Candidate named Hitler Mussolini leads tight mayoral race in Peru's Andes district
Hitler Mussolini Simeón Flores is currently ahead in the municipal election for Queropalca, Huánuco region, after a close vote count.
The municipal election in Queropalca, a district in Peru’s central Huánuco region, shows Hitler Mussolini Simeón Flores of the Ahora Nación party in first place with 229 votes. His closest rival, Gaspar Benilde Osorio Zambrano of Renovación Popular Perú, obtained 204 votes, while the third-place candidate, Itala Yovana Santillan Vara of País para Todos, secured 187 votes. The total number of valid votes recorded was 663, leaving a margin of just 42 votes among the top three contenders.
Flores’s unusual name, echoing the 20th-century dictators Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, has drawn attention, though one outlet's reports say the name alone does not indicate any ideological alignment. The result is part of the broader 2026 regional and municipal elections across Peru.
Why it matters
The result shows how a remote Andean community’s vote can attract global curiosity due to a candidate’s controversial name.
In this story
