Throughout most elections, voters have their minds on the Republican and Democratic party nominees. This year, members of the Latine community are taking on the ballot through a third-party option. Claudia de la Cruz and Karina Garcia are running under the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) for president and vice president. Here’s Dímelo’s breakdown of their campaign and their goals:
Why is their Latinidad important?
de la Cruz and Garcia are the third Latine pair to run for the presidential and vice presidential seats. In 2016, Senator Ted Cruz and Carly Fiorina ran, as well as Senator Marco Rubio, who dropped out before announcing his vice presidential pick. Cruz and Rubio are both Cuban American and spoke about their parent’s immigration stories during their campaigns. “I am the son of an immigrant who came legally from Cuba to seek the American dream,” said Cruz during the 2015 presidential debate.
de la Cruz and Garcia are the only Latinas to run for the presidency in United States history.
When did they launch their campaign?
Claudia de la Cruz and Karina Garcia launched their presidential campaign with the Party for Socialism and Liberation on Sept. 7, 2023. Their slogan is “End capitalism before it ends us.”
What is the PSL?
The Party for Socialism and Liberation is a political party that believes that “capitalism is on a collision course with the people of the world and the planet itself,” according to their website. They aim to restore power to the working class.
Who are they?
Claudia de la Cruz was born and raised in the South Bronx, New York to immigrant Dominican parents. As a teenager, she regularly participated in campaigns calling for an end to the U.S. blockade in Cuba and calling out police terror. While completing her degree in forensic psychology at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, a City University of New York college, de la Cruz helped create Palenque. Palenque was a group focused on bringing together young people to study the history of struggles and resistance by marginalized groups. During the Iraq War, de la Cruz organized some of these members as well as church members to rally against the war. She also helped found Da Urban Butterflies, a youth leadership development project for women from Washington Heights and the Bronx. Later on, de la Cruz co-founded The People’s Forum in New York City, a place dedicated to making space for working-class people. De la Cruz is also a mother and a pastor for the United Church of Christ, a Christian denomination that has historically been involved in social justice work.
Karina Garcia grew up in East Harlem, also known as El Barrio, in New York, as well as California. She attended Columbia University on a full scholarship and organized fellow students to speak out against the U.S. invasion of Iraq and to advocate for immigrant rights. After completing a degree in economics, Garcia became a high school math teacher in New York City. During that time, she advised a student group on issues like police brutality and school budget cuts. In 2012, she took up an organizing position at the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice. She is also a mother and writer for Breaking the Chains, a feminist and socialist magazine under the PSL.
What issues are they running on?
On their campaign website de la Cruz and Garcia outline eight main issues they plan on tackling.
The economy:
de la Cruz and Garcia’s campaign addresses how capitalism has impacted society and their plan to change it. de la Cruz and Garcia would turn the 100 largest corporations into public property. This would, “serve as the foundation for a total reorganization of the economy in a way that guarantees that everyone in society will have their basic needs met, massively rebuild urban and rural infrastructure, and bring down prices and rents,” according to their website. Part of the reorganization would include better accessibility to unions, free healthcare, national rent control, canceled student loans, bail bonds, medical and utility debt, and 100% taxing of income and assets over ten million dollars.
The government:
de la Cruz and Garcia believe the current forms of government, from the Supreme Court to the Federal Reserve, to work in favor of the American people. They plan on restoring power to the people by encouraging “youth climate corps, neighborhood associations, student groups, unions, [and] civic organizations” in order to find solutions within the government. Additionally, they plan on getting rid of current systems of incarceration and replacing them with “a justice system aimed at rehabilitation and reintegration into the community.”
Politicians and the wealthy:
Their campaign aims to end politicians’ ability to serve on corporate boards while in office. They also plan on making all political campaigns financed publicly in order to end large donations by billionaires. They would do so by ending Super PACs, which are defined as " independent expenditure-only committees” by OpenSecrets.
Palestine:
de la Cruz and Garcia’s campaign fully supports Palestinian liberation. Both de la Cruz and Garcia have supported Palestine since their college years and through their campaign, they plan on ending U.S. aid to Israel. They also “demand an end to the repression and intimidation of pro-Palestine protesters.”
The Military:
Their campaign demands an end to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the CIA. They also aim to lift all economic sanctions placed on countries like Cuba, Venezuela, and Iran. All proxy wars would come to an end and the trillions of taxpayer money used on war would instead be used “to address the dire crises facing working people.”
Black America:
de la Cruz and Garcia plan to introduce reparations for Black communities across the U.S.. They would institute programs focused on critical race theory in schools in order to teach youth about white supremacy and would expand affirmative action programs. They promise to hold law enforcement responsible for using unnecessary force. Additionally, they aim to “eliminate the huge disparity in maternal mortality rates for Black women,” with a new healthcare system.
Women’s rights and LGBTQ+ Rights:
Abortion without restrictions would become a right for anyone in the country seeking one regardless of their economic situation. Violence towards women would be lowered by creating holistic programs aiming to help women leave abusive situations. They would also add a “provision guaranteeing equal rights for women.” LGBTQ+ people would be provided protection under national legislation in the workplace and all institutions.
Climate Change:
de la Cruz and Garica view private profit as one of the most harmful things for the planet. They aim to make fossil fuel corporations publicly owned and into renewable energy corporations. They view shifting towards a more renewable energy model as a job generator. Farmers, “would implement a democratically-determined plan to reorganize food production on a sustainable basis” and public transportation with electric vehicles would make sure autoworkers are not left unemployed.
What’s their stance on immigration?
de la Cruz and Garcia have not released an official statement on immigration. On Mar. 21 of this year, the pair released a statement on their campaign website regarding Texas Senate Bill 4 (SB4.) According to the American Immigration Council, SB4 “allows local law enforcement to detain and jail people suspected of entering the United States without authorization. It also empowers state judges to issue deportation orders.” It temporarily went into effect on Mar. 19, and de la Cruz and Garcia’s statement largely condemned it. They stated that their campaign supports the rights of immigrants and acknowledged that many leaving their countries were doing so due to “U.S. intervention in their home countries and the domination of U.S. corporations over their economies.” Their view is that the border should be demilitarized but they have not revealed a plan to do so.
What are some Latine voters’ thoughts on de la Cruz and Garcia?
“I feel like when I hear the way that they talk about the communities they’re trying to help, I hear a lot of the questions that I had growing up being answered,” said Gabriela Garcia, a member of the PSL in Los Angeles.
Garcia is Mexican American and supports both candidates and various parts of their platform. “I think it’s time for working-class people and immigrants to come together because I think that we have a lot of power. I’m excited to be able to vote for the first time in a presidential election and actually feel like what I stand for is on the ballot and that I’m actually not compromising any of my values,” said Garcia.
Dímelo reached out for comment from the Avance Democratic Club, which focuses on Democratic Latino voters, and the Los Angeles Hispanic Republican Club and received no response.
Where are they on the ballot?
As of Sept 12, de la Cruz and Garcia are on the ballot in 20 states. They will be available as write-ins in 14 states.
