Gloria Álvarez

Gloria Álvarez
Álvarez at the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2016
Born	(1985-03-09) March 9, 1985 Guatemala City, Guatemala
Nationality	Guatemalan
Alma mater	Universidad Francisco Marroquín
Occupation(s)	Political commentator, radio talk show host

Gloria Álvarez Cross (born March 9, 1985) is a Guatemalan radio and television presenter, author, and libertarian political commentator.

She is the host of the "Viernes de Gloria" radio program in Guatemala. She is the program director of the National Civic Movement of Guatemala, an organization that advocates for the participation of an informed, responsible, and active citizenry in national politics. She has written two books, "The Populist Deception: why our countries are ruined and how to rescue them," released in 2016, as well as "How to Talk to a Progressive." which is being released in 2017 and “How to Talk to a Conservative” 2019.

Biography

Gloria Ivette Álvarez Cross was born in Guatemala City, Guatemala; her mother Stella Yvette Cross Letona is of Hungarian origin and her Cuban father, José Manuel Álvarez Torriente, is a marketer. Álvarez spent part of her early years in El Salvador, but remained for good in Guatemala after age 16. She received a bachelor's degree in International Relations & Political Science from Francisco Marroquin University, and then received a master's degree in International Development from the Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. Álvarez speaks Spanish, English, and Italian fluently. Álvarez identifies as an atheist.

Career

Álvarez first received media attention in 2014, after a speech given by her at the Ibero-American Youth Parliament received widespread coverage on social media. She has become well known for her discourses against populism, a movement she believes has resulted in political instability in many Latin-American countries.

She wrote her first book, El Engaño Populista (The Populist Deception) alongside Axel Kaiser.

After the allegations that the director of Movimiento Cívico Nacional received money obtained by Alejandro Sinibaldi, Álvarez left the party on August 9, 2017. She said that she quit regardless of the legality of the situation and to be coherent with her ethical principles.

As presidential candidate

On 11 March 2019, Gloria Álvarez announced that she would run for president in the 2019 Guatemalan general election, but she was unable to run due to her age (candidates must be over 40 according to Guatemalan law). Her government proposal included the federalization of the country, the reduction of public workers, more government spending in security, same-sex adoption, and the possible legalization of marijuana, abortion, euthanasia and prostitution.