MEXICO.- How could anyone forget the noted mayor from San Blas, Nayarit? He is constantly talked about in Mexican media as the public official who agreed to steal money from the municipal treasury, even if it was "just a little" in order to "give to those who need it".

Hilario Ramirez Villanueva, is in the news again, only this time because he has won the "Mayor of the Year" award by Dubai's independent group Global Quality Foundation, "acknowledging his labor as a representative for the San Blas township".

After accepting the honor, he supposedly dedicated his award to Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and to Nayarit's current Governor, Roberto Sandoval Castañeda.

Ramirez Villanueva has been elected mayor of San Blas on two occasions thanks to his fame, given that lot citizens acknowledge him as "the town's benefactor", who has been known to throw money to his audience during the public acts he leads.

A few months back, during his mayoral campaign, the official admitted to embezzling from the treasury, although he later said it was all part of a joke:

"I've been criticized a lot [...] that I love money […] who doesn't? That I stole from the [municipal] presidency? I did, but only a little because it doesn't have much. It was just a bit. […] Besides, with the hand that I used to steal, I used the other to give it to the poor", said the official during a meeting that took place during his campaign's fifth day.

VIDEO: TOWN COUNCIL WHO STEALS, BUT JUST A LITTLE BIT

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