Venezuelan Americans Could Be Key Voting Bloc
Venezuelan Americans Could Be Key Voting Bloc
The Venezuelan diaspora is an "ideal punching bag for those who want to criticize migration," said AS/COA's Guillermo Zubillaga to Foreign Policy.
At a campaign rally in New York City this week, former U.S. President Donald Trump made his closing remarks ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election. Speaking from Madison Square Garden, Trump painted a grave picture of a country in peril—and under attack from immigrants—as he lambasted Democratic nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Kamala has imported criminal migrants from prisons and jails, insane asylums and mental institutions from all around the world, from Venezuela to the Congo,” Trump said to chants and cheers from the crowd. According to an Axios analysis, the Republican nominee has singled out Venezuelan migrants as “criminals” in more than 64 percent of his speeches over the last year.
“We are an ideal punching bag right now for those who want to criticize migration because we really cannot punch back yet in regards to voting,” said Guillermo Zubillaga, the senior director of public policy programs at the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. [...]
Still, the Venezuelan diaspora in the United States remains divided over which candidate can deliver a stronger and more stable economy. Thanks in part to misinformation campaigns and Trump’s branding of Harris as a “Marxist“ and “communist,” many Venezuelan Americans see the Democratic candidate as similar to Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chávez.
“Venezuelans have had a negative experience with socialism and price controls. So they embrace the free market and the capacity to start a business,” Zubillaga said...
