Peruvian Mayor Elected With Name of Hitler and Mussolini

A politician named Hitler Mussolini Simeon Flores has been elected mayor of a town in Peru, running on a Left-wing party ticket. The candidate carries the names of two fascist dictators and won the mayoral race in Queropalca. This district holds around 730 people and sits in the Huanuco region north of Lima. Mr Simeon Flores is 45 years old. He ran for the center-Left Ahora Nacion party and secured 229 votes, which equals 34.5 per cent of the 663 valid ballots cast.

The fact he bears the name of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and his Italian ally Benito Mussolini attracted attention in local media outlets. Reporters described the situation as a 'peculiarity'. Yet this naming choice is not unusual in Peru. Parents there often give their children historic or unconventional names, ignoring any negative or controversial associations those names might carry. Newspaper La Republica estimates that around 2,349 Peruvians share the same name as the Nazi leader.

Alongside his political work, Mr Simeon Flores manages the Simeon Sac investment group in Pillco Marca within the same region of Peru. This election took place alongside regional and municipal contests held across the country following Right-wing Keiko Sofia Fujimori's victory in the presidential race. Reports say Mr Simeon Flores resigned from Ms Fujimori's Popular Force party last year.

Ahora Nacion acknowledged the unusual name of their candidate on their website. They wrote that 'The name of the projected winner coincides with those of Adolf Hitler, leader of the Nazi regime in Germany, and Benito Mussolini, Italian dictator and founder of fascism, both central figures in European politics during World War II.' The party noted this peculiarity made the Queropalca case stand out among election results. Ahora Nacion describes itself as a centre-Left, social democratic and nationalist party that champions a democratic and decentralised Peruvian state, equality before the law, and opposition to discrimination.

Mr Simeon Flores just triumphed over his closest rival, Gaspar Benilde Osorio Zambrano of the Popular Renewal Peru Party. His opponent took 204 votes or 30.8 per cent. But this is not the first time a Hitler has won over Peruvian voters. Hitler Guesclin Alba Sanchez of the centre-Right We Are Peru party served as mayor of a separate small Andean town of Yungar between 2011 and 2014. This politician claimed he was 'the good Hitler'. He campaigned under slogans like 'Hitler returns' and 'Hitler with the people'.

In 2018, Hitler Alba faced a challenge from Lennin Vladimir Rodriguez Valverde, who sought to have his candidacy declared invalid. Mr Alba's challenger claimed at the time his father was ignorant of the Nazi German dictator when he named him. Meanwhile, Hitler Saavedra served in Peru's Congress as a member of party We Are Peru from 2021 until his death in 2024 aged 46. In Namibia, Adolf Hitler Uunona won his fifth local election in a row last year. He told the BBC: 'As a child I saw it as a totally normal name.' Local newspaper The Namibian reported that the Namibian has since removed the middle name 'Hitler' from his identity document following years of backlash. He is now just Adolf Uunona.