Dr. Rafael Espada, Vicepresident

 "My dream is to see one day hunger and poverty completely removed, and for all human beings to have access to medical care, education and decent housing"

Rafael Espada was born January 14, 1944 in Guatemala City. Son of Raquel Espada, a teacher from Totonicapán, who dedicated her life to teaching.

Durng his student years, Rafael Espada lived in Guatemala City. His desire to help others made him study medicine and years later he became a worldwide recognized cardiovascular an thoracic surgeon.

After studing at San Carlos University in Guatemala City, he traveled to the United States where he made his residency in general and thoracic surgery at Baylor Faculty of Medicine and became part of the surgeon body for the Methodist Hospital.

He started raising funds to create a hospital in Guatemala to fund the Cardiovascular Surgery Unit (UNICAR) in 1994.

In addition to his dedication for medicine, Dr. Rafael Espada plays tennis and practices athletism to keep himself in good shape. He likes to read history books and enjoys riding his motorcycle.

Is interest in eradicating hunger and poverty got him involved in the electoral campaign with Álvaro Colom to run for President and Vice President. They won the elections November 4, 2007

Dr. Espada took charge January 14 2008 assuming one of the biggest challenges in his life, work for Guatemalans and their needs.