Photos on adults-only website help elect model as first female mayor of Guayas Province city

Where there’s a will – and a little exposed flesh — there’s a way. Model Maria Fernanda Vargas has become the first woman elected mayor of the city of Simon Bolivar, near Guayaquil.

Running under the Revolución Ciudadana party banner, Fernanda funded her campaign by selling risque photos on an adult online platform and offers no apologies for the strategy. Her opponents called her campaign “obscene” and “undignified” but Vargus brushed aside all complaints.

Maria Fernanda Vargas is the new mayor of Simon Bolivar.

“You use the best tools you have to win elections and apparently I had better tools than the opposition,” she said, adding, “Losers always cry, don’t they?”

Vargas, who owns and operates a beauty salon, holds a degree in journalism from the University of Milagro.

Vargas won 47% of the votes in her municipality in Sunday’s election, surprising some local officials who called her campaign a “publicity stunt.” In a post-election social media post, she wrote, “I have become the first woman to be elected mayor of Simon Bolivar. Thanks to your willingness to support me at the ballot boxes, and thanks for being part of this historic process.”

Juan Fuentes, a one-time opponent who dropped out of the race before election day, called Vargas’ campaign “filthy and disgraceful,” claiming some of the photos she posted revealed her breasts and buttocks. “There was no substance to her positions, just pornographic pictures,” Fuentes said. “The question I have, is what was she selling?”

Vargas responded, “I think I provided plenty of substance.”

A survey conducted by a Guayaquil university following the election reported that Vargas’ received almost 70% of the male vote in her canton. A student who participated in the survey credited her victory to a “significant arousal factor” based on the candidate’s campaign photography.