Before his name hit the headlines due to a dispute with the prestigious Apple brand, Wilmer Becerra had dedicated himself to repairing electronic devices for more than ten years. It calmed the frustration of owners of cell phones, tablets and computers bearing the Apple logo that were virtually lost: broken screens from bumps or falls, damaged batteries or chargers, broken keyboards from the misfortune of having liquid dropped on them. Hundreds of dollars – and e-waste – will soon end up in the trash, even more so when the warranty period has expired.
The 35-year-old Colombian has been interested in electronics since his school days at a public school in Bucaramanga, the capital of the Santander department in the northeast of the country. The son of a freight transporter and a mother dedicated to housework, he began his career by financing Icetex, the government institution that provides educational loans to people with limited economic opportunities. To get his degree, he worked during the day and studied at night.
“Ever since I got a job repairing laptops, I said, ‘This is my thing.’ I worked there for about a year and then started working as a freelancer,” he recalls in an interview with EL PAÍS. Becerra saw a business opportunity when he received whining customers. “They told me, ‘I went to Apple and the repair – if there was one – is worth as much as the equipment.’ And I thought: There is a customer who is not being served, who is looking for a solution. Because these are not cheap devices, it’s not like your phone is damaged and you can throw it away and buy another one,” he points out.
Becerra spent hours exploring the labyrinths of tiny pieces of equipment. As he grew as an entrepreneur, he began showing his work on social networks like TikTok, where he has 5.3 million followers. He took advantage of the digital boom of the pandemic, explained the state in which everything from cell phones to computers arrived, and explained the repair processes. This made a task visible that had previously remained hidden in the workshops of electronics enthusiasts.
His brand expanded to other Latin American countries, from Mexico to Argentina. In August, the Colombian reported that it had received a notice from Apple’s legal representatives asking it to stop using their logos, to stop impersonating an authorized service and to stop offering support for its products.
The repair shop responded publicly: “Can’t the owner of an iPhone autonomously decide where to repair his devices?”… In this world so littered with e-waste, is there an alternative to bring a device to life and prevent it, that it is thrown in the trash and pollutes the environment?” he said on his networks. Becerra made it clear that he stopped using Apple’s image a long time ago, that he does not pose as an authorized service and that he will not stop doing his job.
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The Colombian’s battle with the tech giant highlighted how late the country is in regulating the right to repair.
In the United States and Europe they are already facing planned obsolescence, techniques that some manufacturers use to limit the useful life of products. North American President Joe Biden signed an executive order in mid-2021 that requires technology companies like Apple to provide users with manuals, parts and tools for repairs. That same year, the European Union mandated a ten-year availability of spare parts and plans to force companies to carry out repairs directly or through third parties.
“It’s a question of consumerism. Large manufacturers limit the useful life of components in order to continue producing more. In the end, the user is the loser because he previously bought a device that lasted 20 years. Right now they get 15 on the phone and tell you that 14 is old,” says Becerra.
An initiative by liberal Senator Laura Fortich to protect consumer rights could find space in Colombia’s Congress. If passed, the bill would require manufacturers and marketers to report the useful life and availability of replacement parts for electronic devices. It would also give sanctioning powers to the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce.
In addition to protecting your wallet, regulations are needed to reduce environmental impact and prevent health risks due to the content of dangerous substances such as mercury. According to the United Nations Global E-waste Monitor 2020 report, the world record for e-waste was reached in 2019 at 53.6 million tons, a weight greater than that of all adults in Europe. The report predicts that the amount of waste such as gold, silver, copper, platinum and other recoverable materials will reach 74 million tons in 2030, doubling in just 16 years.
“This means they are the fastest growing category of household waste worldwide, driven by increasing consumption of electrical and electronic equipment, shorter life cycles and few repair options,” the study said.
The professor of climate change at the Javeriana University of Bogotá, Camilo Prieto, warns that of all the materials extracted, only 9% is recovered annually, a figure linked to the planned obsolescence that requires a higher demand for components in the production chains . and This increases the carbon footprint.
“This leads to people demanding more and more equipment, resulting in greater demand for metal mining equipment and equipment with a huge impact on the environment. It is an issue that the world should consider as a serious environmental problem,” says the expert.
After an exchange of letters with Apple representatives in which Becerra proposed an alliance to offer quality repairs to thousands of users, the businessman can now access spare parts directly in Colombia. I used to have to buy them in the US, often with import restrictions, or reuse them from other devices of the same brand.
“Our parents’ or grandparents’ devices lasted a long time. At least I remember my mother had a refrigerator and it lasted about 30 years. Now I’ve been married for 15 years and have about four refrigerators because they don’t last long. “It is neither practical for the manufacturer to have a long-lasting product nor for the consumer to be able to keep it in order to sell more,” complains Becerra.
EL PAÍS contacted Baker McKenzie in Colombia. The office said it was not authorized to comment on this case.
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