The pressure for the resignation of the president of the Los Angeles City Council, Democrat Nury Martinez, has increased in recent hours after an audio with racist comments was leaked on Sunday during a conversation with other Latino leaders in the city.
In an October 2021 discussion with Councilmembers Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León, as well as Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera, Martinez compared the black son of outgoing Councilmember Mike Bonin to "a changuito" and affirmed that the politician treated him as "an accessory", according to the recording released by the Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles City Council Speaker Nury Martinez during a town hall session on August 30, 2022.Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times via Getty Imag
The comments about Bonin's son, whom he also insulted during the argument, were about his behavior at a parade in 2017, when the boy was 2 years old.
Martinez also poked fun at Oaxacan-born Mexicans, taking on Cuban-born Los Angeles County Prosecutor George Gascón, a judicial reform advocate who is despised by a host of politicians and who has survived two Republican-led impeachment attempts.
"Fuck him. He's with the blacks," he said of him.
Latinos rebuilding Florida after Hurricane Ian face wage theft and unsafe conditions]
The president of the Los Angeles city council apologized after the audio was leaked.
“In a moment of intense frustration and anger, I let the situation get the better of me and I take responsibility for these comments.
For that, I am sorry,” she said in a statement.
Martinez's conversation with the three other Latino leaders came amid a debate about redistricting, which takes place once a year, as well as the need to re-elect Latino council members and ensure that districts with a large presence of Latinos do not lose economic assets, such as the University of Southern California (USC) and the Van Nuys airport.
“The context for this conversation was concern about the redistricting process and concern about the potential negative impact it could have on communities of color.
My work speaks for itself.
I have worked hard to lead this city through its most difficult time,” he noted.
[Nearly Half of Independent Latino Voters Don't Know Who to Vote for in Midterm Elections, Survey Finds]
De León, who referred to Bonin's homosexuality and said that he treated his son like "a Louis Vuitton bag," said after the news broke that the comments were "totally inappropriate" and that he had not been "up to the expectations we have for our leaders.”
Xavier Becerra maintains the pride of his Hispanic roots and transmits it to his family
Oct. 10, 202202:50
“I am sorry that I seemed to condone and even contribute to certain insensitive comments made about a colleague and his family in private,” the San Diego-raised politician, who rose to statewide fame as a lawmaker and later ran for office, said in a statement. successful mayoralty of Los Angeles.
Cedillo, on his side, assured the LA Times that he did not remember that discussion.
pain and anger
Despite apologies, Bonin and her partner, Sean Arian, demanded that Martinez resign and that the council remove her if the councilwoman does not leave of her own free will.
Both stated that about their son "it is painful to know that one day he will read these comments", which they described as "dehumanizing".
Dozens of people protested Sunday night outside Martinez's home to demand his resignation.
"She has to leave by her own decision," an outraged woman told Noticias Telemundo.
"And if she does not leave it by her own decision, we are going to vote her out (remove) in (the elections of) 2024," she stressed.
[The turn to the right of many Latino voters will be key in the midterm elections]
"We feel offended, in what way he attacks Latinos, especially because of what he said about Oaxacans, about dark-haired people," acknowledged another protester.
Latino residents make up about half of Los Angeles' population but make up less than a third of the council's 15 districts, a fact that has prompted complaints that the population is not fairly represented.
These are the issues that most concern Latinos ahead of the midterm elections
Oct. 3, 202204:53
Alex Alonso, a Chicano and Latino studies scholar at California State University, Los Angeles, said he supported Bonin's call for Martinez, De Leon and Herrera to resign, saying the conversation reflects the deep fissures that run through the population of the city.
“This is very emblematic of how difficult it is to improve relations in our city,” said Alonso, who is black and Latino.
Lorena Gonzalez of the politically crucial California Federation of Labor described the racist remarks as "repulsive" and said "Black and Latino leaders have to come together to fight for justice for our shared communities."
California Democratic Party Chairman Rusty Hicks said the comments are "detrimental to our collective work" but did not call for anyone to resign.
With information from
the Los Angeles Times
and
NBC News
