Mexico’s first independent state deputy tries to stay different
Pedro Kumamoto is the first ever independent legislator in the Jalisco state congress.
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.
“Los muros sí caen,” meaning “Walls do fall,” was Kumamoto’s campaign slogan.
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…
The Tequila Files 