LIMA (Reuters) – In Peru, Hitler hopes to return to power in a small town in the Andes, despite a threat from a detractor named Lennin.
Campaign slogans reading “Hitler returns” and “Hitler with the people” have appeared around the highland town of Yungar, where local politician Hitler Alba is seeking a new term as mayor.
“I’m the good Hitler,” Alba said on local broadcaster RPP.
Stressing that he rejects what Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler stood for, Alba said he wants to oversee a fair and transparent government in Yungar, a farming town in Peru’s central Andes.
But Alba’s campaign this year came under attack by Lennin Vladimir Rodriguez Valverde, a resident of a neighboring district who tried to block Alba’s inscription as a candidate.
Electoral authorities rejected the request last week, allowing Hitler to appear on voting cards for the Oct. 7 elections.
In Peru and elsewhere in Latin America, parents often choose foreign and exotic-sounding first names for their children despite negative associations abroad.
Last year an Osama Vinladen was named to Peru’s national juvenile football team.
Alba said his father was unaware of who Adolf Hitler was when he named him. After learning the history behind it, Alba said he considered changing his name but eventually accepted it.
Reporting By Marco Aquino, Writing By Mitra Taj, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien