passing was known, various personalities expressed their condolences. The Secretary of the Interior, Rosa Icela Rodríguez, expressed her solidarity with the family and colleagues of the union leader: "Our hugs and solidarity with his family and fellow workers in State service."
Deputy and former minister Olga Sánchez Cordero remembered Ayala Almeida, with whom she worked during her tenure as Secretary of the Interior: "I had the opportunity to work closely with Joel Ayala when I was Secretary of the Interior, a great person and leader. I regret his loss and my deepest condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues of the FSTSE."
The head of government of Mexico City, Clara Brugada, also sent a message of condolences for the death of the union leader.
