(RNN) - Imagine driving to the polls and passing campaign signs that read “Hitler returns.”
Now imagine seeing the names Hitler and Lennin on the ballot.
The thought of Hitler returning to power objectively sounds like a nightmare. And having to choose between him and Lennin sounds like an impossible choice to make.
Even so, citizens of Yungar, a town in the Andes in Peru, will name one of those men mayor on Oct. 7.
Fortunately for Peruvian voters, the two candidates are not the infamous fascist German dictator or Russian communist revolutionary. They just happen to share names with the historical figures.
Hitler Alba Sanchez served as mayor of the small town from 2011 – 2014, according to The Independent. His self-aware slogan is simple: “I’m the good Hitler.”
Sanchez’s opponent, Lennin Vladimir Rodriguez, tried to block his inscription as a candidate because of his previous term.
Even so, election officials rejected the request last week.
Sanchez told Reuters his father did not know who Adolf Hitler was when he named him. After he learned the history behind Hitler, Sanchez considered changing his first name, but ultimately opted to embrace it.
Foreign names are quite common in many Latin American countries. Parents are often willing to overlook negative associations with names so that their children can have an exotic-sounding first name.
Just last year, Peru’s national juvenile football team welcomed a player named Osama Vinladen.
Copyright 2018 Raycom News Network. All rights reserved.
