Popular ufologist Reinaldo Ríos has announced his independent run for the governorship of Puerto Rico on a platform of making the island a world center for paranormal tourism.

"What I want is to create a Disney World of the infinite space we live in. Many tourists would come here and make investments," Ríos said in an interview with Efe.

The candidate, who teaches first grade at a school in the southern town of Yauco, has won popularity on the island for his activities related to supposed sightings of apparitions, UFOs and extraterrestrials. He even organized a gargoyle hunt.

"I've been a philanthropic person and never made money out of the paranormal theme. I would make those connections for the good of the country, for Puerto Rico to become a center of paranormal tourism," Ríos said.

"I believe in extraterrestrial life and as human beings we would ally ourselves with creatures of the universe to improve our educational system and really know we're not alone in the universe," Ríos said, adding that his objectives also include "eradicating poverty and eliminating crime" on the island.

Ríos's name gained fame back in 1978 when he belonged to a group called Universe Station, a club for Puerto Ricans who claimed to have been contacted by extraterrestrial beings.

Since then he has worked at building a center for studying UFOs in the southern municipality of Lajas, which even has landing strips for alien spacecraft.

In 1993 he began to organize monthly UFO camps to entice experts and curiosity-seekers from Puerto Rico and elsewhere to take part in "public vigils" to capture sightings in photos and videos.

On one occasion, in December 2010, he organized a gargoyle hunt in the old sugar mill in Guanica, on the southwest coast of Puerto Rico, a project with which he planned to confirm the existence of a supposed mutant that attacked animals in the area.

"I have great friendships with people in the paranormal movement who could come to invest in Puerto Rico. Our extraterrestrial embassy would have all international sights trained on us," Ríos said during an interview with Efe. 

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