Local Campaign Beset by Rumors of Santería

It began as a classic Hialeah politics whodunit: Little mirrors were glued on some of Acting Mayor Carlos Hernandez’s campaign yard signs.

The mirrors prompted a rumor in the no-love-lost mayor’s race that Hernandez was trying to appeal to voters who practice Santería.

Or spiritism. Or some other potentially politically embarrassing sect.

Lest we forget, Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah went to the Supreme Court in the early 90s; in it, the Court (including Scalia and Thomas!) ruled that a local ordinance forbidding animal sacrifice was unconstitutional, because it directly targeted a specific religion. So now in America we all get to sacrifice as many animals as we want in our churches! USA! USA! In any event, the mirrors creeping onto political signs are just the work of a glass and window purveyor who enjoys shiny things. In news completely ordinary to the region but likely more shocking to the rest of America, when Hernandez was sworn in as acting mayor this spring, he delivered his remarks in Spanish.