A local result in Peru has attracted attention beyond ordinary municipal politics, not because of the weight of the office, but because of the name of the winning candidate. Hitler Mussolini Simeón Flores, 45, has won leadership of the small district of Queropalca in the Huánuco region, in a race decided by just 25 votes.
A narrow victory in a small community
Simeón Flores ran under the banner of the center-left Ahora Nación party and received 229 votes, or 34.5% of the 663 valid ballots. His closest rival, Gaspar Benilde Osorio Zambrano of Peru Popular Renewal, secured 204 votes, or 30.8%.
The small margin carries extra weight because of the size of the district. According to official 2024 data, Queropalca has just over 730 residents, making the result even more closely tied to the dynamics of a small community.
Who is Hitler Mussolini Simeón Flores
The 45-year-old is presented as a businessman from the Huánuco region. In addition to his political engagement, he also leads the investment group Simeon Sac in the Pillco Marca area, also in the same region.
His victory comes as part of Peru’s regional and municipal elections, in which he will take charge of a small local administrative unit in the mountainous Andes area.
The name that drew reactions, not proof of political beliefs
Most of the attention has focused on his name, which includes the names of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, two figures associated with dictatorships, war, and grave crimes against humanity.
However, the name itself does not constitute proof of ideological orientation. In the public data from the race, Simeón Flores appears as a candidate of a center-left force, and his election is linked to the vote in Queropalca, not to any such political declaration.
It is not the first case in Peru
Similar cases involving names linked to infamous historical figures have appeared before in Peru. Hitler Alba Sánchez served as mayor of Yungar from 2011 to 2014.
In the 2018 elections, he ran again and won with 47.7% of the vote, using slogans such as “Hitler returns” and “Hitler with the people.” At the time, he said that his father did not know the history of the Nazi dictator when he gave him the name.
The Queropalca case is being discussed more for the symbolic weight of the name than for the real impact of the post. But the result also shows something else: in local elections, especially in very small communities, minimal margins can produce stories that travel beyond a country’s borders.