Mexicans Are Embracing Young Political Outsiders
GUADALAJARA, Mexico — Pedro Kumamoto, 28, an independent politician running for a Senate seat, was savoring his early morning coffee when a middle-aged man approached.
“I am sorry to interrupt — I just wanted to greet you,” t he older man said, his eyes starting to tear up. “I am sorry for getting emotional, but you are a true inspiration.”
Such displays of appreciation for politicians are unusual in Mexico, but encounters like this have become common for Mr. Kumamoto, an indication of how hungry Mexicans have become for alternative leaders.
Two years ago, Mr. Kumamoto was elected as the first independent legislator in the state Congress of Jalisco, after a 2014 change to the federal Constitution allowed for candidates not affiliated with parties. Now, Mr. Kumamoto, a self- described “social democrat,” is leading in the polls for a seat in the federal Senate. He is among dozens of independent candidates running in the July 1 general election.
Among Mexican voters, there is “a great dissatisfaction with the traditional partisan system and the states’ lack of ability to respond to citizens’ demands,” said Alejandro Poiré, secretary of the interior in the administration of President Felipe Calderón, whose term ended in 2012.
Sixteen members of Wikipolítica, a leftist youth movement, have qualified to run as independent candidates for federal and state races, including Mr. Kumamoto. Many are under 30.
The political establishment, as embodied by the governing Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which held power uninterrupted from 1929 to 2000, is perceived by many Mexicans as inclined to corruption and graft. “To be born and grow up in a country ruled by the PRI meant you thought that there was one way of doing politics,” said Roberto Castillo, 27, a founding member of Wikipolítica, who is now running for a seat in Mexico City’s state-level Congress.
Mr. Kumamoto said one of the biggest challenges is overcoming voter skepticism that the political status quo can be challenged. But in a system that favors established parties — Mexican law guarantees parties funding — the performance of other independents is expected to be marginal.
The great-grandson of Japanese immigrants, Mr. Kumamoto said his activism began when he joined a sit-in at age 19 to halt the removal of trees. He later became president of the student council at his college.
Landing in the state Congress at age 25, Mr. Kumamoto garnered
A youth movement upends the usual partisan system.
multiparty support to pass legislation in which political parties gave up much of their public funding. He won passage to end protection from prosecution for Jalisco’s elected officials. Early criticism of his lack of experience was silenced.
Now, he has begun to inspire others. At a rally in Guadalajara, a banner read: “We will replace them.” Nine candidates running for the Jalisco Congress had collected the signatures they needed to run and were celebrating. Among them was Alejandra Vargas, 29, a political novice with a degree in industrial engineering, who said she was flabbergasted when Mr. Kumamoto suggested she run.
Mrs. Vargas said, “But when I thought about it, I told myself I had no excuses for turning it down as I had always preached about civic participation being the backbone of democracy.”