United States: the Puerto Rican vote, the hope of the Democrats to tip Florida
Audio 02:32
Alex Bario, political director of Allianza for Progress, and Emilia Bonia, elected to the council of a district in the suburb of Orlando, of Puerto Rican origin.
RFI / Anne Corpet
By: Anne Corpet Follow
7 min
In their final days of campaigning, Donald Trump and Joe Biden both toured Florida, a key state that could tip the ballot.
Scores are still tight there, and the two parties are vying for the votes of the large Hispanic community.
To thwart the Cuban vote, traditionally anchored on the Republican side, the Democrats are banking on the large Puerto Rican community.
Publicity
From our special correspondent in Orlando,
Puerto Ricans are now the largest group in Florida's Hispanic community.
300,000 of them arrived
after Hurricane Maria
ravaged the island in 2017, and the majority settled in the suburbs of Orlando.
With US passports, all they need to do is register on the electoral rolls to be able to vote in this crucial state.
"
It is an electorate who leans for the Democratic Party, but their vote is not certain and the community has many evangelicals who remain attached to conservative values
", details Alex Bario, political director of Allianza for Progress, an association which tries to mobilize the Puerto Rican electorate behind the Democratic candidate.
The challenge is not easy to meet.
“
Coming here Puerto Ricans tend to think of the political world as terrible, corrupt and cynical, they don't want to get involved.
The participation of Puerto Ricans in the elections is rather low
, "said the activist, who, however, shows some confidence,"
C
his year they will vote, primarily because of the pandemic.
She is on everyone's mind.
Puerto Ricans work in the service industry, especially at Disney and other theme parks in the region, and they have been hit hard by the crisis.
But they cannot afford to sit at home in front of a computer with their children.
Many do not even have internet access.
All because of the pandemic.
They are not going to vote to thank Donald Trump
!
Puerto Ricans in Florida, often without health insurance, strictly adhere to health precautionary measures and severely judge
the lightness with which the president treats the coronavirus pandemic
.
"
A lack of respect that remains in the memories
"
"
The American president is seen as a foil to the community,
" confirms Emilia Bonia.
This elected to the district council of this suburb of Orlando, of Puerto Rican origin, believes that the massive influx of Puerto Ricans after the passage of Hurricane Maria has changed the political situation in central Florida.
“
All of these people have not forgotten the way President Trump has treated the island.
They are still waiting for the help that was promised and Puerto Ricans remember when he came to the scene the President threw toilet paper at the crowd.
It is a lack of respect which remains in the memories
”, she assures.
The image of Donald Trump throwing toilet paper
to Puerto Ricans affected by the hurricane
was used by Barack Obama during his trip to Florida in late October.
The former Democratic president, sent there to try to mobilize the Puerto Rican community, also recalled that the tenant of the White House had considered selling the island, while its inhabitants are campaigning instead to acquire statehood and strengthen their membership in the United States.
Aversion to Donald Trump will not necessarily turn into a massive vote for Joe Biden.
According to a poll, the Democratic candidate would win 66% of Puerto Rican votes, when Barack Obama had obtained 80%.
And the main difficulty remains the mobilization of this community rather wary of politics: the participation rate in advance polls in the two counties with the most Puerto Ricans in Florida remains lower than that of the rest of the state. .
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United States
USA Elections 2020