The Mexican legend will retire from professional fútbol in May, just weeks before the elections
An image of Cuauhtémoc Blanco promoting his campaign is making the rounds on social media.
At 42, Mexican fútbol legend Cuauhtémoc Blanco might not be able to run on the field as he used to, only a sign of his impending last match.
That is probably why ‘El Temo’ is now running for office.
Blanco, who plays for Puebla in Mexico’s Liga MX (the country’s top fútbol league), filed Thursday his nomination to run for mayor of the city of Cuernavaca, capital city of the state of Morelos that is about an hour drive south of Mexico City.
El ‘Cuau’ is not really known for his politics. Apart from the fútbol skills and antics that turned him into one of the best and most beloved players in México’s fútbol history, Blanco is more popular for dating voluptuous TV personalities and for his brash personality off the pitch.
He’s also been an actor in telenovelas, restaurant owner, and sports columnist.
Yet, it seems he had his political views hidden all this time, and now, in a country where politics seem nothing but a painful joke, the veteran forward wants to join the circus claiming to know what the people want or, at least who they don’t want anymore en la ciudad de la Eterna Primavera (The City of Eternal Spring).
During the photo op organized by the political party launching him, Partido Social Demócrata (Social Democratic Party), he lashed at former city councilman Manuel Martínez Garrigós and the current mayor Jorge Morales Barud.
“Martínez Garrigós, all of you know it, stole everything. That’s the truth, and I am not afraid of saying it… The current mayor, Morales Barud, hasn’t shown he’s capable of doing his work as mayor”, he said.
His candidacy emerges as independent candidates are allowed to run for office for the first time in Mexican elections. The Social Democratic Party lost its national registration in 2009, but some local politicians appear to be taking advantage of this novel modality in the Mexican political landscape to keep the business running.
Temo’s nomination faces challenges. Mexican Fútbol Federation regulations don’t allow players to be active in political or social issues, and he still has to prove that he meets the residency requirements to run for mayor of Cuernavaca.
The Mexican idol, who’s in his last season as professional futbolista, said he won’t mix fútbol with his political activities, keeping the latter as an afternoon thing after he’s done with soccer for the day.
But that’s not it. According to the local electoral bylaws, any candidate aspiring to be mayor must have lived in the state for at least 10 years and five of those residing in the county of his candidacy.
The official registration of his candidacy is scheduled for April and the election will be on June 7, less than a month after Cuauhtemo Blanco had played his last partido as a professional futbolista.
Mojado Citizen 