Juan Sebastián Chamorro García (born 1971) is a Nicaraguan economist, businessman and politician. He was a pre-candidate for president in the 2021 Nicaraguan general election until he was detained in a wave of arrests of opposition candidates and other civic leaders.

Early life and education

Chamorro was born in 1971 to Sonia García and journalist

Xavier Chamorro Cardenal Xavier Chamorro Cardenal (31 December 1932 – 4 January 2008)Source: articl''Fallece Xavier Chamorro Cardenal''from EFE agency, on ''El Nuevo Diarios Website.El Nuevo Diario ''El Nuevo Diario'' was a Nicaraguan newspaper, with offices in the capital Managua. History In 1980, the owner of ''La Prensa'' fired the editor Xavier Chamorro Cardenal. Eighty percent of the papers employees left with Chamorro Cardena due t ...

'' in 1980, part of the fallout from the assassination of his brother

Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal (23 September 1924 – 10 January 1978) was a Nicaraguan journalist and publisher. He was the editor of '' La Prensa'', the only significant opposition newspaper to the long rule of the Somoza family. He is a ...

in 1978, an event broadly seen as a turning point in boosting support for the

Sandinista Revolution The Nicaraguan Revolution ( es, Revolución Nicaragüense or Revolución Popular Sandinista, link=no) encompassed the rising opposition to the Somoza dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s, the campaign led by the Sandinista National Liberation F ...

and its success in overthrowing the

Somoza The Somoza family ( es, Familia Somoza) is a former political family that ruled Nicaragua for forty-three years from 1936 to 1979. Their family dictatorship was founded by Anastasio Somoza García and was continued by his two sons Luis Somoza D ...

dictatorship the next year. Chamorro had four siblings: Margarita, Gabriel, Ana and Francisco. He attended Colegio Centro América, then college at the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hil ...

, graduating magna cum laude in

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

. He earned a Master’s degree in economics with a mention in social policies from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

, then a doctorate in economics from the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

, specializing in

econometrics Econometrics is the application of statistical methods to economic data in order to give empirical content to economic relationships. M. Hashem Pesaran (1987). "Econometrics," '' The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics'', v. 2, p. 8 p. 8 ...

. His dissertation examined on property rights and their impact on the Nicaraguan economy.

Career

In 1990, his uncle’s widow

Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Violeta Barrios Torres de Chamorro (; 18 October 1929) is a Nicaraguan politician who served as President of Nicaragua from 1990 to 1997. She was the first and, as of 2022, only woman to hold the position of president of Nicaragua. Born int ...

successfully ran as a conservative candidate for President, defeating Sandinista Daniel Ortega and serving as President until 1997. In 1997 Chamorro became director of agriculture policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, his first role in public service. From 2002 to 2006, Chamorro served a number of different roles in the administration of President

Enrique Bolaños Enrique José Bolaños Geyer (; 13 May 1928 – 14 June 2021) was a Nicaraguan politician who served as President of Nicaragua from 10 January 2002 to 10 January 2007. From 1997 to 2002, Bolaños served as vice president under Arnoldo Alemán ...

: Director General of the Millennium Challenge Account Nicaragua; Deputy Minister of Finance and Public Credit; Technical Secretary of the Presidency of the Republic and Coordinator of the National Public Investment System.Álvarez, Leonor. "Estos Son Los 21 Delegados Que Integran El Comité De La Coalición Nacional." July 15, 2020 via ProQuest. Chamorro is executive director of economic think tank FUNIDES and represented the business sector in the 2018 National Dialogue, as a leader of the Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy (ACJD) opposition to the government of President Daniel Ortega. The ACJD emerged in the 2018–2021 Nicaraguan protests. In January 2021, Chamorro stepped down as director of ACJD to focus on electoral politics. He has called for election reforms in advance of the 2021 elections, including raising the percentage required to win without going through a runoff.

2021 presidential campaign

In 2021 Chamorro García is an opposition pre-candidate for the presidency in the Nicaraguan general election. On June 8, 2021, Chamorro García was arrested, the fourth opposition candidate to be detained by the ruling party. His cousin

Cristiana Chamorro Barrios Cristiana Chamorro Barrios (born 1954) is a Nicaraguan journalist, nonprofit executive and political candidate. Vice-president of ''La Prensa'', she was an aspiring presidential candidate in the 2021 Nicaraguan general election until the Orte ...

also campaigned for the position until being detained.

Personal life

Chamorro married Victoria Cárdenas circa 1999. They have one daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chamorro García, Juan Sebastián 1971 births Living people Nicaraguan economists Nicaraguan politicians Juan Sebastián Place of birth missing (living people)

Early life and education

Career

2021 presidential campaign

Personal life

See also

References