Pancho Cachondo
Pancho Cachondo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Deputy of the Federal Parliament | |
| Assumed office 01 April 2015 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 October 1978 |
| Nationality | Corummese/Pelaxian |
| Political party | Partido Socialista PS |
Pancho Cachondo, commonly known as 'El Gordo', is a businessman and politician who holds both Corummese and Pelaxian nationality. A close associate of the founder of Carnitas Pelaxia, Mauricio Toledo, he also got involved in leftist politics first as Toledo's campaign manager and later as his replacement in the Federal Parliament.
Early life
Cachondo was born in 1978 in Bariloche, province of Baza into a middle class family of small businessmen. His father owned a watch repair shop and his mother was a housekeeper. He was an industrious and ambitious child, making money by selling scorpions he would find on the ground. He attended the University of Albalitor on a full scholarship, graduating with a degree in Business. While at the university Cachondo acquired the nickname of 'El Gordo' for his excessive adipose tissue and prodigious appetite. He became involved in leftist politics and the student movement, acting as a thug sent to break up and disrupt events organized by right wing students. It is rumored he repeatedly hit a student with a metal pipe on the head, leaving him in a vegetative state however this was not conclusively proven. There is suspicion the incident was covered up by sympathetic members of the school faculty.
Politics
Cachondo joined the Socialist Party (Partido Socialista) in the year 2000, becoming a political organizer in his native Baza. He campaigned on behalf of Pedro Aviles in the 2000 Baza gubernatorial race, which the socialist candidate won. Cachondo was appointed Under-Secretary for Youth Affairs in the state government, position from which he began to create a his own political structure backed up by public funds under his control. It was in this period that Cachondo got a reputation for eccentricity in what may have been to build a political brand. He was seen frequently attending strip clubs, he had someone dress up in a mascot suit of himself and even posed in a thong for a promotional photoshoot. His style and antics got him in serious trouble with the ethics committee of the Socialist Party, but he was rescued by Mauricio Toledo who helped quash the ethics investigation. Toledo was a newcomer to politics with roots in Baza and deep pockets. Perhaps seeing Cachondo as a useful patsy due to all the dirt that could be found of him; Toledo decided to form an alliance with him and make him his substitute candidate for his run for the Federal Parliament. When Toledo won his seat in 2005, he took Cachondo with him to Albalitor.