Brazilian child is one of more than 1,500 candidates for the US presidency

                  

Successful businessman with no previous experience in elective office, is candidate for the presidency of the United States and believes that his ability to command companies qualifies to lead the country.

The description applies not only to the billionaire celebrity Donald Trump, who leads the polls on voting intentions among the pre-republican candidates, but also the American Rod Silva, 43, son of Brazilian immigrants who is running for the White House as an independent .

Silva is one of 1,528 people who have registered so far to run for president of the United States, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC, its acronym in English).

The number, considered a record by analysts, should still increase until the election, scheduled for November 8 and preceded by primary elections that begin on Monday to decide the Democratic and Republican candidates.

"In January 2012 (year of the previous presidential election), there were 332 registered to run for president. Now we have nearly five times that number. This is definitely something new in the American political scene," said the political scientist Eric Ostermeier, site creator Smart politics policy analysis on the University of Minnesota.


Campaign

Unlike many of the candidates who apply for a joke and do nothing to advance his candidacy, Silva's campaign is well organized, with a website and the help of volunteers in several states.

Founder of the chain of health food restaurants Muscle Maker Grill, started in 1995, he created the Nutrition Party (Nutrition) and competes with a focused platform to tackle problems such as rising rates of obesity, diabetes and cholesterol in the American population.

"The main issue (addressed by the application) is make America healthy again," Silva said.



Born in Newark, the state of New Jersey, married and father of two, Silva says he believes lead the country is how to command a company and compare its path to the "American dream."

"My father and mother emigrated from Brazil (Santos, in São Paulo). I am the first generation born in the United States. I started a small business and turned it into a national chain (over 50 restaurants)," he says.

"I have experience in health care, in job creation and command a company, and I think that qualifies me to move to the next level and lead the country," said Silva, who is funding the campaign itself.

Facility



Not all applicants, however, take the contest so seriously. The facility to sign up to run for the presidency attracts many people simply seeking attention or a joke.

To be president, you must be a US citizen born in the United States, be at least 35 years old and have lived in the country for at least 14 years.
"But anyone can fill out the form of the FEC, even without being qualified to compete," says Ostermeier.

The form, which can be completed online or sent by post, asks only basic data such as name, address and name of the campaign committee, and is automatically placed on the FEC website without verifying the identity or qualifications of the candidates.

"With so many news about this phenomenon, more and more people are seeing how easy it is to apply, and some have become almost celebrities with it," says Ostermeier.