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A Voice for Latinos, Women, and the Working Class: The Keys to Ocasio-Cortez's Re-election

2020-12-01T20:23:55.360Z


Latina congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is able to speak the same language as her voters in Queens and the Bronx in New York, and not just because she can express herself in Spanish. What was his overwhelming victory over his Republican rival?


By Sarah Yáñez-Richards 

NEW YORK.

- Congresswoman of Puerto Rican descent Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (also known by her initials, AOC) again swept the November 3 elections as she did four years ago.

This time, however, it was no surprise like back then.

Ocasio-Cortez once again won the support of her Bronx and Queens community in New York City, with 68.8% of the vote.

What was his landslide victory over Republican John Cummings?

[Follow our coverage of the 2020 US presidential election]

"It is good that there are women in politics because this is how the patriarchy that exists also collapses

,

"

says Lorena Orellana, an Ecuadorian based in Queens, a municipality that is part of the 14th District, which also includes parts of the Bronx, where there is a large Afro-Latino population, especially many Puerto Ricans.

María Sol Paladines, also an Ecuadorian, agrees with Orellana.

Paladines also points out that it sees as something "very positive" that the Latino community begins to have more representation in the House of Representatives and more if they are the voices that represent Queens or the Bronx, where 28.2% and 56.4% of the population is Hispanic, respectively, according to the last census. 

Lorena Orellana and Maria Sol Paladines, Ecuadorians living in Queens Sarah Yáñez-Richards

“She [Ocasio-Cortez] helped the Latino community a lot, her mission is the empowerment of Latinx women,” says Chivona Newsome, a Democratic politician from the Bronx and one of the founders of the Black Lives Matter Greater NY movement, for whom she Congresswoman with Puerto Rican roots has become a "pioneer for the Latino community."

"I don't know much about politics, but I have followed her career,

what she does and the events she is promoting to help all Hispanics,"

explains Jesús Silva, a street vendor from the Bronx. 

Jesús Silva, Mexican-American who lives and works in the Bronx Sarah Yáñez-Richards

Although this Mexican-American cannot vote, he is subscribed to the congresswoman's agenda.

"I have his email and they send me everything he does, where he will be when he wants me to support him," Silva emphasizes.

He notes that, before the coronavirus pandemic, he saw the congresswoman at one of the events, but that a photo could not be taken with her because she was surrounded by people.

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Jonathan Soto, who worked on Ocasio-Cortez's re-election campaign, notes that he has been “impressed” to see the support that the congresswoman has in her district. 

"We have seen that people see her as someone who represents them

,

"

says the Puerto Rican, referring to the fact that the woman named AOC has Puerto Rican origins, is from the Bronx and is young. 

According to the Youth and Latinos poll conducted by Telemundo and BuzzFeed News, in which 1,323 young people registered to vote in June were surveyed, one in three respondents (33%) said they did not feel represented by any leader.

However,

Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez was the one that most came to mind when young people thought about who represents them

, although only 6% of them.

Biden and senator and former progressive presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders also accounted for 6% each.

Jesús Silva at his street vendor stand Sarah Yáñez-Richards

The political organizer highlights that the congresswoman, who made history in 2018 by being the youngest representative in the United States Congress in history, knows that family is a fundamental concept in the Latino community and that Ocasio-Cortez has worked to reach them with "many communities of faith." 

[The power of the Latino vote has been felt in these elections]

Likewise, Soto points out that the representative also advocates for the

"interests of the working class in the district

.

"

In this sense, the contribution in the collection of financial donations that the congresswoman's team made during her campaign with the Street Vendor Project group, which helps street vendors, stands out.

This group, like small restaurants, is being strongly shaken by the coronavirus pandemic.

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Another key group for the young politician is that of the undocumented who reside in New York, even if they cannot vote. 

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Soto explains that his team has worked in several workshops in which residents are informed about the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE, for its acronym in English) and the immigration system.

"They are programs where we present this information and we talk about how there can be solidarity among some volunteers to do

ICE watch

(ICE surveillance) to protect the undocumented during the raids."

The 31-year-old politics has not only managed to be the focus of attention in her district, but it has also been so nationally and internationally.

According to Newsome, this can be a double-edged sword, as the fact that Ocasio-Cortez has become a "celebrity"

can distract her from her "main job", which is "working to serve the public

.

"

"She's in the New York Times [newspaper] and on CNN [news network], but beyond that

I would love if AOC gives more power to the Bronx so people would have something to be proud of

," Newsome said.

Despite the fact that this part of New York has voted for other liberal congressmen, such as Ritchie Torres, who is the first gay Afro-Latino representative, support for the Republican Party has increased.

In the 2020 presidential elections, support for President Donald Trump rose 10.4 points relative to the 2016 presidential elections in The Bronx and 8.5% in Queens. 

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In New York state, Trump got 36.5% of the vote four years ago.

This time, it has taken 41.8%.

"It's a little scary, because the only thing that keeps New York a blue state is the great concert of people of color in New York City and other cities," says Newsome.

Source: telemundo

All news articles on 2020-12-01

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