Aida Quilcué
Aida Quilcué | |
|---|---|
Quilcué in 2024 | |
| Senator of Colombia | |
| Assumed office 20 July 2022 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Aida Marina Quilcué Vivas 2 February 1973 Páez, Cauca, Colombia |
| Party | Alternative Indigenous and Social Movement (2000-present), Historic Pact (2026-present) |
| Other political affiliations | Historic Pact for Colombia (2021-2025) |
| Spouse |
Edwin Legarda
(m. 2002; death 2008) |
Aida Marina Quilcué Vivas (born 2 February 1973) is a Colombian politician and indigenous civil leader who has served as a Senator of Colombia since 2022. A member of the Alternative Indigenous and Social Movement, she has served as a human rights advisor for UNESCO.[1] She is of the Nasa people.[2]
Biography
In the 1990s, Quilcué was a health promoter for the Cauca Indigenous Association (AIC).[3] In 2000, she was coordinator of the health program at the AIC and at the Regional Indigenous Council of Huila (CRIHU).[3]
Between 2003 and 2009, Quilcué was appointed Senior Counselor of the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca (CRIC), being one of the organizers of the 2008 Indigenous Minga in which thousands of indigenous people participated who marched to Bogotá in protest.[1] In this mobilization, her husband Edwin Legarda died on 16 December in a hospital in Popayán after receiving three rifle shots fired by soldiers on the road that connects Inzá with Totoró, in the department of Cauca.[4] During the trial and In subsequent years, Quilcué and her daughter have been victims of death threats and attacks.[3][5]
On 10 February 2026, Quilcue and two of her bodyguards were abducted by unidentified individuals while traveling in an SUV in Cauca Department. They were released hours later following an ultimatum from president Gustavo Petro.[6]
On 9 March 2026, Quilcue was announced as the vice-presidential candidate to be with Ivan Cepeda.[7]
Political career
Indigenous and social leadership
Her political activity originated within the indigenous social movement. In the 1990s, she began her public service as a health promoter for the Association of Indigenous Clinics of Cauca (AIC) and as a local authority in the Piçkwe Tha Fiw reservation.
Between 2003 and 2006, she served within the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca (CRIC), an organization in which she would eventually become the first woman to hold the position of Senior Counselor (Legal Representative). During her leadership in 2008, she was one of the primary figures of the 2008 Indigenous Minga for Social and Community Resistance, a mobilization that marched to Bogotá to denounce the human rights situation under the Democratic Security policy.
She has also held national and international representation roles:
- Served as a counselor for the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC) between 2016 and 2020.
- Served as an expert member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and as a consultant for UNESCO on peace and human rights issues.
Senator of the Republic (2022–2026)
In the 2022 elections, she secured a seat in the Senate through the Special Indigenous Constituency under the banner of the MAIS party, receiving over 45,000 votes. In Congress, she is a member of the First Constitutional Commission and the Human Rights Commission. Her legislative initiatives have included:
- Bills to prevent and punish political violence and harassment against women.
- Reforms for the recognition of social and critical thinking as a basis for peace education.
- Defense of transitional justice and the implementation of the 2016 Peace Agreement.
Vice-presidential candidacy (2026)
On March 9, 2026, the Historic Pact party officially announced Quilcué as the vice-presidential running mate for presidential candidate Iván Cepeda for that year's elections, consolidating her position as one of the most relevant political figures from ethnic movements in the country.[8]
Awards and recognition
In 2021, Quilcué won the National Award for the Defense of Human Rights in Colombia in the category "Defense for a Whole Life".[3]
References
- ^ a b "Aida Quilcué, lideresa indígena que aspira al senado en defensa de la vida y la madre tierra". MAIS. 2020. Archived from the original on 20 March 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
- ^ Redacción La Silla Vacía. "Perfil: Aida Marina Quilcué Vivas". La Silla Vacía (Biografía) (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 March 2026.
Es lideresa social indígena y defensora de Derechos Humanos, pertenece al pueblo indígena Nasa del resguardo Piçkwe Tha Fiw del Cauca.
- ^ a b c d "Ganadora del Premio Nacional de Derechos Humanos en Colombia de 2021". Verdad Abierta. 2021.
- ^ "Aministía Internacional: Colombia: Amnistía Internacional condena la muerte del esposo de una líder indígena". Amnesty International. Archived from the original on 21 January 2009.
- ^ "Lideresa indígena que aspira al Senado ha sido amenazada más de 100 veces". Caracol Radio. 2021.
- ^ "Colombian President Petro says 'escaped being killed' in assassination plot". Al Jazeera. 11 February 2026.
- ^ Espectador, El (10 March 2026). "ELESPECTADOR.COM". ELESPECTADOR.COM (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 March 2026.
- ^ "Hollman Morris habla con Aída Quilcué en su primera entrevista como candidata a la Vicepresidencia". RTVC. 10 March 2026. Retrieved 19 March 2026.