Manuel Ricardo Villacorta Orantes (born March 29, 1959) is a Guatemalan former politician, professor and writer who served as Guatemala's ambassador to Israel from 1999 to 2000.[1] Villacorta participated in the 2019 and 2023 presidential election, where he placed in seventh place on both elections, receiving 5.2% of the vote in 2019 and 5.62% in 2023.[1][2]

Manuel Villacorta
Guatemala Ambassador to Israel
In office
24 May 1999 – 30 January 2000
PresidentÁlvaro Arzú
Alfonso Portillo
Preceded byAntonio Roberto Castellanos
Succeeded byMarco Tulio Zúñiga Morales
Personal details
Born
Manuel Ricardo Villacorta Orantes

(1959-03-29) 29 March 1959 (age 65)
Guatemala City, Guatemala
Political partyIndependent
Other political
affiliations
SpouseIleana Recinos
Alma materUniversidad de San Carlos de Guatemala
Pontifical University of Salamanca
Websitehttps://www.manuelvillacorta.com.gt

Early and personal life

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Villacorta was born on March 29, 1959, in Guatemala City in the bosom of a scholar family. His father Manuel José Villacorta Escobar was an economist, who served as a professor at the Faculty of Economics of the Universidad de San Carlos. His father also served as director of the National Agrarian Bank, Vice Minister and Minister of Economy in the governments of Carlos Arana Osorio and Kjell Laugerud García.[1]

Villacorta graduated with a degree in Political Science from the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, later he studied Social Communication at the United Kingdom and a Doctorate in Political Science and Sociology at the Pontifical University of Salamanca.[1][3]

Political career

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Villacorta was proclaimed presidential candidate by a party named Winaq, founded by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Rigoberta Menchú. Liliana Hernández was named his candidate for Vice President.[1]

In June 2019, Villacorta was positioned in the polls with 1.2% in intention to vote, however, after the count in the general elections, he obtained 5.2% of the votes and he was placed in seventh place.[3]

Days after the election, Villacorta broke away from Winaq and announced that he would run as the candidate for the progressive political party, VOS, that would participate in the 2023 general elections. He placed in seventh place, obtaining 5.62% of the votes.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "El académico que quiere ser Presidente". ElPeriódico. 15 June 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Manuel Villacorta asegura que no apoyará a los candidatos que van a segunda vuelta". Publinews. 17 June 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Manuel Villacorta ofrece "limpiar" el Ejército y combate a la pobreza". Prensa Libre. 29 March 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Marco Tulio Zúñiga Morales
Guatemala Ambassador to Israel
1999–2000
Succeeded by
Antonio Roberto Castellanos
Party political offices
Preceded by
Miguel Ángel Sandoval
Winaq nominee for
President of Guatemala

2019
Succeeded by
Amílcar Pop
New political party VOS nominee for
President of Guatemala

2023
Most recent