Jimmy Morales

Jimmy Ernesto Morales Cabrera (born 18 March 1969) is a Guatemalan politician, actor, and comedian who served as the 50th president of Guatemala from 2016 to 2020.

Morales was born in Guatemala City to José Everardo Morales Orellana and Celita Ernestina Cabrera Acevedo.

He comes from a circus family and is an Evangelical Christian.

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 grandparent's house, where he grew up.

By the time he was ten years old, he and his brother Sammy accompanied their grandfather to sell bananas and used-clothing at the market in Santa Lucia Milpas Altas.

He holds degrees in business administration and theology from the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala.

Morales also holds a master's degree in strategic studies with a specialization in security and defense from Mariano Gálvez University.

He furthered his studies in strategic studies at the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala.

Morales rose to fame as a TV comedian, starring in the series Moralejas ("Morals") alongside his brother Sammy.

He formally changed his first name from James to Jimmy by deed poll in 2011.

Morales has been married for three decades to Patricia Marroquín, and has three children.

In 2011, he ran as a mayoral candidate in Mixco in the Guatemala City suburbs for the small right-wing Action for National Development party.

He placed third.

In 2013, Morales joined the small National Convergence Front (FCN/Nation) and became its Secretary-General.

In 2015, Morales was nominated as the FCN's presidential candidate.

His priorities were fighting corruption and dealing with chronic malnutrition, low education levels, 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 against the Ixil Maya took place.

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 had to step down and were arrested on fraud and corruption charges (the La Línea corruption case).

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 whom voters felt were tainted by a corrupt political system.

Morales was sworn into office as the 50th president of Guatemala on January 14, 2016.

The first words of his inaugural address were, "Thank you, my God, for the privilege you have given me to serve my country and my people."

According to analysts, he took a messianic route and made everyone present at the inauguration swear to commit to a 'new' Guatemala.

During the first days of the new administration, a request for a preliminary trial was introduced against the newly appointed Minister of Communications, Infrastructure, and Housing, Sherry Ordóñez, because she was a state contractor.

Ordóñez and Morales, for their part, denied that there was a constitutional restriction for her to continue as Minister.

However, on January 25, eleven days after being sworn in, Ordóñez would resign from her post.

Morales' first international visit was to Ecuador, where he participated in CELAC and maintained bilateral relations with the presidents of Chile, Venezuela, Bolivia, Mexico, Ecuador, and Argentina.

On 24 December 2017, Morales announced that he planned to move the Guatemalan embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

He became the second national leader to announce a decision to make such a move, after the President of the United States, Donald Trump, made a similar announcement on 6 December.

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 President Morales' resignation.

The most recent took place in September 2017.

Morales refused to step down.

In August 2017, Morales ordered the expulsion of Colombian Iván Velásquez, 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."

The Constitutional Court of Guatemala blocked the move.

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.