First Ever Independent State Deputy in Mexico Tries to Stay Different Duncan Tucker - VICE News
go to original January 17, 2016

It is hardly uncommon to see protesters gathering outside government buildings to berate public officials in Mexico. Yet a more unusual occurrence unfolded recently as angry demonstrators outside the state congress building in Jalisco suddenly began chanting words of praise.

Cries of "I love you!" and "Kumamoto for president!" rang out after they caught sight of a banner hanging from a ground-floor window with the words "Walls do fall."

The phrase was the campaign slogan of Pedro Kumamoto, who last year became the first ever independent candidate to win a seat in a state congress. During the campaign the 25-year-old college graduate challenged the prevailing image of Mexican legislators as overpaid and out of touch with the public. Now he's under pressure to prove he really is different.

He did not get off to an ideal start.

When he was sworn into office on November 1, one viewer of the live stream on Periscope asked why Kumamoto was dressed in a formal jacket instead of the more casual clothing he wore on the campaign trail. The implication was that his change in attire signified assimilation into the political establishment.

"I got it wrong that day," Kumamoto told VICE News in a later interview, adding that he needed to be more careful not to appear like other politicians.

"Kuma" came out of nowhere to win a landslide victory in Mexico's mid-term elections in June to represent a largely middle class area of Zapopan, a sprawling district that borders Guadalajara, the Jalisco state capital.

His victory was both unlikely and unprecedented, as 2015 was the first year independent candidates have been allowed to run for office in Mexico.

Read the rest at VICE News

Photo: Duncan Tucker

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