Statesmen and women often complain about the immense personal toll they pay for the sake of a life in public service: the punishing schedule, the constant travel, the endless rounds of speeches, meetings and public appearances.
Few, however, have considered a solution as simple yet ingenious as that proposed by Renato Tronco Gómez, a federal deputy in Mexico who has launched a competition to find a team of doubles to help him bear the weight of office.
“Veracruz is a big state and it takes a long time to get from one place to another to attend events where the people want to see their deputy,” he told the Guardian.
“You can send a representative who is a man or a woman, short or tall, fat or thin, white or black, but it would be a lot better to send a double.”
The competition, launched on Tronco’s Facebook page earlier this month, calls on potential candidates to submit their applications by the end of the month, after which a jury – including the deputy’s wife – will select the finalists to be presented in public on 13 June.
The public’s response, the deputy said, will help define the top four, who will all receive cash prizes.
Two potential candidates have emerged so far, the deputy said. One lives in Veracruz, the other in the United States.
Tronco added that he hoped to end up employing several doubles. The resemblance would not have to be exact, he said: a short candidate could wear platform shoes, a chubby one could go on a diet, or a skinny one fattened up.
But their contract will include strict rules of behaviour, forbidding the fake Troncos from smoking or drinking to ensure they behave as much like the original as possible.
He said it will also require them to identify themselves as doubles when attending events in his name, and prohibit them from taking liberties.
“Most importantly they will not be able to live in my home, sleep with my wife, or go to Congress – which would also be illegal,” he said.
Tronco said that the idea reflected the importance voters invest in seeing politicians at events such as town fiestas, cultural events, anniversaries, weddings and funerals – as well as the opportunities these events offer for ordinary people to share their concerns with lawmakers.
His dedication to this side of his political obligations, he said, explains his frequent absence from legislative sessions.
Tronco acknowledged that the idea of employing doubles was “unusual” but insisted it could become a model for other politicians to follow. “Not long ago talking about legalising marijuana was new and controversial,” he said. “My idea is much healthier and potentially useful.”
Tronco, 45, has represented several parties throughout his political career. Elected to the Veracruz Congress in 2013 for the Green party, he has since become an independent. He said his appeal to voters was rooted in his background as an ordinary farmer who people can identify with.
Tronco’s term in the state legislature is due to end next year, but he has hinted at higher ambitions in politics. “I am not looking to be governor, but the governorship could be looking for me,” he said. “Maybe we will meet, I will seduce her and we will marry.”
