Two students in the Xalapa, Mexico were frustrated by a seemingly endless stream of politicians lying and failing to fulfill campaign promises. In protest, they nominated a black-and-white cat named Morris to run for mayor. Election Day is July 7th, and so far this has gone about as well as you might expect.
What started out as a gimmick went viral, and as of Friday morning Morris’ Facebook had over 100,000 fans (incidentally, more than five times as many as that of any of his human competitors). The students behind the Morris campaign have explained that, if elected, Morris will fulfill all of his promises, which seem to be primarily about eating and sleeping.
In addition to being cute and feline — two things that pretty much guarantee winning the Internet — Morris represents frustration people feel all over Mexico with corrupt politicians. These politicians are known colloquially as “rats,” prompting Morris’ staff to say that he is the only who can bring order and “rid the city of rats.”
However, on election day Morris will not be allowed on the ballot, and while his campaign staff have requested that people write in his name (or draw a picture) when they vote, officials say any votes for the cat will not be counted. Taking this in stride, Morris’ Facebook page proudly declares that the more he is attacked, the more important Morris becomes.
Check out his Facebook page if you want to see Morris as Ironcat, Uncle Sam, and Obama, or watch this interview with the cat in question. You can use it as a chance to test your high school Spanish, or you can just set the caption language to English. The real focus is watching Morris bat toys off a table.
(via CNN and ABC, image via Facebook)
Meanwhile in related links
- The cat that was mayor, and 7 other animals in politics
- Kangaroo attacks Australian politician, fails to make clear just what he’s protesting
- Demon sheep ad enlightens California politics
