Jimmy Morales (born James Ernesto Morales Cabrera, ; 18 March 1969) is a
Guatemalan politician, actor and comedian. From 2016 to 2020, he served as the
50th president of Guatemala.
Early and personal life
Morales was born in
Guatemala City
Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, ne ...
, to José Everardo Morales Orellana and Celita Ernestina Cabrera Acevedo.
He comes from a circus family, and is an
Evangelical Christian
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...
.
His father was killed in a car accident when he was three years old, prompting him, his mother and three siblings to move to his grandparents' house, where he grew up. By the time he was 10 years old, he and his brother Sammy accompanied their grandfather to sell bananas and used clothing at the market in
Santa Lucia Milpas Altas.
["Jimmy Morales used to do blackface comedy. He’s now poised to be Guatemala’s president,"]
''The Washington Post''.
He holds degrees in
Business Administration from the national
Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala
The Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala (USAC, ''University of San Carlos of Guatemala'') is the largest and oldest university of Guatemala; it is also the fourth founded in the Americas. Established in the Kingdom of Guatemala during the Spani ...
, and in Theology.
Morales also holds a master's degree in
Strategic Studies with specialization in Security and Defense from
Mariano Gálvez University. He furthered his studies in Strategic Studies at
Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala
The Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala (USAC, ''University of San Carlos of Guatemala'') is the largest and oldest university of Guatemala; it is also the fourth founded in the Americas. Established in the Kingdom of Guatemala during the Spani ...
.
Morales rose to fame as a TV comedian, starring in the series ''Moralejas'' ("Morals") alongside his brother Sammy.
He formally changed his name from James Ernesto Morales Cabrera to Jimmy Morales by
deed poll in 2011.
Morales has been married for three decades to
Patricia Marroquín
Hilda Patricia Marroquín Argueta de Morales (born 25 July 1970) is a Guatemalan public figure and the former First Lady of Guatemala since January 2016. She is the wife of former President Jimmy Morales.
Biography
Born Hilda Patricia Marroqu ...
, and has three children.
Political career
In 2011, he ran as a mayoral candidate in
Mixco
Mixco () is a city and municipality in the Guatemala department of Guatemala. It is next to the main Guatemala City municipality and has become part of the Guatemala City Metropolitan Area. Most of Mixco is separated from the city by canyons, fo ...
in the
Guatemala City
Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, ne ...
suburbs for the small right-wing Action for National Development party. He placed third.
In 2013, Morales joined the small
National Convergence Front
The National Convergence Front ( es, Frente de Convergencia Nacional, FCN–Nación) is a right-wing political party in Guatemala.
History
The party was established on 7 January 2008. It was initiated by a group of retired army officers, includ ...
(FCN/Nation) and became its Secretary-General.
Presidency
Presidential campaign
In 2015, Morales was nominated as the FCN's presidential candidate. His priorities were fighting
corruption, and dealing with chronic
malnutrition
Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is "a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients" which adversely affects the body's tissues ...
, low
education level
The International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) is a statistical framework for organizing information on education maintained by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It is a member of the in ...
s, and insecurity.
His slogan was "Neither corrupt, nor a thief" (''Ni corrupto, ni ladrón'').
He ran on a platform of conservative values, and against corruption.
He identifies as a nationalist, supports the
death penalty, opposes abortion and legalized drugs, and denies that a
genocide
Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Lat ...
against the
Ixil Maya took place.
["Guatemala just elected a comedian with zero political experience to be president",]
''Vox''.
He was initially considered an outsider but surprisingly led the field in the first round of the election, qualifying for a runoff alongside former First Lady
Sandra Torres.
Morales' success came after both former vice president
Roxana Baldetti and outgoing president
Otto Pérez Molina
Otto Fernando Pérez Molina (born 1 December 1950) is a Guatemalan politician and retired general, who was President of Guatemala from 2012 to 2015. Standing as the Patriotic Party (''Partido Patriota'') candidate, he lost the 2007 president ...
had to step down, and were arrested on fraud and corruption charges (the
''La Línea'' corruption case).
Administration
In the runoff, Morales defeated Torres in a landslide, taking 67.4 percent of the vote. Morales' success was viewed as a sign of the distrust of many Guatemalans towards the traditional political elite that ruled the country for decades. Voter anger and military support helped him win the presidency against more experienced politicians who voters felt were tainted by a corrupt political system.
![Jimmy Morales-Enrique Peña Nieto2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Jimmy_Morales-Enrique_Pe%C3%B1a_Nieto2.jpg)
On 24 December 2017, Morales announced that he planned to move the Guatemalan embassy in Israel from
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...
to
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. He became the second national leader to announce a decision to make such a move, after the
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
,
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
, made a similar announcement on 6 December.
On 18 June 2018, the Morales government was widely criticized for its slow action in favor of Guatemalans affected by the American policy of separating immigrant families; this caused the dismissal of the presidential spokesman
Heinz Heimann who a day before his removal from the office said that the government respected the policy of President Trump.
Controversies
Arrest of relatives
In January 2017, Morales' older brother and close adviser Samuel "Sammy" Morales, as well as one of Morales' sons, José Manuel Morales, were arrested on corruption and money laundering charges. According to media reports, the arrests prompted several large protests of up to 15,000 people demanding for President Morales' removal. The most recent took place in September 2017. Morales refused to step down.
CICIG and illegal donations
In August 2017, Morales ordered the expulsion of Colombian
Iván Velásquez
Iván Velásquez (born August 27, 1976 in Cartagena, Colombia) is a Colombian footballer currently playing for Independiente Medellín of the Primera A in Colombia. He played as a striker.
Teams
* Independiente Santa Fe 1999
* Deportes Tolima ...
, commissioner of the
International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), after it began "investigating claims that his party took illegal donations, including from drug-traffickers" and asked, "congress to strip him of immunity from prosecution."
[">"Guatemala’s president tried to expel the U.N. commissioner who announced he was under investigation" - ''The Washington Post'']
/ref> The Constitutional Court of Guatemala
The Constitutional Court of Guatemala is the highest court for constitucional law in the Republic of Guatemala. It is tasked with preserving the constitutional order by ruling on questions of the constitutionality of laws or state actions. The Cour ...
blocked the move. Minister of foreign affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...
Carlos Raúl Morales had refused to sign the executive order and was removed from office along with vice-minister Carlos Ramiro Martínez, and vice-minister Anamaría Diéguez resigned. Velásquez confirmed he will continue as CICIG commissioner following the Constitutional Court decision to block his expulsion. In September 2017, the Congress of Guatemala
The Congress of the Republic ( es, Congreso de la República) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of the Guatemala, Republic of Guatemala. The Guatemalan Congress is made up of 160 Chamber of Deputies, deputies who are elected by univer ...
refused to strip Morales of his immunity, rejecting commissioner Velásquez's suggestion.
Responsibility bonus
In September 2017, it was revealed that the Ministry of Defense
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...
, headed by Williams Mansilla
Williams Agberto Mansilla Fernández (born April 24, 1964 Guatemala City) is a Guatemalan military officer who served as Minister of Defense from July 2015 until October 2017 during the presidencies of Otto Pérez Molina (2015), Alejandro Maldona ...
, had been paying President Morales a $7,300 per month bonus since December 2016, in addition to his regular salary. The payments from the defense ministry were referred to as a "Bonus for Extraordinary Responsibility."[ Mansilla resigned from office soon after the payments were revealed to the public.][ He was later arrested and charged with corruption in January 2018, relating to the special bonus to Morales.][ President Morales denied the bonuses were illegal, but did return approximately $60,000 to the government.][
]
Expenses
The acquisition by the government of services and luxury items for the president using public monies caused controversy, although he indicated not being personally involved in those expenses.
Sexual abuse accusations
A former cabinet minister accused Jimmy Morales of having sexually abused young female public workers with the complicity of other government officials.
Belize mobilization
Guatemalan Defense Minister Williams Mansilla
Williams Agberto Mansilla Fernández (born April 24, 1964 Guatemala City) is a Guatemalan military officer who served as Minister of Defense from July 2015 until October 2017 during the presidencies of Otto Pérez Molina (2015), Alejandro Maldona ...
confirmed on 22 April 2016 that the deployment of 3,000 soldiers to the Guatemalan border with Belize, after a shooting incident on Belizean territory with army weapons resulted in the death of a 13-year-old boy and the wounding of his 11-year-old brother, as well as their 48-year-old father.
Calls for prosecution
On 14 January 2020, Guatemalan civil society groups began pressuring Guatemalan authorities to arrest President Jimmy Morales for corruption after he left office. However, Morales would regain immunity from prosecution after it was agreed that other officials who served in his administration would be stripped of immunity from prosecution. Eight of his allies, including some who were not in his administration, were charged with corruption, including two former FCN legislators and 2019 FCN presidential candidate Estuardo Galdámez.
Honors
* Order of Brilliant Jade
The Order of Brilliant Jade is a civilian order of the Republic of China that can be worn only by the head of a nation. According to regulations, the order can only be presented by the president of the country or an emissary expressly dispatched ...
, Grand Cordon, awarded by the President of the Republic of China Tsai Ing-wen
Tsai Ing-wen (; born 31 August 1956) is a Taiwanese politician serving as president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since 2016. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Tsai is the first female president of Taiwan. She served as ...
on January 11, 2017.
* Honorary doctorate, awarded by Hebrew University of Jerusalem, in November 2016.
See also
* Evangelical political parties in Latin America
The political influence of Evangelicalism in Latin America is a phenomenon that has resulted in increased political influence and activism by the Evangelical Christian community in the region. Marginal at first, different news reports and political ...
References
External links
Personal website
Presidential campaign website
*
Biography by CIDOB
(in Spanish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morales, Jimmy
1969 births
Living people
People from Guatemala City
Guatemalan actor-politicians
Guatemalan evangelicals
Guatemalan male comedians
Guatemalan male television actors
Presidents of Guatemala
Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala alumni
21st-century Guatemalan male actors