Jimmy Morales

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Jimmy Morales (2019)

Jimmy Morales (born March 18, 1969 in Guatemala City as James Ernesto Morales Cabrera ) is a Guatemalan comedian and politician of the Frente de Convergencia Nacional (FCN). From January 2016 to January 2020 he was President of his country.

Life

Morales comes from a poor family and is an Evangelical Christian. He studied at the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala and achieved a Bachelor of Business Administration . Morales is married to Hilda Patricia Morales.

He achieved fame as a comedian in Guatemala in the TV series Moralejas , in which he played alongside his brother Sammy. In 2011, he ran as a candidate for the small right-wing Acción de Desarrollo Nacional party for Mayor in Mixco . In 2013 he joined the Frente de Convergencia Nacional and soon after became its general secretary. This right-wing conservative party was founded by retired officers who fought in the Guatemalan civil war and is affiliated with the veterans' organization AVEMILGUA .

In the Guatemalan presidential election in 2015 he was initially considered an outsider, but surprisingly achieved first place in the first ballot and thus qualified for the runoff election. His election campaign emphasized conservative values ​​and the fight against corruption . His slogan was Ni corrupto, ni ladrón (“Neither corrupt nor a thief”). He describes himself as a nationalist, advocates the death penalty and opposes abortion . He also denies that there was a genocide against the Ixil Maya in the 1980s . The FCN's top candidate in the parliamentary election that was taking place at the same time, Édgar Justino Ovalle Maldonado , who is considered Morales' “right hand man”, was himself the commander of counterinsurgency operations in the Ixil settlement area. On October 25, 2015, he then prevailed against the former first lady Sandra Torres with over 68% . The election came against the backdrop of a widespread corruption scandal (called La Línea ), as a result of which both President Otto Pérez Molina and Vice-President Roxana Baldetti resigned and were arrested and charged with fraud and corruption. Morales' choice was explained by observers with the widespread suspicion of the Guatemalans towards the traditional political elite.

He took office on January 14, 2016. Alejandro Giammattei succeeded him on January 14, 2020 .

Corruption allegations

Morales' tenure, whose motto was Neither Corrupt nor Thief , is overshadowed by scandals and allegations of corruption. In January 2017, one of Morales 'sons, José Manuel Morales, and Jimmy Morales' older brother and advisor, Samuel Morales, were arrested on charges of money laundering and corruption. Then there were protests and calls for resignation from the population.

In August 2017, Morales ordered the expulsion of Iván Velasquez, Commissioner of the Comisión Internacional contra la Impunidad en Guatemala (CICIG), after he began investigations into illegal party donations , including drug traffickers, and asked Congress to lift his impunity. After Foreign Minister Carlos Raúl Morales failed to sign the decree, he was dismissed. The Constitutional Court overturned Morales' decision and Velazquez confirmed that he will continue to serve as the CIGIC commissioner. In September 2017, the motion to waive immunity was rejected by parliament.

Also in September 2017, it became public that the Department of Defense under Williams Mansilla was paying President Morales a monthly "special responsibility bonus" of $ 7,300 on top of  his regular income, while the El Occidental newspaper said it was $ 6,600 a month. After the allegations became known, Mansilla resigned and was convicted of corruption in January 2018. Morales denied the payments were illegal but repaid $ 60,000.

Former minister Édgar Gutiérrez accuses Morales, along with other members of the government, of systematically abusing young women and girls .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Juan Montes: Comedian Jimmy Morales Leads Guatemalan Election. In: The Wall Street Journal , Sept. 7, 2015
  2. ↑ a b c d José Elías: Jimmy Morales, el candidato sorpresa. In: El País , September 7, 2015.
  3. ↑ Henry Morales: Jimmy Morales, el comediante que quiere ser un presidente serio In: Prensa Libre , September 4, 2015.
  4. ^ Steven Dudley, Guatemala Votes for Military-backed Candidate. In: InSightCrime , September 7, 2015.
  5. ↑ Jimmy Morales, Comedian Candidate to Guatemalan Presidency In: Prensa Latina English , September 2, 2015.
  6. ↑ Louisa Reynolds: In Guatemala, anti-establishment presidential candidate benefits from corruption scandals. In: The Tico Times June 10, 2015.
  7. ↑ La mano derecha de Jimmy: un oficial de operaciones contrainsurgentes. Centro de Medios Independientes (CMI), 4th September 2015.
  8. ^ Spiegel.de: Presidential election in Guatemala, Jimmy Morales declares himself the winner
  9. ^ Peter Gaupp: Inauguration of President Morales in Guatemala. A comedian facing a serious task. In: NZZ. January 15, 2016, accessed January 23, 2016 .
  10. ^ Giammattei sworn in as President of Guatemala. In: ORF.at . January 15, 2020, accessed January 15, 2020 .
  11. ^ "Protests Erupts in Guatemala Over Laws to Dilute Antigraft Campaign" - The New York Times
  12. ^ "Crisis flares in Guatemala over corruption and organized crime" | The Guardian
  13. ^ Thousands of protesters in Guatemala demand president's resignation . March 7, 2017. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  14. ^ Guatemala president's brother, son held on suspicion of fraud . January 19, 2017. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  15. ↑ Samuel Morales irá a juicio por lavado de dinero . Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  16. ↑ Anti-president protests during Guatemala independence day . Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  17. ↑ Jimmy Morales's was on Guatemala's graft-busters . In: The Economist , August 31, 2017. Retrieved July 25, 2019. 
  18. ↑ a b "Guatemala's president tried to expel the UN commissioner who announced he was under investigation" - The Washington Post
  19. ↑ Guatemala Ordena expulsar al colombiano Iván Velásquez, jefe anticorrupción . August 27, 2017. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  20. ↑ Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com): Guatemala parliament votes to keep immunity for President Jimmy Morales - News - DW - 12.09.2017 . Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  21. ↑ Detienen a exministro de Defensa de Guatemala por corrupción. In: eloccidental.com.mx. El Occidental, Retrieved July 25, 2019 (Spanish).
  22. ^ Former Guatemala defense minister arrested on corruption charges . In: Reuters News , January 26, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2019. 
  23. ↑ Andrea Orozco: Víctimas de abusos cometidos por Jimmy Morales podrían ser 10, denuncia excanciller . In: Prensa Libre , July 4, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2019. 
predecessor Office successor
Alejandro Maldonado Aguirre
(interim)		 President of Guatemala
January 14, 2016 - January 14, 2020 		Alejandro Giammattei
personal data
SURNAME Morales, Jimmy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Morales Cabrera, James Ernesto (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Guatemalan politician
DATE OF BIRTH March 18, 1969
PLACE OF BIRTH Guatemala City , Guatemala