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An organizer speaks to a woman in a community garden.
(Image: Mijente)
Grassroots Latinx Group Says Local Organizing Is Key to Stopping Trump Agenda
"We can't endorse Biden or the Democratic Party, but we understand the threat that a Trump administration poses to our communities," said the director of Mijente.
Jul 18, 2024
The largest progressive Latinx political organization in the U.S., Mijente, said Thursday that it will not be officially endorsing a presidential candidate in the 2024 race—but emphasized that its non-endorsement doesn't mean it believes Latino voters should be disengaged from the election or the fights that will continue regardless of who wins.
In a video featuring organizers and community members from across the country, Mijente grapples with the reality that many Latino voters and rights advocates are "currently disillusioned with the Biden administration."
An Axios-Ipsos poll in April found that while Latino voters support the Democratic Party on issues such as abortion rights and immigration, support for President Joe Biden among the community had fallen precipitously to 41%, down from 55% in December 2021.
Biden, who is facing pressure to step aside in the presidential race, has recently cracked down on migrants' ability to seek asylum, and he expanded former President Donald Trump's Title 42 rule aimed at swiftly deporting immigrants.
"We can't endorse Biden or the Democratic Party, but we understand the threat that a Trump administration poses to our communities," said Marisa Franco, national director of Mijente. "Our video captures the urgency of this moment, calling for a mobilization of Latinx voters to defeat Trump. By participating in this election, we are making a strategic decision to give us the best chance to fight for a just future for our families."
The video was released ahead of Trump's planned speech accepting the party's nomination at the Republican National Convention. At the gathering, delegates have been seen holding signs reading, "Mass deportation now!" as speakers have pushed Trump's immigration agenda.
The former president intends to carry out the Republican Party's plan to "carry out the largest deportation operation in American history," and has proposed building huge detention camps to house undocumented immigrants awaiting deportation flights.
While warning Latinos of the danger posed by Trump and his vice presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), one Mjiente organizer said in the video that "Biden seeks to form the same anti-Trump coalition from 2020, often taking our communities for granted and the progressive movement as a given."
"The status quo will make us wonder, what is our future? What is our place in this country?" said one organizer.
Illinois-based Mijente member Corina Pedraza said that Trump and the Republicans, if elected, "will dismantle gains of generations past. They seek to send us back into the shadows, back into the closet, and to the back of the bus."
While Mijente made its first presidential endorsement in 2020, supporting Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ramos explained that this year, "the choice lies beyond Trump versus Biden. The contrast between these candidates is what we can do."
The group said it has launched mobilization efforts in states including Georgia, Texas, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Arizona "to amplify Latino voices and shape the national conversation," including through El Chisme Tour 2024.
The tour gathers organizers, artists, elected representatives, and educators in 20 cities across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, with the goal of broadening "the discussion of what's at stake in this election and engage audiences disillusioned with the current political discourse," said Franco.
"We need to reconnect at a local level with joy and strategic determination to push back the ultra-conservative agenda," she added.
Mijente's video ends with several members explaining why they plan to vote in the election and organize for justice—no matter who wins in November.
"I am voting in this election because this election is about us, not about them," said one organizer, referring to the two candidates.
"I'm organizing for my people, the present, and the future," said another.
A vote in the 2024 election, said another organizer, "is a tool that our movement can use to bring us closer to a country where we can thrive, without having to fight for everything we need to survive."
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The largest progressive Latinx political organization in the U.S., Mijente, said Thursday that it will not be officially endorsing a presidential candidate in the 2024 race—but emphasized that its non-endorsement doesn't mean it believes Latino voters should be disengaged from the election or the fights that will continue regardless of who wins.
In a video featuring organizers and community members from across the country, Mijente grapples with the reality that many Latino voters and rights advocates are "currently disillusioned with the Biden administration."
An Axios-Ipsos poll in April found that while Latino voters support the Democratic Party on issues such as abortion rights and immigration, support for President Joe Biden among the community had fallen precipitously to 41%, down from 55% in December 2021.
Biden, who is facing pressure to step aside in the presidential race, has recently cracked down on migrants' ability to seek asylum, and he expanded former President Donald Trump's Title 42 rule aimed at swiftly deporting immigrants.
"We can't endorse Biden or the Democratic Party, but we understand the threat that a Trump administration poses to our communities," said Marisa Franco, national director of Mijente. "Our video captures the urgency of this moment, calling for a mobilization of Latinx voters to defeat Trump. By participating in this election, we are making a strategic decision to give us the best chance to fight for a just future for our families."
The video was released ahead of Trump's planned speech accepting the party's nomination at the Republican National Convention. At the gathering, delegates have been seen holding signs reading, "Mass deportation now!" as speakers have pushed Trump's immigration agenda.
The former president intends to carry out the Republican Party's plan to "carry out the largest deportation operation in American history," and has proposed building huge detention camps to house undocumented immigrants awaiting deportation flights.
While warning Latinos of the danger posed by Trump and his vice presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), one Mjiente organizer said in the video that "Biden seeks to form the same anti-Trump coalition from 2020, often taking our communities for granted and the progressive movement as a given."
"The status quo will make us wonder, what is our future? What is our place in this country?" said one organizer.
Illinois-based Mijente member Corina Pedraza said that Trump and the Republicans, if elected, "will dismantle gains of generations past. They seek to send us back into the shadows, back into the closet, and to the back of the bus."
While Mijente made its first presidential endorsement in 2020, supporting Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ramos explained that this year, "the choice lies beyond Trump versus Biden. The contrast between these candidates is what we can do."
The group said it has launched mobilization efforts in states including Georgia, Texas, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Arizona "to amplify Latino voices and shape the national conversation," including through El Chisme Tour 2024.
The tour gathers organizers, artists, elected representatives, and educators in 20 cities across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, with the goal of broadening "the discussion of what's at stake in this election and engage audiences disillusioned with the current political discourse," said Franco.
"We need to reconnect at a local level with joy and strategic determination to push back the ultra-conservative agenda," she added.
Mijente's video ends with several members explaining why they plan to vote in the election and organize for justice—no matter who wins in November.
"I am voting in this election because this election is about us, not about them," said one organizer, referring to the two candidates.
"I'm organizing for my people, the present, and the future," said another.
A vote in the 2024 election, said another organizer, "is a tool that our movement can use to bring us closer to a country where we can thrive, without having to fight for everything we need to survive."
The largest progressive Latinx political organization in the U.S., Mijente, said Thursday that it will not be officially endorsing a presidential candidate in the 2024 race—but emphasized that its non-endorsement doesn't mean it believes Latino voters should be disengaged from the election or the fights that will continue regardless of who wins.
In a video featuring organizers and community members from across the country, Mijente grapples with the reality that many Latino voters and rights advocates are "currently disillusioned with the Biden administration."
An Axios-Ipsos poll in April found that while Latino voters support the Democratic Party on issues such as abortion rights and immigration, support for President Joe Biden among the community had fallen precipitously to 41%, down from 55% in December 2021.
Biden, who is facing pressure to step aside in the presidential race, has recently cracked down on migrants' ability to seek asylum, and he expanded former President Donald Trump's Title 42 rule aimed at swiftly deporting immigrants.
"We can't endorse Biden or the Democratic Party, but we understand the threat that a Trump administration poses to our communities," said Marisa Franco, national director of Mijente. "Our video captures the urgency of this moment, calling for a mobilization of Latinx voters to defeat Trump. By participating in this election, we are making a strategic decision to give us the best chance to fight for a just future for our families."
The video was released ahead of Trump's planned speech accepting the party's nomination at the Republican National Convention. At the gathering, delegates have been seen holding signs reading, "Mass deportation now!" as speakers have pushed Trump's immigration agenda.
The former president intends to carry out the Republican Party's plan to "carry out the largest deportation operation in American history," and has proposed building huge detention camps to house undocumented immigrants awaiting deportation flights.
While warning Latinos of the danger posed by Trump and his vice presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), one Mjiente organizer said in the video that "Biden seeks to form the same anti-Trump coalition from 2020, often taking our communities for granted and the progressive movement as a given."
"The status quo will make us wonder, what is our future? What is our place in this country?" said one organizer.
Illinois-based Mijente member Corina Pedraza said that Trump and the Republicans, if elected, "will dismantle gains of generations past. They seek to send us back into the shadows, back into the closet, and to the back of the bus."
While Mijente made its first presidential endorsement in 2020, supporting Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ramos explained that this year, "the choice lies beyond Trump versus Biden. The contrast between these candidates is what we can do."
The group said it has launched mobilization efforts in states including Georgia, Texas, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Arizona "to amplify Latino voices and shape the national conversation," including through El Chisme Tour 2024.
The tour gathers organizers, artists, elected representatives, and educators in 20 cities across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, with the goal of broadening "the discussion of what's at stake in this election and engage audiences disillusioned with the current political discourse," said Franco.
"We need to reconnect at a local level with joy and strategic determination to push back the ultra-conservative agenda," she added.
Mijente's video ends with several members explaining why they plan to vote in the election and organize for justice—no matter who wins in November.
"I am voting in this election because this election is about us, not about them," said one organizer, referring to the two candidates.
"I'm organizing for my people, the present, and the future," said another.
A vote in the 2024 election, said another organizer, "is a tool that our movement can use to bring us closer to a country where we can thrive, without having to fight for everything we need to survive."
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