Mockus-pocus

Colombian Phenomenon: How an Eccentric Lithuanian Immigrant Became a Real Presidential Candidate

The full name of the person who has every chance of becoming the new president of Colombia is reminiscent of characters from the Harry Potter books: Aurelius Rutenis Antanas Mokkus Shivickas. Magic has nothing to do with it: shortly before the birth of Mokkus, his parents fled to Latin America from Soviet Lithuania, hence the atypical name for a Colombian. However, opponents of the 58-year-old politician seriously suspect him of collusion with dark forces. Otherwise, how could he gain such a high rating in such a short time, they wonder.

Back in February, no more than 1% of Colombians would vote for Mokkus, nominated by the Green Party, and today - 35%. And although he is unlikely to have time to collect the 50% of the votes necessary to win in the first round before the May 30 elections, Colombian political scientists are already preparing to write a chapter on the “Moccus phenomenon” into textbooks. It remains to understand what this phenomenon is.

Before the sudden rise of Mokkus's popularity in Latin America, no one doubted that his colleague, former defense minister Juan Manuel Santos, would take the chair of Colombian-adored President Alvaro Uribe. Uribe, however, himself was not averse to staying. And if he put forward his candidacy, the elections would turn into a formality - more than 70% of the population support him. But in February, the Constitutional Court barred the president, who had served two terms, from running for a third. Santos became the candidate of the pro-presidential "Party U".

Colombian political scientists and journalists immediately started talking about the "Russian model" - the new president will only guard the office of the old one and will gladly return the keys as soon as his patron can again participate in the elections. “We have already begun to study the peculiarities of running the country in tandem, as in Russia,” says Camilo Jimenez, a columnist for the respected Colombian publication Semana. According to the journalist, no one expected Mokkus to be a real competitor to Santos.

Mokkus is no stranger to politics - this is his second presidential run. His past result was, however, within the limits of statistical error, but then he competed with Uribe himself, who rose incredibly in the eyes of Colombians, having managed to restore relative order in the country thanks to an effective fight against drug traffickers, extremists and radicals. However, Mokkus also has something to brag about - he was twice the mayor of the six millionth capital of Colombia, Bogota, and they say that he is not bad. However, the Colombians remembered him not for his managerial qualities, but for his crazy antics.

In the early 1990s, he taught mathematics at Columbia National University (CNU), while simultaneously being the rector of this university. Once the students, having come to his lecture, could not take their seats and calm down for a long time, and then Mokkus - in order to attract the attention of the audience - lowered his pants and showed the students his bare bottom. The method worked. Mokkus, however, soon had to resign. The video of that incident is very popular on the Internet.

Already being the mayor, Mokkus decided that on the first Friday after March 8, men should stay at home - with children and household. Only ladies were supposed to have fun in nightclubs and walk until the morning that day. Explaining the purpose of the innovation, Mokkus said that men should at least once a year feel "in the shoes of a woman." Residents of Bogotá reacted ambiguously to the experiment: one of the authoritative columnists accused the mayor of violating human rights to freedom of choice and movement, but the feminists were happy.

Fighting air pollution and traffic jams, Mokkus periodically organized “car-free days” in Bogotá, when the only way to get around the city was by environmentally friendly or public transport. For the sake of clarity, the mayor on such days only did what he traveled around the capital on a bicycle in a suit and tie, accompanied by several heavily armed guards - also on bicycles. However, even when he was the rector of KNU, Mokkus liked to ride a bicycle right into the audience - this is how he urged students not to buy cars and protect nature.

Mokkus married his wife Adriana Cordoba while sitting on an elephant under the dome of the circus. The newlyweds did not explain the meaning of the gesture. Later, they starred together in a commercial in favor of saving water - the mayor and his wife in what mother gave birth portrayed taking a shower without water. But most of all, Mokkus was remembered by the inhabitants of Bogotá in the form of Supercitizen - the mayor periodically put on a special suit made of elastic spandex, very similar to Superman's suit, and in this form went out to fight crime. The sight of a middle-aged bearded man in a tight-fitting polyurethane suit, the capital's criminals could not bear - there was less crime in Bogotá.

"The fact that Uribe does not run in the elections, and the atmosphere of relative security and stability he has created, gave such an eccentric candidate a chance to compete with Uribe's creature, Santos," says journalist Camilo Jimenez. According to polls, despite the clear support from the incumbent president, his protege is ahead of Mokkus by only 1-2%. In the second round, the "green" candidate has even a little more chances. “Uribe's popularity cannot be simply taken and transferred to another person,” Mokkus himself says about this in an interview with Newsweek.

Colombian experts see other components of his success. This is a strong team, competent PR - Mokkus returned to the treasury two-thirds of the $4 million allocated to him for election campaigning - and the effective use of social networks on the Internet to attract a young and protest electorate.

The image of a philosopher and a rebel distracts the attention of voters from the vague political program of the candidate, and his eccentricity and honesty mask his lack of experience in big politics. Recently, Mokkus admitted that he smoked marijuana for many years - and this increased his rating among young people. And then he openly declared that he was suffering from Parkinson's disease, which provided him with the sympathy of the older generation. Doctors promise him another 12 years of sober mind. This is enough for two presidential terms.