Alfonso Portillo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alfonso Portillo
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Official portrait, 2000
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| 45th President of Guatemala | |
| In office 14 January 2000 – 14 January 2004 |
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| Vice President | Juan Francisco Reyes López |
| Preceded by | Álvaro Arzú |
| Succeeded by | Óscar Berger |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 September 1951 Zacapa, Guatemala |
| Political party | Vision with Values (2022–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
Guatemalan Christian Democracy (1993–1995) Guatemalan Republican Front (1995–2004) Independent (2004–2017) Todos (2017–2020) Independent (2020–2022) |
| Spouses |
María Eugenia Padúa González
(m. 1981; div. 1990)Evelyn Morataya
(m. 1995; div. 2005) |
Alfonso Antonio Portillo Cabrera was born on September 24, 1951. He is a Guatemalan politician. He served as the 45th president of Guatemala from 2000 to 2004.
He became president on January 14, 2000. He represented the Guatemalan Republican Front (FRG) political party. This party was led by a former general, Efraín Ríos Montt. Years after leaving office, in 2014, Portillo admitted to certain financial wrongdoings in a United States court.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Alfonso Portillo was born in Zacapa, Guatemala. He studied in Mexico. He reportedly earned a degree in social sciences from the Autonomous University of Guerrero. He also supposedly received a doctorate from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. However, there is no clear proof to confirm these claims.
Political Journey and Career
In the late 1970s, Portillo became involved with groups that supported indigenous people in Mexico. He also worked with the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG). During the 1980s, he taught political science at a university in Mexico.
In 1989, Portillo returned to Guatemala. He joined the Social Democratic Party. This party was one of the few left-leaning groups that survived tough times in the 1970s and 1980s. Later, he moved to the Guatemalan Christian Democrats (DCG). This was a center-right party that was in power at the time.
In 1992, he became the Director of the Guatemalan Institute of Social and Political Sciences. He held this role until 1994. In 1993, he became the Secretary General of the DCG. He was elected as a deputy (a type of representative) in 1994. He then became the leader of his party's group in the Congress. During this time, he also advised Siglo Veintiuno, a major newspaper.
Joining the FRG Party
In April 1995, Portillo and seven other deputies left the DCG party. They became independent politicians. This happened after their group was accused of financial misconduct. On July 20, 1995, he joined the Guatemalan Republican Front (FRG). The leader of the FRG was Efraín Ríos Montt.
Ríos Montt was not allowed to run for president. This was because he had taken power through a coup d'etat (a sudden takeover of government) before. So, the FRG chose Portillo as their candidate for the presidential election on November 12. Portillo got 22% of the votes in the first round. He then lost to Álvaro Arzú in the second round on January 7, 1996. Both candidates promised to finish peace talks. Portillo lost by a small margin, getting 48.7% of the votes.
Becoming a Presidential Candidate
In July 1998, the FRG party chose Portillo to be their presidential candidate for the next year. They decided not to nominate Ríos Montt again. Portillo started a campaign promising to bring honesty back to politics. He vowed to fight financial misconduct. He also promised to protect the indigenous people and poor farmers against the wealthy city elite. He also promised to improve safety because of rising crime during Arzú's time as president.
During this campaign, an old incident from Mexico came up. Portillo immediately admitted that he had been involved in a shooting incident with two students. He said it was in self-defense. He explained that he left Mexico to avoid trial because of his political connections and because he was a foreigner. These explanations made Portillo seem like a strong and determined politician. On November 7, he won the first round of voting with 47.8%. In the second round on December 26, he clearly defeated Óscar Berger with 68.3% of the votes.
President of Guatemala (2000–2004)
On the day he became president, Portillo said that Guatemala was "on the edge of collapse." He promised a full government investigation into financial misconduct. On August 9, 2000, he stated that previous governments had been involved in human rights issues.
Portillo wanted to carry out his plans for improvement. However, his government soon faced many challenges from political and organized crime groups in the country. In 2001, his government faced many protests, which made people lose trust. The FRG party was accused of widespread financial misconduct. His government faced accusations of theft and moving money illegally. Many of his staff were accused of creating bank accounts in Panama, Mexico, and the United States. These accounts reportedly held over US$1 billion.
In the first round of the November 2003 elections, Portillo supported former leader Efraín Ríos Montt to become the next president. However, the FRG lost to Óscar Berger Perdomo's GANA party. Óscar Berger was sworn in as president on January 14, 2004, replacing Portillo.
A review in 2014 showed that money was illegally moved from other government departments to the military in 2001.
After the Presidency
When his special protection as a former president was removed on February 19, 2004, Portillo immediately went to Mexico. On August 16, 2004, Mexican authorities gave him a one-year work visa. He lived in a fancy apartment in Mexico City. Portillo was accused of allowing $15 million to be transferred to Guatemala's defense department. Authorities believed most of this money was taken by his associates. After a long process, Mexico's foreign ministry approved sending Portillo back to Guatemala on October 30, 2006. He was actually sent back on October 7, 2008.
In May 2007, reports said that Portillo sued Guatemala. He wanted to be put back as a member of the Central American Parliament. This would give him back his protection from being charged.
In January 2010, news came out that the U.S. government was looking for Portillo. This was related to charges of moving money illegally. On January 26, 2010, Portillo was caught by authorities in Guatemala near Punta de Palma.
Portillo and his associates were cleared of all charges of taking money illegally on May 9, 2011. A Guatemalan court decided that prosecutors did not have enough evidence to prove he was guilty. The Public Ministry disagreed and planned to appeal the decision.
On August 26, 2011, the Constitutional Court ruled that he must be sent to the United States. He would be the first former Guatemalan President to face charges in the United States. He was sent to the United States on May 24, 2013. He faced charges of moving US$70 million of Guatemalan money through U.S. banks illegally.
On March 18, 2014, former President Portillo admitted his guilt in a hearing. On May 22, 2014, the judge sentenced Portillo to 70 months (about 5 years and 10 months) in prison. He also had to give up $2.5 million and pay a $100 fee. He could have faced up to 20 years in prison and a larger fine.
On February 25, 2015, Portillo was released from prison in Denver, U.S. He then returned to Guatemala City.
See also
In Spanish: Alfonso Portillo para niños
