Aldo Dávila

Aldo Iván Dávila Morales (born 20 September 1977)^[1] is a Guatemalan politician who served as deputy of the Congress of Guatemala from 2020 to 2024. Dávila won the 2019 general election as a member of the political party Winaq. He is the first openly gay man and first HIV-positive member elected to Congress.^[2][3][4]

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Dávila and the second or maternal family name is Aldo.

Aldo Dávila
Official portrait, 2020
Member of the Congress of Guatemala
In office 14 January 2020 – 14 January 2024
Constituency	Guatemala City
Personal details
Born	(1977-09-20) 20 September 1977 (age 47) Guatemala City, Guatemala
Political party	VOS (since 2022) Winaq (until 2022)

Early years

Dávila was born in Guatemala City, capital of the Central American country, into a Catholic family. His primary studies were carried out in an evangelical school near the family home in the Saravia neighborhood (zone 5).^[5] Being the oldest of 3 brothers, he lost his father at the age of 14, which led him to be the main male breadwinner in his home. During his adolescence he suffered bullying from his peers and teaching staff due to his sexual orientation.^[6]

Political career

Since 2010 he was president of the LGBT Gente Positiva association. In 2019 he led the candidacy for the Central District to the Congress of Guatemala in the elections of that year as a member of Winaq.^[7] He assumed his parliamentary position on January 14, 2020,^[8] becoming the only openly LGBT member of the legislature, as Sandra Morán, Guatemala's first LGBT representative, did not run for re-election.

In March 2020, Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei described Dávila as "gross" after a controversy over the numbers of deaths from COVID-19 during the coronavirus pandemic and the possible variation of numbers due to confusion over deaths from atypical pneumonia .^[9]

In June 2023, the presidential candidate Manuel Villacorta presented him as his possible Minister of Labor and Social Security if he won the 2023 general elections.^[7]

Dávila applied for re-election to Congress for the 2023 election, but was denied by the Constitutional Court due to two removals of parliamentary immunity during his term. He was retained as an advisor to the VOS bloc in Congress for the 2024-2028 term.^[10][11]

References

1. "Aldo Iván Davila Morales". www.congreso.gob.gt (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-04-22.
2. "Aldo Dávila set to be Guatemala's 1st openly gay congressman". Associated Press. June 21, 2019.
3. cronologia/-/meta/agencia-ap. "Guatemala tendría su primer diputado abiertamente gay y viviendo con VIH". www.elheraldo.hn (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-01-15.
4. "Aldo Dávila set to be Guatemala's 1st openly gay congressman". Puerto Vallarta News. Associated Press. 2019-06-21. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
5. ""No tenga pena que no se va a contagiar de homosexualidad ni de VIH", dice primer diputado gay que llega al Congreso" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-01-15.
6. Elías, José (2019-07-06). "El primer diputado abiertamente gay de Guatemala: "Quiero creer que mi elección es fruto de un cambio"". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
7. "Izquierda guatemalteca presenta a Villacorta como candidato a presidente". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 2019-01-20. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
8. "Primer diputado gay cree que el enemigo en Guatemala es la diversidad sexual". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 2020-01-09. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
9. "El nuevo exabrupto del presidente Alejandro Giammattei | | Artículo 35". 2020-03-29. Archived from the original on 2020-03-29. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
10. "El futuro de Aldo Dávila tras dejar de ser diputado". www.soy502.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-01-15.
11. "CSJ rechaza amparo provisional de VOS que buscaba inscripción de Aldo Dávila". www.soy502.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-01-15.