Carlos Calleja

Juan Carlos Calleja Hakker (born 11 February 1976) is a Salvadoran businessman and former politician. Calleja is currently the vice president of the Calleja Group which owns Supermercados Super Selectos, the largest supermarket chain in El Salvador. He was the presidential candidate for the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) during the 2019 presidential election. He received 31.72 percent of the vote and came in second place to Nayib Bukele, the election's winner.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Calleja and the second or maternal family name is Hakker.
Carlos Calleja
Calleja in 2018 speaking to the IAD
Born
Juan Carlos Calleja Hakker

(1976-02-11) 11 February 1976
San Salvador, El Salvador
NationalitySalvadoran
Alma mater
Occupation(s)Businessman, politician
OrganizationSupermercados Super Selectos
Political partyNationalist Republican Alliance
Spouse
Andrea Lima Guirola
​
(m. 2011)​

Biography

Juan Carlos Calleja Hakker was born on 11 February 1976 in San Salvador, El Salvador.[1] His parents are Francisco Calleja, a businessman, and Maureen Hakker.[2] Calleja is a third-generation immigrant from Spain.[3] During the Salvadoran Civil War (1979–1992), Calleja and his family moved to the United States. In 1999, he obtained a degree in liberal arts from Middlebury College. In 2005, he obtained a Masters in Business Administration from the New York University Stern School of Business.[2]

Calleja is the vice president of the Calleja Group.[4] In 2014, Calleja founded the Calleja Foundation. The foundation supports agricultural social projects and has received support from former United States president Bill Clinton and Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim.[2]

In 2011, he married Andrea Lima Guirola. The couple has two children: Santiago and Miranda. Calleja is a fan of Alianza F.C. and Real Madrid.[2]

Political career

Calleja joined the right-wing Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) in 2013. After joining the party, he was a potential candidate to acquire ARENA's presidential nomination for the 2014 presidential election. Calleja ultimately did not atttain the party's nomination, which instead nominated Norman Quijano, the mayor of San Salvador.[1]

2019 presidential election
A billboard promoting Calleja's campaign in Chalatenango, reading: "Vote for Calleja, the president of labor".

On 3 July 2017, Calleja announced his intention to run for president in the 2019 presidential election with ARENA.[3] He officially registered his candidacy on 10 November 2017.[5] In December 2017, Calleja was one of three pre-candidates, including businessmen Javier Simán and Gustavo López Davidson, to be confirmed by ARENA to participate in the party's primary election.[6] On 22 April 2018, Calleja won the party's presidential nomination with 34,670 votes, or 60.80 percent.[7] On 18 July 2018, Carmen Aída Lazo of the National Coalition Party (PCN) was confirmed as Calleja's running mate.[8] On 26 July 2018, ARENA, the PCN, the Christian Democratic Party (PDC), and Salvadoran Democracy (DS) formed a coalition for the presidency with Calleja and Lazo as its presidential and vice presidential candidates, respectively; the coalition was called the Alliance for a New Country.[9]

Throughout the election campaign, Calleja polled in second place after Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA) candidate Nayib Bukele. Calleja stated that he would promote economic growth by aiming to create 300,000 jobs and develop the country's tourism, agriculture, and technology industries.[10] He also stated that he would "execute more [crime] prevention programs" and reform the National Civil Police in an effort to combat crime in the country.[11] Calleja stated that populism "threatens" ("amenaza") El Salvador.[12] Calleja's campaign was supported by Salvadoran conservatives, businesses, and evangelicals.[10] Calleja participated in both presidential debates, the first hosted by the University of El Salvador on 16 December 2018[13] and the second hosted by the Salvadoran Association of Broadcasters on 13 January 2019.[14]

On 3 February 2019, Calleja received 857,084 votes, or 31.72 percent.[15] Although he had previously stated that he believed he would win in the first round,[12] Calleja came in second place behind Bukele, who won an outright majority and was elected as president. Calleja conceded the election to Bukele, stating "We recognize the results of these elections. We are going to call the president-elect to wish him luck in facing the challenges in this country".[16] After his electoral defeat in 2019, Calleja left politics.[17]

References
  1. "¿Quién es el Candidato Salvadoreño Carlos Calleja?" [Who is the Salvadoran Candidate Carlos Calleja?]. Noti Bomba (in Spanish). 30 January 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  2. del Cid, Merlin (24 January 2019). "Carlos Calleja, el Empresario que Espera hacer Olvidar los Errores de ARENA" [Carlos Calleja, the Businessman Who Hopes to Make ARENA's Mistakes Forgotten]. CNN en Español (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  3. Barrera, José (3 July 2017). "Carlos Calleja, el Empresario que Quiere ser Presidente de El Salvador" [Carlos Calleja, the Businessman that Wants to be President of El Salvador]. Estrategia y Negocios (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  4. Trigueros, Guadeloupe (18 June 2013). "Grupo Calleja Prevé Crecer en el País y en Centroamérica" [Calleja Group Plans to Grow in the Country and in Central America]. El Diario de Hoy (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  5. "Carlos Calleja se Inscribe como Precandidato Presidencial por ARENA" [Carlos Calleja Registers as a Presidential Pre-Candidate for ARENA]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 10 November 2017. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  6. "Gerardo Awad y Rafael Montalvo Quedan Fuera de Competencia por Candidatura Presidencial en ARENA" [Gerardo Awad and Rafael Montalvo Remain Outside of Competition for ARENA's Presidential Candidacy]. La Prensa Gráfica (in Spanish). 19 December 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  7. "Carlos Calleja, Candidato Presidencial de ARENA para Elecciones 2019" [Carlos Calleja, Presidential Candidate of ARENA for the 2019 Elections]. El Salvador.com (in Spanish). 22 April 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  8. Calderón, Beatriz; Benítez, Beatriz (18 July 2018). "Carmen Aída Lazo se Inscribe para Fórmula Presidencial con Carlos Calleja" [Carmen Aída Lazo is Registered for the Presidential Formula with Carlos Calleja]. La Prensa Gráfica (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  9. "Calleja y Partidos Políticos Firman Alianza Electoral" [Calleja and Political Parties Sign Electoral Alliance]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 26 July 2018. Archived from the original on 26 July 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  10. Sweigart, Emilie (29 January 2019). "El Salvador: Meet the Candidates in Latin America's First Election of 2019". Americas Quarterly. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  11. Asmann, Parker (1 February 2019). "How Would El Salvador's Presidential Candidates Tackle Organized Crime?". InSight Crime. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  12. Velásquez, Eugenia (24 June 2018). "Carlos Calleja Reitera que ARENA debe estar "Fuerte y Renovada"" [Carlos Calleja Reiterates that ARENA should be "Strong and Renovated"]. El Diario de Hoy (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  13. Jurado, V.; Avelar, Ricardo (16 December 2018). "Candidatos a la Presidencia Debatieron en la Universidad de El Salvador" [Presidential Candidates Debated in the University of El Salvador]. El Diario de Hoy (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  14. Tejada, R.; Avelar, Ricardo (13 January 2019). "Tres Candidatos Presidenciales Plantearon Sus Propuestas en el Debate de ASDER" [Three Presidential Candidates Raised Their Proposals in the ASDER Debate]. El Diario de Hoy (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  15. Supreme Electoral Court [@TSEElSalvador] (7 February 2019). "Resultados (Elección Presidencial de 2019)" [Results (2019 Presidential Election)] (Tweet) (in Spanish). San Salvador, El Salvador. Archived from the original on 29 August 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2022 – via Twitter.
  16. "El Salvador Election: Nayib Bukele Claims Presidency". BBC. 4 February 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  17. Labrador, Gabriel (28 September 2023). "La Campaña Electoral Arranca con Una Oposición Debilitada y Sin Oportunidades de Victoria" [The Electoral Campaign Begins with a Debilitated Opposition with No Opportunities for Victory]. El Faro (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 September 2023.
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