In Peru, Hitler earns ballot spot despite Lennin's challenge

Hitler Alba, who is running for mayor of a small town in Peru, said, "I’m the good Hitler.” (Facebook)

Hitler is on the ballot in a small town in Peru after withstanding a challenge last week from a political rival named Lennin.

Local pol Hitler Alba was mayor in the Andes town of Yungar from 2011 to 2014 and is running again for the seat.

Last week Lennin Vladmir Rodriguez Valverde tried to keep Alba off the ballot, Reuters reported.

But election officials rejected the challenge.

Election Day in the farming town in Peru’s central Andes is Oct. 7, according to Reuters.

“I’m the good Hitler,” Alba said on local broadcaster RPP.

Campaign signs that say “Hitler returns” and “Hitler with the people” dot Yungar, Reuters reported.

Reuters reported that Alba stresses that he rejects what the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler stood for while saying he wants to oversee a fair and transparent government.

Alba said his father was unaware of who Adolf Hitler was when he named him, Reuters reported. After learning the history behind it, Alba said he considered changing his name but eventually accepted it.

“I would have felt bad,” he told RPP.

In Peru and elsewhere in Latin America, parents often choose foreign and exotic-sounding first names for their children despite negative associations abroad, according to Reuters.