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Carlos Mauricio Funes Cartagena (born 18 October 1959) is a Salvadoran politician and former journalist who served as
President of El Salvador The president of El Salvador ( es, Presidente de El Salvador), officially known as the President of the Republic of El Salvador ( es, Presidente de la República de El Salvador), is the Head of State, head of state and Head of Government, head ...
from 2009 to 2014. Funes won the 2009 presidential election as the candidate of the
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front ( es, Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional, FMLN) is a left-wing political party in El Salvador. The FMLN was formed as an umbrella group on 10 October 1980, from five leftist gu ...
(FMLN) party and took office on 1 June 2009.


Early life and education

Funes was born in
San Salvador San Salvador (; ) is the capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its eponymous department. It is the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital i ...
. He received his high school diploma (Bachillerato) from the
Externado San José Externado San Jose is a private Catholic primary and secondary school located in San Salvador, El Salvador. The institution began in 1921 as San Jose Seminary to which "outsiders" were later admitted. When the seminarians moved to a new facility t ...
, and studied at Universidad Centroamericana but did not graduate. Both Externado and UCA are
Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
institutions, something that has deeply influenced president Funes. In this respect, Funes has mentioned his relationship to the Jesuits murdered by the Salvadoran military in 1989 as of particular significance in his professional and personal development. In 1994 he was awarded the
Maria Moors Cabot prize The Maria Moors Cabot Prizes are the oldest international awards in the field of journalism. They are presented each fall by the Trustees of Columbia University to journalists in the Western hemisphere who are viewed as having made a significant co ...
from
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
for promoting press freedom and inter-American understanding. Funes' brother was killed during the
Salvadoran Civil War The Salvadoran Civil War ( es, guerra civil de El Salvador) was a twelve year period of civil war in El Salvador that was fought between the government of El Salvador and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), a coalition or ...
. His oldest son, Alejandro Funes Velasco, who was 27 years old, died after being murdered in
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, where he was studying
photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...
.


Career in journalism

Prior to his involvement with
politics of El Salvador Politics of El Salvador takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of El Salvador is both head of state and head of government, and of an executive power is exercised by the governmen ...
, Funes was a
journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
who hosted a popular interview show on television. He made appearances on Channel 12 and
CNN en Español CNN en Español is a Pan-American Spanish-language news channel, owned by CNN Global, a news division for Warner Bros. Discovery. It was launched on pay television, on 17 March 1997. History CNN en Español before 1997 In 1988, CNN began produc ...
, and also hosted local news programs which were critical of previous governments. He was a reporter during the
Salvadoran Civil War The Salvadoran Civil War ( es, guerra civil de El Salvador) was a twelve year period of civil war in El Salvador that was fought between the government of El Salvador and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), a coalition or ...
and interviewed leftist rebel leaders. It was during this time that he became more sympathetic to leftists in El Salvador, and he considers himself to be center-left.Factbox: Salvadoran President-elect Mauricio Funes
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...
16 March 2009. Retrieved on 2009-03-16.


Political career

Funes was nominated to be the FMLN candidate on 28 September 2007 and competed against the
Nationalist Republican Alliance The Nationalist Republican Alliance ( es, Alianza Republicana Nacionalista, ARENA) is a conservative, right-wing political party of El Salvador. It was founded on 30 September 1981 by retired Salvadoran Army Major Roberto D'Aubuisson. It defines ...
's candidate
Rodrigo Ávila Rodrigo Ávila Avilés (born 25 June 1964) is a Salvadoran politician. He stood as the presidential candidate for the Nationalist Republican Alliance during the in the 2009 Salvadoran presidential election. Upon his nomination, Ávila also bec ...
, a former deputy director of the National Police. Funes won the 2009 presidential election with 51.32% of the popular vote, thus winning election in a single round. He was the country's second left-leaning president (the first being
Arturo Araujo Arturo Araujo Fajardo (1878 – December 1, 1967) was the president of El Salvador from March 1, 1931, to December 2, 1931. He was overthrown in a military coup led by junior officers, and was forced to flee the country for Guatemala. An agricul ...
), as well as the first FMLN party leader not to have fought in the
Salvadoran civil war The Salvadoran Civil War ( es, guerra civil de El Salvador) was a twelve year period of civil war in El Salvador that was fought between the government of El Salvador and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), a coalition or ...
. His swearing-in on 1 June marked only the third time in the country's history that a governing party
peacefully transferred power A peaceful transition or transfer of power is a concept important to democratic governments in which the leadership of a government peacefully hands over control of government to a newly-elected leadership. This may be after elections or during t ...
to the opposition. His presidential campaign was highlighted by statements endorsing moderate political policies. He has promised to better programs such as
health care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...
in rural areas and crime prevention. Political opponents stated that Funes' election would herald an era of
Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
n influence but he insisted that "integration with Central America and strengthening relations with North America will be the priority of our foreign policy".Journalist Mauricio Funes wins El Salvador presidency
''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' 16 March 2009. Retrieved on 2009-03-16.
Funes has also promised to keep the
U.S. dollar The United States dollar ( symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the officia ...
as El Salvador's official currency (
dollarization Currency substitution is the use of a foreign currency in parallel to or instead of a domestic currency. The process is also known as dollarization or euroization when the foreign currency is the dollar or the euro, respectively. Currency subs ...
took place in 2001 under President
Francisco Flores Pérez Francisco Guillermo Flores Pérez (17 October 1959 – 30 January 2016) was a Salvadoran politician who served as President of El Salvador from 1 June 1999 to 1 June 2004 as a member of the conservative Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA). ...
). Since coming to power, Funes' administration has implemented a wide range of social reforms designed to combat poverty and inequality, including the institution of various poverty alleviation programs in the most impoverished communities, the abolition of public health care fees, the introduction of free shoes, meals and uniforms for schoolchildren, the distribution of property titles to hundreds of families, the introduction of monthly stipends and job training for those living in
extreme poverty Extreme poverty, deep poverty, abject poverty, absolute poverty, destitution, or penury, is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, includi ...
, and pensions for the elderly. In addition, investments have been made in improving school infrastructure, a presidential decree has been made against discrimination on the basis of gender and sexual orientation in the public services, two working groups on indigenous affairs have been created as a means of bringing about better representation of the interests of El Salvador's indigenous communities, a community health plan has been introduced, improvements have been made in teacher's salaries, and measures have been introduced to combat illiteracy. Upon his inauguration on 1 June 2009, Funes resumed Salvadoran
diplomatic relations Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...
with
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
. El Salvador previously suspended diplomatic relations with Cuba 50 years ago due to the
Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which placed Fulgencio Batista as head of state and the failed mass strike in opposition that followed. After failing to contest Batista in cou ...
. In November 2009, President Funes had to face the
natural disaster A natural disaster is "the negative impact following an actual occurrence of natural hazard in the event that it significantly harms a community". A natural disaster can cause loss of life or damage property, and typically leaves some econ ...
that greatly affected communities in Cuscatlán, San Salvador and San Vicente as a result of the rain brought by
Hurricane Ida Hurricane Ida was a deadly and extremely destructive Category 4 Atlantic hurricane in 2021 that became the second-most damaging and intense hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. state of Louisiana on record, behind Hurricane Katrina in 200 ...
. A community in San Vicente called Verapaz disappeared because it was buried by huge rocks that fell from the nearby
volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...
. Civil Protection, which is the government entity in charge of handling catastrophes, rehabilitated public schools in which refugees stayed for more than 3 months while they found a place to stay from family or friends. The Army and the
Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
of El Salvador rescued many people from the communities. Funes has been criticized for lack of a plan to fight El Salvador's increased
crime in El Salvador There are an estimated 25,000 gang members at large in El Salvador; another 43,500 are in prison.Guillermoprieto, Alma"In the New Gangland of El Salvador,"''The New York Review of Books'', 10 November 2011. The best-known gangs, called '' maras'' i ...
. In response, the President has ordered the deployment of the army to cooperate with police authorities in their fight against crime. More recently, there have been reports of newly formed
Death Squads A death squad is an armed group whose primary activity is carrying out extrajudicial killings or forced disappearances as part of political repression, genocide, ethnic cleansing, or revolutionary terror. Except in rare cases in which they are ...
operating in El Salvador, due in part to a lack of response of the police. In January 2010, after a public denouncement of Funes' former cabinet member Francisco Gómez, local Salvadoran media uncovered plans whereby almost all government publicity and advertising were to be carried, without any previous public solicitation (as required by Salvadoran Law), by
advertising agency An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generally ...
Polistepeque, S.A. de C.V. Some advisers to the president are members of its board of directors, and allegedly Funes himself has some participation through stock in that agency. The President reacted to these accusations by stating that no other
advertising agency An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generally ...
in El Salvador has the experience or capacity to manage government publicity and advertising, despite the fact that El Salvador has many local and international advertising agencies such as
BBDO BBDO is a worldwide advertising agency network, with its headquarters in New York City. The agency originated in 1891 with the George Batten Company, and in 1928, through a merger with Barton, Durstine & Osborn (BDO), the agency became Batten, B ...
.


Personal life

He was married to Vanda Pignato, the former
First Lady of El Salvador First Lady of the Republic of El Salvador (Spanish: ''Primera dama de El Salvador'') is the title attributed to the wife (or designee) of the President of El Salvador. The office of First Lady coordinates protocol and social affairs within the pr ...
who was involved in the Workers' Party in
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. They have one son, Gabriel. In October 2014, Funes publicly acknowledged that he and Pignato had separated. The political asylum granted to Mauricio Funes by the Government of Nicaragua, included this benefit for his partner, Ada Mitchell Guzmán Sigüenza, as well as his three sons. In July 2019, Funes (along with his wife and two sons) became a naturalized citizen of
Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...
, where he and his immediate family have been residing in exile since 2014.


Illicit enrichment charges

On 10 February 2016 the El Salvador Supreme Court ruled that Funes would face a civil trial for charges of illegally laundering more than $700,000 in personal bank accounts. Nicaragua has granted political asylum to Mauricio Funes, who is being accused of
illicit enrichment Illicit enrichment generally refers to a situation in which a person has enjoyed some sort of wealth that cannot or has not been justified as coming from a legitimate source of income. The exact definitions for illicit enrichment, and the terminolo ...
in El Salvador. Mauricio Funes has not been able to justify personal transactions for over $600,000. The formal accusation against Mauricio Funes states that he and his family increased their assets without justification for an amount of over US$728,000. The income of the President of El Salvador in 2015, one year after Mauricio Funes left office, was US$5,181.72 per month. On 28 November 2017, El Salvador's second civil court found Funes guilty of illegal enrichment. The sentence was against Mauricio Funes and his son who is with him in Nicaragua under asylum protection, ordering that they had to restitute $420,000 to the state. As of 2019 Interpol has twice rejected the arrest request against Mauricio Funes.


References


External links


MauricioFunes.org – Official Mauricio Funes Website

Official Campaign Website

Biography of Mauricio Funes by CIDOB
(in Spanish)
First President from the Left Elected in San Salvador
by Katie Kohlstedt, 6 June 2009
El Salvador Rising
by Tom Hayden, ''The Nation'', 15 June 2009
El Salvador’s 'Date with History'
by Oscar Faria, ''Workers World'', 2 July 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Funes, Mauricio 1959 births Living people People from San Salvador Salvadoran Roman Catholics Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front politicians Presidents of El Salvador Salvadoran Christian socialists Catholic socialists Salvadoran journalists Male journalists Maria Moors Cabot Prize winners Salvadoran politicians convicted of crimes Central American University alumni Salvadoran exiles Salvadoran expatriates in Nicaragua