Óscar Ortiz (Salvadoran politician)
Óscar Ortiz | |
|---|---|
 Ortiz in 2023 | |
| Secretary General of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front | |
| In office 7 July 2019 – 4 August 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Medardo González |
| Succeeded by | Manuel Flores |
| 49th Vice President of El Salvador | |
| In office 1 June 2014 – 1 June 2019 | |
| President | Salvador Sánchez Cerén |
| Preceded by | Salvador Sánchez Cerén |
| Succeeded by | Félix Ulloa |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Óscar Samuel Ortiz Ascencio 14 February 1961 San Alejo, El Salvador |
| Political party | Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front |
| Spouse | Elda Tobar de Ortiz |
Óscar Samuel Ortiz Ascencio (born 14 February 1961)[1] is a Salvadoran politician who served as the 36th Vice President of El Salvador from 2014 to 2019. Previously he was the Mayor of Santa Tecla.[2] He was first elected to that position in 2000, and he was re-elected in 2003, 2006, 2009 and 2012.
Ortiz is a member of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), the main left-wing party in El Salvador.[2] In 2003 Ortiz lost the party's primary vote to Schafik Hándal by 47% to 53% to decide who would be the party's candidate in the 2004 presidential election.[2] In March 2014, he was elected as vice president alongside the FMLN's presidential candidate, Salvador Sánchez Cerén.[3]
Ortiz was born in San Alejo on 14 February 1961.[4] During El Salvador's civil war from 1980 to 1992, Ortiz was a combatant with the Popular Liberation Forces - Farabundo Martí (FPL), one of the five organizations that comprised the FMLN.[5] During the civil war, he went under the pseudonym of Guillermo Rodríguez, and led a guerrilla column in the department of Usulután in the east of El Salvador.[5] He was thought of as less ideological than other guerrilla commanders.[6]. He was eventually wounded in combat in 1983 and went to Nicaragua for medical treatment, before coming back to El Salvador in 1987.[5] He was member of parliament for the FMLN from 1994 to 2000.[4] He has been considered one of the most successful Salvadoran mayors for his 13-year-long tenure in Santa Tecla (2000–2013), a post which he left when selected as candidate for the vice presidency in the 2014 presidential election.[4]
References
- ^ "Oscar Samuel Ortiz Ascencio: Vice-Presidente de la República De El Salvador". Archived from the original on 26 July 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
- ^ a b c "Former communist guerrilla chief now a leading presidential contender". Associated Press. 28 July 2003. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
- ^ "Ortiz: no se ampliará burocracia". La Prensa Grafica. 20 March 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
- ^ a b c "Semblanzas de Sánchez Cerén y Oscar Ortiz". América Latina en Movimiento (in Spanish). 11 November 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
- ^ a b c "Miguel Pereira considera que Oscar Ortiz no debería de competir por la Secretaría General del FMLN |". Ultima Hora (in Spanish). 23 April 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
- ^ O'Boyle, Michael; Renteria, Nelson (13 March 2014). "Former guerrilla wins El Salvador vote; rival protests". Reuters. Retrieved 12 July 2025.