Peruvian Town Elects Mayor Named Hitler Mussolini

A politician named Hitler Mussolini Simeon Flores has been elected mayor of Queropalca, a district of approximately 730 people in Peru's Huanuco region. Flores, running under the center-Left Ahora Nacion party, secured 229 votes, representing 34.5 percent of the 663 valid ballots cast in the recent municipal elections.

The candidate's unusual name, a combination of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, has drawn attention in local media, which has described the case as a "peculiarity." However, the practice of giving children historical or unconventional names is not uncommon in Peru. According to the newspaper La Republica, an estimated 2,349 Peruvians share the name Hitler.

Flores, 45, also manages the Simeon Sac investment group in Pillco Marca. His election occurred amidst regional and municipal elections across Peru, following the presidential victory of Right-wing politician Keiko Sofia Fujimori.

The Ahora Nacion party acknowledged the distinctive name of its candidate on its website, noting that it "coincides with those of Adolf Hitler... and Benito Mussolini... both central figures in European politics during World War II." The party describes itself as center-Left, social democratic, and nationalist, advocating for a democratic and decentralized Peruvian state and opposing discrimination.

Hitler Mussolini Flores narrowly defeated his closest rival, Gaspar Benilde Osorio Zambrano of the Popular Renewal Peru Party, who received 204 votes (30.8 percent).

This is not the first instance of a politician named Hitler winning an election in Peru. Hitler Guesclin Alba Sanchez, who ran under the center-Right We Are Peru party, served as the mayor of the small Andean town of Yungar from 2011 to 2014. Sanchez had previously campaigned with slogans such as "Hitler returns" and "Hitler with the people," reportedly calling himself "the good Hitler."

Another politician, Hitler Saavedra, was a member of Peru's Congress for the We Are Peru party from 2021 until his death in 2024 at the age of 46.

Internationally, Adolf Hitler Uunona in Namibia won his fifth consecutive local election last year. He told the BBC that he viewed the name as "totally normal" during his childhood. The Namibian newspaper reported that Uunona later removed the middle name "Hitler" from his identification document due to backlash, and now goes by Adolf Uunona.