Newly elected Peruvian mayor named Hitler Mussolini
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In a local election that has drawn outsized international attention due to the candidate's namesakes, 45-year-old Hitler Mussolini Simeon Flores has secured a narrow victory to become mayor of the remote Peruvian district of Queropalca, exit poll data shows.
Running on the ticket of the centre-left Ahora Nación party, Simeon garnered 229 votes, putting him just 25 votes ahead of his closest competitor from the right-wing Renovación Popular Perú party.
According to data from Peru's election authorities, a little over 700 residents participated in the election out of a total population of fewer than 1,000, with Simeon securing roughly 34% of the total cast votes.
Simeon was born in the district of Queropalca, located in the central department of Huánuco approximately 360 kilometers (224 miles) from the capital city of Lima, according to his official candidate profile.
His forenames -sharing those of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, two prominent 20th-century European totalitarian leaders- made his candidacy a "striking event," as noted by local news outlet Peru21.
Despite the curiosity triggered by the name, local media highlighted that the phenomenon is not unprecedented in Peruvian municipal politics.
In 2018, Hitler Guesclin Alba Sánchez was elected mayor of Yúngar, having successfully campaigned under the slogan "I'm the good Hitler" against opponent Lenin Vladimir Rodríguez Valverde.
