Carlos Calleja

Juan Carlos Calleja Hakker (born 11 February 1976) is a Salvadoran businessman and former politician. Calleja is currently the CEO of Grupo Éxito and 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.

Biography

Juan Carlos Calleja Hakker was born on 11 February 1976 in San Salvador, El Salvador. His parents are Francisco Calleja, a businessman, and Maureen Hakker. Calleja is a third-generation immigrant from Spain. 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. 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.

In 2011, Calleja married Andrea Lima Guirola. The couple has two children: Santiago and Miranda. Calleja is a fan of Alianza F.C. and Real Madrid. 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. On 22 April 2018, Calleja won the party's presidential nomination with 34,670 votes, or 60.80 percent. On 18 July 2018, Carmen Aída Lazo of the National Coalition Party (PCN) was confirmed as Calleja's running mate. 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.

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. 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. Calleja stated that populism "threatens" ("") El Salvador. Calleja's campaign was supported by Salvadoran conservatives, businesses, and evangelicals. and the second hosted by the Salvadoran Association of Broadcasters on 13 January 2019.

On 3 February 2019, Calleja received 857,084 votes, or 31.72 percent. Although he had previously stated that he believed he would win in the first round, After Calleja's electoral defeat in 2019, he left politics.

Electoral history

The following table shows Calleja's electoral history.

Year Office Type Party Main opponent Party Votes for Calleja Result Swing Total % 2019 President of El Salvador General ARENA–PCN–PDC–DS Nayib Bukele GANA 857,084 31.72 2nd N/A Gain