Jorge Medina

Jorge Medina
Headshot of Jorge Medina
Official portrait, 2014
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
from La Paz's special circumscription
In office
19 January 2010 – 18 January 2015
SubstituteBlanca Cartagena
Preceded bySeat established
Succeeded byAlicia Natte
Personal details
Born
Jorge Medina Barra

(1968-04-24)24 April 1968
Chijchipa, La Paz, Bolivia
Died23 November 2022(2022-11-23) (aged 54)
La Paz, Bolivia
Political partyMovement for Socialism
Alma mater
Occupation
  • Activist
  • politician
WebsiteOfficial website

Jorge Medina Barra (Spanish: [ˈxoɾxe meˈðina]; 24 April 1968 – 23 November 2022) was a Bolivian civil rights activist and politician who served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies from La Paz, representing its special indigenous circumscription from 2010 to 2015.

Raised in the Afro-Bolivian community of the tropical Yungas region, Medina became active in the Afro civil rights movement after moving to the city of La Paz. He was a founding member of the Afro-Bolivian Saya Cultural Movement and co-founded the Afro-Bolivian Center for Integral and Community Development, two organizations dedicated to promoting public and state recognition of Afro cultural identity.

Having succeeded in securing the inclusion of Afro-Bolivians in the 2009 Constitution, Medina was later elected to represent La Paz's minority indigenous peoples in the Chamber of Deputies, becoming the first Afro-Bolivian to serve in either chamber of the Bolivian legislature. In parliament, Medina spearhead Bolivia's flagship Law Against Racism and promoted other pro-Afro pieces of legislation. He was not nominated for reelection.