Pedro Kumamoto.
Pedro Kumamoto is a skilled, versatile, sharp tongued speaker. Mixed, crossed, global/local references can be found in his discourse: from 15M and Evo Morales, to Zapatism, Ada Colau, Podemos, Occupy Wall Street and, above all, #YoSoy132, the Mexican movement that emerged in 2012. Pedro Kumamoto, who has just turned 26, is the first Mexican state congressman to be elected under the law of independent candidates. Kumamoto, of Japanese descent, is the heart and voice of the Wikipolítica movement. He won in the conservative 10th district of the state of Jalisco, with a progressive program and no economic resources for the campaign.
From Guadalajara – the Mexican Silicon Valley – Kumamoto dreams of thinking the world not from a nation state perspective, but from “municipalist globalism”. And he aims to exert influence on both state and city powers. He is uncertain whether Wikipolítica will become a political party or if it will be exclusively institutional. “We could go back to being a social movement again”, he says. So far, they are working on issues of transparency, participation and civil rights. They plan on opening “subversive social centres”. And they are talking with groups, movements and politicians from around the world.
