Ortiz was born in San Alejo in 1961. During El Salvador's civil war from 1980 to 1992, Ortiz was a combatant with the Popular Liberation Forces - Farabundo Martí (FPL), one of the five organizations that comprised the FMLN. He was member of parliament for the FMLN from 1994 to 2000. He has been considered one of the most successful Salvadoran mayors for his 13-year-long tenure in Santa Tecla (2000–2013), a post which he left when selected as candidate for the Vice Presidency in the 2014 presidential election.