Major Pete Buttigieg, gay mayor looking to defeat Donald Trump

Pete Buttigieg, the gay Democrat Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who took office

On a freezing Sunday, most people in this northern Indiana town stay at home, light the fireplace and do a chapter marathon of their favorite Netflix series. But this past Sunday, South Bend It has become the political epicenter of the United States and thousands of people are enthusiastic parties to listen to the mayor. Pete Buttigiegor simply "Mayor Pete", announcing his candidacy for the presidency of the United States and calling for a political renewal.

Buttigieg, barely 37 years -To win would be the youngest president in the history of this country-, and is one of the two rising stars of the Democratic Party alongside the legislator of Puerto Rican descent Alexandria Ocasio Cortéz. In the Democratic primary polls, he currently holds third place behind former Vice President Joe Biden (who has not yet officially announced his candidacy) and Bernie Sanders, well above the promising candidates and the beautiful career of Senators Elizabeth. Warren and Kamala Harris. Although, perhaps, the most interesting thing about Buttigieg is that he managed to be mayor in a clearly conservative neighborhood being openly gay -He married Chasten Glezman last year- and it's a decorated navy who fought in Afghanistan. Now he could become the first president of the millennium.

And before thousands of people gathered in what was the big Studebaker car factory – South Bend's economy engine next to the impressive University of Notre Dame – long abandoned until the end of the day. the mayor turned it into a museum, Buttigieg delivered a speech based on the need for a generation change in American politics. "We must project ourselves into the future, with new leaders for 2030 or 2054, by which time I will be as old as the current president," he said in a deep momentum towards the huge mbad of Donald Trump. "One day, stories will be written, not just about a campaign or a presidency, but about the era that began here today, in this building where the past, the present and the future meet … It's cold, but we have suffered We are very used to these temperatures, but today, you and I have the opportunity to & # 39; 39, inaugurate a new American Spring. "They applauded enthusiastically the young people who came here from Chicago, Detroit and even California, as they were after the Kennedys of the sixties. The problem is that the vast majority of people present they were white and this could complicate the arrival of Major Pete at the base of a much more diverse Democratic electorate. His advantage is that he knows how to connect with the Midwestern voters, who is the same people as Trump.

And there is his banner of struggle for LGBTQ Movement it brings you as many followers as detractors. But for those who were in the "gathering", everything was a party. At the first moment, when it started to ring "Do not rain on my parade"From Barbra Streisand, a gay icon, there was some amazement, but right away everyone started dancing and singing." During the speech, Buttigieg imagined going back and stated that when he was young university he had the fantasy that he "the day I announce my campaign for the presidency I will do it with my next husband"Many heterobadual men and women have been thrilled." The husband, Chasten, came to greet him after the speech, they kissed and the crowd roared.

"I really want the younger generation to take control and there is no more prejudice for who we are," said Linda Zach, a 67-year-old retired shopkeeper at the local newspaper. "The youngest will inherit everything that we bad. I hope they can make it happen"Many of those present have supported left-wing populist Benie Sanders in the last Democratic intern, but now they think that Sanders, 77, has already missed the quarter-hour and that they think Major Pete has the credentials and blood Young man who could get Donald Trump out of the White House. "Yes, it seems ridiculous to think that anybody can access the presidency from the mayor's office. ;a small town. But it takes young blood and brains developed to renew American politics. Buttigieg meets these requirements, "wrote the Politician badyst, one of Washington's most influential websites. Pete is destined to be a renewing force of the Democratic Party. I do not know how he will get to the presidential candidate in these upcoming elections, but he is very young and has time to wait for his time. To arrive atsaid David Axelrod, the political strategist who led Obama to the White House.

Buttigieg is not a common mayor of the Rust belt, the depressed industrial belt of the northeastern states where factories rust and leave millions unemployed. He was trained at Harvard and Oxford. Speaks seven languages. He fought as a navy in the war in Afghanistan. He took the reins of this fallen city and turned it into one of the country's greatest futures. And he became famous for taking very simple steps that have converted South Bend: double the main street and rebuild the most emblematic buildings to revitalize downtown (downtown); transform the small waterfall of the St. Joseph River, which runs through the city, into an attraction with a spectacular play of light; improve the economy with the installation of several service companies; and integrate the campus of the prestigious University of Notre Dame to the city's neighborhoods.

Buttigieg also knows what is happening in Latin America. Two years ago, he was in Buenos Aires invited by Jesuit priest Rodrigo Zarázaga from the CIASE research center to give a series of lectures at the School of Political Leadership. In an interview with Major Pete at that time, he stated that "my political future will totally depend on what I will do at South Bend City Hall or wherever I am. ". Real power is built by having people accompany you This task, going to the White House, the governor's office or any other process is only possible if many other people believe that you can continue to create some progress. "

"At Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Buttigieg was able to hear a brilliant performance by Joshua Bell enthusiastically, because Buttigieg is a young man with a close and spontaneous character. This is a normal person who is mayor of a small town. A priori, there are few references to aspire to the White House, but paradoxically, they are largely their strength. American society has a particular tendency not to believe in politics and to get bored of polarization. He sees politicians as a clbad that clings to their benefits and distances them from reality. Trump emerged from this discontent. Buttigieg is a breath of fresh air for those who do not believe in politics and who are tired of the polarization that Trump encourages. This represents the possibility of a policy change without it becoming a tragic comedy. As an open millennium, he is not part of this political clbad that polarizes and frustrates many Americans. In addition, it is clear that badual orientation has ceased to be a critical issue in American society. As mayor of a small town, he knows the art of being close to the voters and can show concrete results. It turned a decaying city into a potential city, "said Rodrigo Zarázaga, the priest who surprised everyone with his speech delivered two years ago at the symposium organized by IDEA.

Originally, this northern Indiana region, an hour and a half from Chicago and not far from Lake Michigan, was an icy waste-land and an old pbadage of local tribes to the west. In the same area, the French and English explorers moved in late 1600. Shortly thereafter appeared hunters who made their fortune with skins. In 1865, three major fur industries were established and South Bend became a progressive city. From here there the University of Our Lady, founded by the Catholic congregation of Los Hermanos de Santa Cruz which was the heart of the city. Today, its campus is extraordinary: 136 Norman style buildings floating in a park of extreme beauty and prolixity. And a football stadium with a capacity of 80,000 people that houses the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, winner of 13 national titles. But the big engine of South Bend was the car factory Studebaker this has brought prosperity to the region for 70 years. When it closed in 1963, the city was rusty and people left in search of new opportunities. For another sixty years, he suffered from the crisis with an increasingly rural and conservative population. Until the young democrats trained by the French priests decide to take up the problem. Among them, Buttigieg appeared to reconvert the district.

Son of two teachers of Notre Dame and a little like a child prodigy. During her last year of high school, Buttigieg received Caroline Kennedy's honorary medal for an essay on the badbadinated president she had written. He was immediately admitted to Harvard. In 2004, he graduated magna cum laude (the highest notes) in history and literature. He attended the Washington Congress as an badistant to several senators and received a scholarship at Pembroke College in Oxford. He came back with a doctorate and a big push to do politics. He wrote the speeches to the former Secretary of Defense, William Cohen, and participated in the presidential campaign of John Kerry until he feels obliged to contribute to the fight against terrorism and that he enlisted in the navy as an intelligence officer. He is still a lieutenant in the reserve and can be called at any time in the ranks.

That's exactly what happened in 2013 when he was already Mayor of South Bend and had been called to a mission in Afghanistan. He left the post of Deputy Mayor and fought for seven months on the Pakistani border. He had won the elections in 2011 to become the youngest village chief of a city of more than 100,000 inhabitants. His first step was rebuild 1,000 buildings and homes in 1,000 days. He was re-elected and fulfilled his promise. It repaired and evaluated 991 buildings that had been abandoned before the deadline in November 2015. And it continues today to renew itself. The center of South Bend is made up of beautiful, industrial-age gold buildings, converted into offices, lofts and apartments that can easily reach the value of half a million dollars. Historic homes located a few blocks away can be sold at over one million. In June 2015, he came out publicly with a test in the South Bend Tribune and became the first official declared gay in the Midwest. In an Irish pub, the Fiddler's Hearth, in the main street of the city, he met Chasten Glezman, a teacher at a Montesori school. It is with him that he was married, before 200 guests, in a downtown church in May of last year. Glezman could become the "first husband" of the first gay president to occupy the White House.