In Mexico, Eduardo Verástegui is a household name. He's a musical entertainer and telenovelas superstar.
His career blossomed in the United States as well as in Mexico, with his celebrity status rising as he worked with high-profile industry figures such as Calvin Klein, Jennifer Lopez, and Sofia Vergara, to name a few.
Over the years he acquired a number of movies and television shows under his belt, which include "Chasing Papi," "Bella," "Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2," "CSI: Miami," and "Charmed."
Most recently, he played the roles of lead producer and cast member for the international film phenom "The Sound of Freedom," which has now reached a level close to $200 million in global box office.
In his latest project, he has chosen to enter the political arena, and he's going for a top-tier spot. The necessary paperwork has already filed for his run as an independent presidential candidate in Mexico's June 2024 election.
Verástegui's motivation to have a role with a purpose in the public square may relate to the time period in which he experienced one of his big Hollywood acting breakthroughs.
After being cast in the comedy "Chasing Papi," he sought voice coaching lessons to up his English pronunciation skills. As providence would have it, his language tutor was a committed Catholic Christian named Jasmine. Evidently, she affected his thought processes far beyond mere diction lessons.
Over the course of a six-month tutoring period, he re-discovered his faith and resolved to turn away from any involvement in films that would conflict with his Christian beliefs.
To this end, with fellow founders and partners Sean Wolfington, Alejandro Gómez Monteverde, and Leo Severino, Verástegui co-founded a production company called Metanoia Films, the purpose of which was to create media that contained edifying content.
In his recent Mexican presidential candidate announcement, he emphasized life and freedom as the key driving principles in his decision.
"After a period of discernment, I made the most important decision of my life: I have just registered with the INE [National Electoral Institute] my intention as an aspiring independent candidate for the presidency of the Mexican Republic for the elections on June 2, 2024," he wrote in an Instagram post.
"My fight is for life. My fight is for freedom. It is time to remove the same old people from power. Our country needs a new way of doing politics, to eradicate corruption and impunity," he stated.
In the past, he campaigned for pro-life causes and conducted prayers on social media. In addition, he put his faith into action, establishing Manto De Guadalupe, a pro-life organization based in Los Angeles, which includes a crisis pregnancy center.
His announcement of a presidential run comes after the Mexico Supreme Court issued an unthinkable landmark decision that legalizes abortion in a once-fervently faith-filled country; it's a decision that paves the way for a massive increase in the killing of life in the womb, as of yet unborn.
Prior to the Supreme Court decision, only 12 Mexican states and the Federal District had legalized abortion. However, this current decision allows abortions to take place across all of Mexico.
In his independent run for Mexico's presidency, Verástegui faces quite a difficult path. As an independent, he is challenging both of the nation's established political parties, each of which has already selected its candidate.
Verástegui is portraying himself as a new kind of leader. This may be advantageous for him because he is able to stand in stark contrast to the established parties, which the public, in large part, distrusts.
PAN, Mexico's purported right-of-center party, is likely to be targeted by Verástegui's presidential campaign in a manner reminiscent of U.S. candidates that have run against Republicans of the establishment kind.
Last year Verástegui enhanced his bona fides by hosting the Conservative Political Action Conference in Mexico, an international forum for populist conservative leaders from around the globe.
Should he succeed in gaining a place on the ballot, he will be able to offer voters in Mexico an alternative to two left-of-center establishment candidates, PAN candidate Mexico Sen. Xóchitl Gálvez and the governing left-wing Morena candidate, former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum.
To win a place on the June 2024 ballot, he has until January 2024 to obtain signatures of support from 1% of voters, which are distributed across 17 states.
An amazing arc of success surrounds Verástegui's life. A providential win of the presidency could be forthcoming.
If this happens, positive changes will surely be in store for our neighboring country South of the Border.
And the world will get to see a glimmering example of how celebrity power can work for the good.
James Hirsen, J.D., M.A., in media psychology, is a New York Times best-selling author, media analyst, and law professor. Visit Newsmax TV Hollywood. Read James Hirsen's Reports — More Here.
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