Colombian anti-corruption activist enters Senate in elephant costume

Luis Carlos Rua, a Colombian anti-corruption activist known as White Elephant, was sworn in as a senator on Monday while wearing a plush white elephant costume in the ceremonial hall of Colombia's Congress.

Rua, 34, studied electrical engineering and later worked with a city mayor before becoming an informant and anti-corruption activist. He used social media to expose alleged irregularities in public spending.

His online name refers to a colloquial Latin American term for costly unfinished infrastructure projects generally paid for with public money. Rua told the source that the elephant costume helped him stay anonymous in a country where activism is a high-risk activity.

Rua was elected to the Senate with more than 120,000 votes after a social media campaign conducted without rallies or posters. He said he felt victory was possible but was not entirely sure. He removed his elephant mask for the first time just three days before the March elections.

After his engineering studies, Rua worked as communications officer for the mayor of Pereira, his native city in western Colombia. In 2019, he publicly denounced the municipal administration where he was employed, accusing it of pressuring employees to support a candidate in local elections. He recorded a phone conversation and leaked the audio to the press to support his allegations.

Rua said the decision angered colleagues, who called him a traitor and Judas.

He launched his project shortly afterward, travelling around Colombia by car to expose useless infrastructure and irregular contracts. On social media, he adopted the identity of a small elephant that danced at unfinished worksites. He said he felt a responsibility and described turning his hobby into a life project.

Rua's project was first funded by donations from followers, but costs rose and donations were not enough. He said followers suggested that he run for the Senate so he could continue his work and obtain state protection.

He said he began making videos about his achievements in what he described as a different kind of campaign. The campaign was enough for him to win a seat as an independent senator with support from a small political party.