Jimmy Morales

Jimmy Morales (born James Ernesto Morales Cabrera, 18 March 1969) is the President of Guatemala after his victory in the 2015 presidential election. Prior to his political career, he was a comic actor.

Life and career

Morales was born in Guatemala City. He comes from a poor family and is an Evangelical Christian. He holds degrees in Business Administration and theology from the national 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 name from James Ernesto Morales Cabrera to Jimmy Morales by deed poll in 2011. In 2011, he ran as mayoral candidate in Mixco for the small right-wing Action for National Development party. In 2013, he joined the small National Convergence Front (FCN/Nation) and became its secretary-general.

In 2015 he was nominated as the FCN's presidential candidate. He was initially considered an outsider but surprisingly finished first in the first round of the election, qualifying for the runoff. He runs on a platform of conservative values and against corruption. His slogan is "Neither corrupt nor a thief" (Ni corrupto, ni ladrón). He identifies as a nationalist, supports the death penalty and opposes abortion. Moreover, he denies that a genocide against the Ixil Maya took place. 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 (La Linea corruption case). His success was viewed as a sign of the distrust of many Guatemalans towards the traditional political elite.

Jimmy

Jimmy may refer to:

Film, stage, and television

Music

Other uses