MAN NAMED HITLER MUSSOLINI WINS PERU MAYORAL ELECTION

A man named Hitler Mussolini Simeón Flores has won the mayoral election in Queropalca, a district in Peru's Huánuco department, according to exit polls and data from Peru's elections office. Simeón Flores, 45, stood for the centre-left Ahora Nación party and received 229 votes, or around 34.5% of the 663 valid ballots cast. He finished 25 votes ahead of the second-place candidate, Gaspar Benilde Osorio Zambrano of the right-wing Renovación Popular Perú party, who took 204 votes, according to the reports. Queropalca has an estimated population of just over 730, according to 2024 official data, with a little over 700 residents reported to have taken part in the vote. The election formed part of regional and municipal elections held across Peru following Keiko Fujimori's victory in the country's presidential runoff, according to one report. Simeón Flores was born in the district and also manages an investment group named Simeon Sac in Pillco Marca, in the same department, according to his candidate profile.

Local media outlet Peru21 described the candidacy as a "striking event" given that his forenames match those of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, both described in the reports as figures associated with 20th-century totalitarian rule in Europe. The reports note that it is not uncommon for Peruvians to be given historic or unusual names regardless of their associations. Local media also highlighted past cases of Peruvian politicians named Hitler, including Hitler Guesclin Alba Sánchez, who was elected mayor of Yúngar in 2018 after campaigning on the slogan "I'm the good Hitler," defeating rival Lenin Vladimir Rodríguez Valverde. One report said Alba served as mayor of Yungar between 2011 and 2014, and campaigned with the slogans "Hitler returns" and "Hitler with the people," stating his father had not known of the dictator's legacy when naming him. A lawmaker and surgeon named Hitler Saavedra served in Peru's Congress from 2021 until his death in 2024, according to one report.

The reports also drew a comparison with Namibia, where a politician named Adolf Hitler Uunona attracted international attention after winning local elections in 2020, in a former German colony where Germanic first names are reported to remain common. No further action or response from Simeón Flores himself is recorded in the available material.