The president of the National Executive Committee of the Federation of Workers in State Service (FSTSE), Joel Ayala Almeida, passed away early on Monday, January 27, 2025, at the age of 78. According to a statement from the union, his death was due to health issues related to his age.
The Secretary of the Interior, Rosa Icela Rodríguez, deeply lamented the passing of Ayala Almeida and expressed her solidarity with the family of the union leader. The death occurred at 2:30 a.m. in a hospital in Mexico City.
Various entities such as the Ministry of Health, the Institute of Security and Social Services for State Workers (ISSSTE), as well as political figures such as the mayor of Cuauhtémoc, Alessandra Rojo de la Vega, the former Secretary of the Interior, Olga Sánchez Cordero, and the head of Government of Mexico City, Clara Brugada, joined in the condolences.
Joel Ayala Almeida had been re-elected as leader of the FSTSE in December 2024. Following his death, speculation arose about who would take over his position in the union federation.
Joel Ayala, born on December 20, 1946, in Sonora, studied Economics at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). His union career began as a union leader at the Ministry of Health, where he served as Secretary General from 1995 to 1998 before being elected as leader of the FSTSE in 1998.
Additionally, he held political roles as a senator for the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) from 2000 to 2006 and from 2012 to 2018, and as a federal deputy for the same party from 1997 to 2000 and from 2006 to 2009.
