Félix Ulloa

Félix Augusto Antonio Ulloa Garay (born 6 April 1951) is a Salvadoran politician, speaker, professor, and lawyer who has served as the vice president of El Salvador since 1 June 2019.The CIA World Fact Book: El Salvador
Retrieved 9 Feb 2020

Biography

Early life

Ulloa was born in Chinameca, in the department of San Miguel, on 6 April 1951. His parents were Margarita Garay and , the latter of whom became the rector of the University of El Salvador, where he was killed in an attack carried out by paramilitaries.

Education

Ulloa obtained a law degree from the Complutense University of Madrid, Spain, in 1979, and received a PhD in Law ''cum laude''. He completed postgraduate studies in Public Policy and Public Administration at the International Institute of Public Administration in Paris, France, and at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs of the University of Minnesota, United States. He also completed a postgraduate degree in Banking and Finance at the Technological University of El Salvador (UTEC).

Early legal and political career

After the civil war, Ulloa was elected as a Magistrate of the first Supreme Electoral Tribunal of El Salvador, where he served from 1994 to 1999. He also joined the Board of Surveillance of Political Parties from 1993 to 1994 and the Special Sub-Commission of the CO-PAZ. In 1992 and 1993, he edited the Electoral Code. Additionally, Ulloa was a part of the Political Commission of the National Revolutionary Movement Party, which was founded by his father and is affiliated with the Socialist International.

Constitutional reform

Before becoming Vice President, Ulloa and other Salvadoran jurists presented substantial constitutional amendments against laws that he believed supported an anti-democratic electoral system and impaired the ability of democracy to take hold. Ulloa successfully passed several amendments, including:

* Elimination of the "National List," which prevents senior political leaders from perpetuating themselves in the legislative branch. This was issued on 26 July 2010, by the Constitutional Chamber.
* Face vote, allowing citizens to see the photograph of the candidate they are voting for.
* Crossed vote, enabling citizens to vote for several deputies and even from different political parties.
* Residential vote, allowing citizens and party militants to vote only in their municipality.
* Independent Deputies, allowing citizens without party militancy to run for the Legislative Assembly.

Presidential run

Following an invitation from Nayib Bukele to accompany him in the presidential formula of the Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA), consisting of the political parties GANA, Democratic Change (CD), and Nuevas Ideas (NI); Ulloa ran for vice president. Winning the elections of 3 February 2019, he became the Vice President-elect and took office on 1 June 2019 alongside President-elect Bukele.

Vice presidential term

President Nayib Bukele appointed Ulloa to lead the Central American Integration and the International Commission Against Impunity in El Salvador, which aims to combat corruption and impunity both within the state and internationally. He is in charge of leading the Trifinio Plan, a tri-national treaty with the vice presidents of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador to improve the living conditions of border communities and to develop a process of environmental and territory management.

Ulloa attended the Coronation of Charles III and Camilla on 6 May 2023.

On 25 June 2023, Ulloa registered with Nuevas Ideas as a pre-candidate for a vice presidential re-election bid for the 2024 general election.

On 30 November 2023, Ulloa was granted a leave of absence by the Legislative Assembly to campaign for his re-election.

Personal life

Ulloa married psychologist Lilian Alvarenga de Ulloa in 1973 and has three children.

Publications

Ulloa has published academic articles in the United States, Mexico, Spain, France, Chile, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and every country in Central America, such as:
* Money and democracy
* Politics, State, and Society: Democratic Thinking
* The role of political parties in Central American institutions
* The Salvadoran electoral system, 25 years after the signing of the Peace Agreements
* The utopia continues
* Haiti: 200 years of Elections and Constitutions
* La Crise de la Démocratie Représentative
* Le Système Électoral des États-Unis

Awards and decorations

* SICA: Grand Cross of the Order of Francisco Morazán (25 September 2023)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulloa, Félix
1951 births
Living people
People from San Miguel Department (El Salvador)
20th-century Salvadoran lawyers
Vice presidents of El Salvador
21st-century Salvadoran lawyers
Complutense University of Madrid alumni