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 MartíNational 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 MartíNational 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]
