Cat Runs For Mayor In Mexico

A cat is running for Mayor in Mexico.

We’ve seen some strange government elections before. Arnold Schwarzenegger was Governor of California, Jesse Ventura was Governor of Minnesota, and Dennis Rodman was the US ambassador for North Korea. We’ve even written in some odd candidates, most likely running the gamut of fictional characters such as Batman, Bart Simpson (The Simpsons), and Sheldon Cooper (The Big Bang Theory). We’ve never seen a candidate like this actually having a campaign, though.

Morris, a cat, has been written in by a couple of students in the town of Xalapa, the capital city of Veracruz, Mexico who are tired of the do-nothing attitudes of current politicians. One of the promises they claim for Morris is to “rid the city of rats,” meaning they are hoping to get rid of corrupt politicians. Besides going after rats, Morris only says that he will eat, sleep, yawn and conduct other cat-like activities. His campaign managers say that this is exactly why you should vote for him.

Jair Cuevas, one of the students running the campaign, says, “Candidates here almost never fulfill their promises. Our candidate promises to sleep, eat, yawn and play in the dirt and that is what he will do if he wins the election.”

The “cat running for Mayor” campaign went viral after newspapers picked it up this week, with the Facebook page doing likewise. By Friday afternoon, Morris had more followers than actual human competitors — a whopping 50,000 — compared with the leading human candidate Americo Zuñiga, who currently sits at 20,000 likes.

Morris the cat is running for mayor in this #Mexico town, and he’s got some serious support. uninews.us/11zggJG

— Univision News (@UnivisionNews) June 8, 2013

Melina Zurita, a local journalist, said that the cat running for Mayor is more of a symbol of disgust with current politics in Xalapa, as well as humor. Morris is clearly the favorite even though the likelihood of victory could be slim, as he will not be allowed on the ballot. Residents of Xalapa are urged to write him in, though, or draw a picture of a cat, in order to tell the city’s politicians that they’ve had enough.

Officials said Thursday that any ballots with Morris’ name or likeness will be discounted as invalid. However, much like any celebrity, the more you attack them, the more popular they become, and Morris, the cat running for Mayor of Xalapa, is the clear winner anyway.

What do you think of a cat running for Mayor in Mexico? Would you vote for Morris?