Manuel Flores

Juan Manuel de Jesús Flores Cornejo (born 15 October 1965), nicknamed "El Chino" (Spanish for "The Chinese One"), is a Salvadoran politician who has served as the secretary-general of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) since 2024. Flores served as the mayor of Quezaltepeque from 2003 to 2012 and then later as a deputy of the Legislative Assembly from La Libertad from 2012 to 2021. He was the presidential candidate for the FMLN in the 2024 presidential election with running mate Werner Marroquín. He lost in a landslide to incumbent President Nayib Bukele, accumulating only 6.40 percent of the vote. Flores supports El Salvador further strengthening relations with the People's Republic of China.

Early life

Juan Manuel de Jesús Flores Cornejo was born on 15 October 1965 in Quezaltepeque, El Salvador. He has a degree in biology.

Political career

Mayor of Quezaltepeque

In the 2000 legislative election, Flores was elected as a member of the Quezaltepeque municipal council as a member of the FMLN (by then a political party). In the 2003 municipal election, Flores was elected as the municipality's mayor, succeeding FMLN mayor Roberto Argüello. Flores was re-elected as mayor in 2006 and 2009.

Deputy of the Legislative Assembly

In the 2012 legislative election, Flores was elected as a deputy the Legislative Assembly from the department of La Libertad, being the party's third deputy from the department. He was succeeded by Carlos Antonio Figueroa of the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) as mayor of Quezaltepeque. He was re-elected in the 2015 legislative election as the FMLN's fourth deputy from the department and again in the 2018 legislative election as the party's second deputy from the department.

Flores did not seek re-election in 2021 as FMLN party statutes prohibited deputies to seek three consecutive terms. Instead, Flores ran to be elected as a deputy of the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN) for the FMLN. In an interview with La Prensa Gráfica, Flores stated that the member states of PARLACEN should give "real power" ("") to the organization's deputies.

2024 presidential campaign

In September 2020, Flores stated that he would one day be the president of El Salvador and that he would be a better president than Nayib Bukele, who won the 2019 presidential election after being expelled from the FMLN in 2017. He described Bukele as a "liar" ("") and claimed that the Salvadoran population did not trust him.

Prior to the 2024 presidential election, Flores showed interest in running for president with the FMLN. Flores asked the party to not select politicians with a "corrupt past" ("") ahead of the party's primary elections for the presidential, legislative, municipal, and PARLACEN elections. On 29 May 2023, Flores officially registered as a presidential pre-candidate with the FMLN, being the party's only candidate for president. Werner Marroquín was selected as his running mate. Flores stated that the FMLN would not form a coalition with any right-wing political parties, including ARENA. On 16 July 2023, Flores was officially confirmed as the FMLN's presidential candidate. On 7 September 2023, the FMLN began the process of registering Flores' and Marroquín's candidacies.

Regarding Bukele's 2024 re-election campaign, Flores stated "the law is the law [and] the law says that there is no re-election" (""). He added that the constitution is "clear" ("") that re-election is prohibited. In August 2023, Flores stated that both he and the FMLN would be committed to fighting corruption. In the election, Flores finished in second place with 204,167 votes—6.40 percent; Bukele won re-election with 84.65 percent of the vote. Flores refused to concede the election, claiming that "they stole votes from me" ("").

Secretary-General of the FMLN

In March 2024, Flores announced his intention to become the secretary-general of the FMLN. His primary opponent was Simón Paz, the former mayor of Mejicanos from 2015 to 2021. On 14 July, the FMLN named Flores as the winner with 60 percent of ballots counted. He called for former deputies who left the FMLN to return to the party. He will assume office when the FMLN confirms the results with the TSE.

On 24 July 2024, Flores stated that the FMLN would win seats in the Legislative Assembly and municipal mayorships in the 2027 legislative election after the party lost all its legislative seats and municipalities in the 2024 election. Flores became the party's secretary-general on 4 August 2024 at its 44th National Convention.

Political views

Relations with China

Flores prefers having diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China over the Republic of China (Taiwan). In 2004, Flores established the Salvadoran Association of Friendship with the People of China (ASACHI). Flores has funded organizations in Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Nicaragua which support relations with China, including the Central American Federation of Friendship with China. Flores has previously served as El Salvador's ambassador to Taiwan. In 2021, Flores celebrated China's donation of 150,000 COVID-19 vaccines to El Salvador. In addition to China, Flores also supports strengthened relations with Palestine and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

Electoral history

Year Office Type Party Main opponent Party Votes for Flores Result Swing Total % . 2000 Municipal Council of Quezaltepeque General FMLN N/A N/A 2003 Mayor of Quezaltepeque General FMLN ? ARENA ? ? 1st N/A Hold 2006 Mayor of Quezaltepeque General FMLN ? ARENA 10,250 57.42 1st ? Hold 2009 Mayor of Quezaltepeque General FMLN ? ARENA 9,778 48.88 1st –8.54 Hold 2012 Deputy of the Legislative Assembly General FMLN N/A 3rd N/A N/A 2015 Deputy of the Legislative Assembly General FMLN N/A 4th N/A N/A 2018 Deputy of the Legislative Assembly General FMLN–CD N/A 2nd N/A N/A 2021 Deputy of PARLACEN General FMLN N/A 2nd N/A N/A 2024 President of El Salvador General FMLN Nayib Bukele NI 204,167 6.40 2nd N/A Hold 2024 Secretary-General of the FMLN Internal FMLN Simón Paz FMLN 5,547 60.19 1st N/A N/A