Javier García Choque

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

Javier García
Mayor of Colchane
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 December 2016
Preceded by	Teófilo Mamani
Personal details
Born	(1975-08-29) 29 August 1975 (age 49) Camiña, Chile
Political party	Amplitude[1] (2014−2018) National Renewal
Children	Three[1]
Parent(s)	Andrés García Vilches[1] María Choque Mamani[1]
Alma mater	Arturo Prat University[1] (no degree) Bolivarian University of Chile[1] (no degree) Academy of Christian Humanism University[1] (LLB)
Occupation	Politician
Profession	Lawyer[1]

Javier Ignacio García Choque (born August 29, 1975) is a Chilean politician who serves as mayor of Colchane.

Close to right-wing politics, since 2020, García Choque gained attention with the Venezuelan migrant crisis in Northern Chile, as well as for his criticism towards centre-right government of Sebastián Piñera (2018−2022).^[2][3][4][5]

Early life and studies

García Choque was born in Camiña, but he was raised in Colchane, a 300-inhabitants village on the Chilean border with Bolivia.^[1] His father, Andrés García, was a farmer and president of the neighborhood council.^[1] Similarly, his great-grandfather, Melchor García, came from southern Peru to look for work and married with a Chilean.^[1]

When he attended the primary school in Colchane, his classmates spoke Aymara, a language he would master as an adult.^[1] Then, García attended high school both in Iquique and Arica at the following establishments: the Commercial Institute Baldomero Wolnitzky and the Politechnical Lyceum of Arica.^[1] According to him, in those cities, he suffered discrimination from his classmates due to his ethnic appearance.

'They said me indigenous, bolivian, negro'.^[1]
Javier García Choque to Ex-Ante.
10 October 2021.

In 1994, García Choque graduated from High School. Then, he joined the Arturo Prat University to study a Bachelor of Laws, which he continued in the Bolivarian University of Chile. Nevertheless, due to the lack of accreditation of this last one, he validated his subjects in the Academy of Christian Humanism University (UAHC), and –finally– he received as lawyer in the early 2000s. About it, different media has recognized him as an outstanding student in the UAHC,^[1][6] as well as he paid his studies with the help of his family and his own work as an events organizer for an architects study in Santiago, the capital city of Chile.^[1]

Political career

In 2016 and 2021, he was elected mayor of Colchane, his hometown. He initially was in the party National Renewal, then Amplitude and in 2021 he ran as independent with the coalition of the Progressive Party and the Christian Democratic Party.

References

1. "Perfil: lo que hay que saber de Javier García Choque, el alcalde de Colchane que ha expuesto la crisis migratoria". Ex-Ante. 10 October 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
2. "Alcalde de Colchane interpela al Gobierno por colapso migratorio: 'Es hora de dejar de atribuir responsabilidad a otros'". CNN Chile. 19 August 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
3. Cabrera, Manuel (21 September 2021). "Alcalde de Colchane por "avalancha" de migrantes irregulares: 'Nos sentimos en un abandono extremo'". Radio Bío-Bío. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
4. Cisternas, María Luisa (29 August 2021). "Javier García, alcalde de Colchane: 'Se ha creado una ley migratoria desde Santiago, sin conocer la realidad en la zona'". Radio Universidad de Chile. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
5. "Alcalde Javier García: 'El Plan Colchane no existe, se trata de hechos que se repiten en el tiempo y no han dado resultado. Fue una medida desesperada del Gobierno'". Canal 13. 10 February 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
6. Torres Cautivo, Ximena (16 December 2021). "Javier García Choque, alcalde de Colchane: "Esto no es migración, es literalmente una invasión"". El Dínamo. Retrieved 8 March 2022.