A leader forged in resistance and in the defence of workers' dignity, Xiomara Conde Pacheco, personifies the struggle for trade union freedom in Guatemala. Her trajectory of more than twenty years in the trade union struggle reflects an unwavering commitment and a firm response to aggressions against the working class, which positions her as a reference of integrity and as a defender of collective processes in Guatemala.

Very moved, at the moment she received the news that she had won the award, Xiomara Conde declared: "I want to thank the whole PSI team that makes it possible to make visible part of what we live in some trade unionists here in Guatemala, the repression that we live. I want to tell our comrades that the struggle is not in vain, that we continue, that we continue to do our bit to be the change that the world needs." The award will be presented to Xiomara Conde in person during the FNV Congress, which is due to take place in June.

Xiomara is emphatic in pointing out that being a woman and a trade union leader in Guatemala implies a differentiated vulnerability and her leadership is projected towards the future through institutional strengthening. Her vision defends an independent trade unionism, capable of denouncing irregularities even within the state itself, under the premise that the union should not "lend itself to corruption".

For Euan Gibb, PSI Inter-America Regional Secretary, "the presentation of this award to Xiomara represents the recognition of a life dedicated to social justice and the strengthening of democratic organisations in highly complex contexts. A leader who not only survived the system, but now seeks to transform it to strengthen the trade union movement throughout the region."

In November 2025, the PSI, together with the LabourStart platform, led an international campaign in support of Xiomara Conde, who was facing political dismissal proceedings in retaliation for exposing irregular government hiring practices. The initiative gathered 4,500 signatures from various countries, calling on the Guatemalan government to cease the administrative proceedings against her.

Currently, PSI is pushing for Xiomara’s case to be brought before the ILO. The aim of this action goes beyond her personal situation: it seeks to set a historic international precedent regarding the protection of trade union freedom and the security of trade union leaders in contexts of political persecution.

The Febe Elizabeth Velasquez Trade Union Award is a global award, created in 1991 by the FNV, named after the Salvadoran trade union activist and general secretary of the FENASTRAS trade union murdered in 1989 at the age of 27 for her trade union activities and aims to pay tribute to trade union leaders who, working under very difficult circumstances and taking enormous personal risks, resolutely defend trade union rights in countries where those rights are being violated.

"It is deeply symbolic that the Febe Elizabeth Velásquez Trade Union Award 2026, awarded by FNV, returns to Central America to recognise the trajectory of struggle and resistance of leader Xiomara Conde," said Claudia Sule, PSI Sub-Regional Secretary for Central America.

The figure of Febe Elizabeth Velásquez transcends borders as an icon of the Salvadoran labour movement and a pillar of the regional trade union collective memory. Her legacy is marked by the tragic attack on 31 October 1989 against the headquarters of FENASTRAS, where death squads killed nine leaders, including Febe. At that time, FENASTRAS was leading the social demands in one of the bloodiest periods of the civil war, with this attack occurring just eleven days before the historic 'Final Offensive'."