Hitler Mussolini Simeon Flores' name has gained international attention after a 45-year-old Peruvian won the mayoral race in Keropalca, a small town in the Andes. The candidate from the center-left party "World of the Nation" received 229 votes, beating his closest rival by 25 votes.
A little over 700 people participated in the election, and Flores' result was about 34% of the votes cast. Keropalca is located in the department of Huanuco, approximately 360 kilometers from the capital Lima, and is a community of less than 1,000 inhabitants.
His name has attracted international attention
The full name of the newly elected mayor coincides with the names of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini - two of the most recognizable figures of totalitarian regimes in Europe in the 20th century. It is this unusual fact that has made the local elections news far beyond Peru.
The Peruvian newspaper „Peru21“ described the candidacy as a „striking event“. Despite the attention to his name, Flores appeared as a candidate for a center-left formation, not a political organization associated with fascism or Nazism.
Peru already has an elected mayor named Hitler
The case is not without precedent in the country. In 2018, Hitler Guesclin Alba Sánchez was elected mayor of Yungar. At that time, he campaigned with the slogan “I am the good Hitler“ and won against a candidate named Lenin Vladimir Rodríguez Valverde.
Thus, two small Peruvian municipalities have already been headed by politicians whose own names are reminiscent of personalities who left a deep mark on European history. The new mayor of Keropalka will represent a local community that elected him by a relatively small but decisive margin.
Sources: focus-news.net, euronews.com