WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador weighed in on the US presidential race and urged Florida voters not to support Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Obrador said DeSantis is playing politics with migrants and hopes Florida’s Hispanics won’t give him a single vote.
The unusual statement also appears to be met with some skepticism in South Florida.
“I think his criticism of DeSantis, by DeSantis, is like an endorsement,” Jorge Garrido of the nonpartisan group Hispanic Vote of Palm Beach County told WPTV.
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Over the past few election cycles, Hispanic voters have become more important to candidates.
DeSantis successfully wooed the Cuban vote in Miami-Dade County on his way to winning re-election last November.
“I wish Hispanic voters understood what the governor did when we passed the immigration bill,” said state Sen. Lori Berman, D-Boynton Beach. “It’s a very anti-immigrant bill.”
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“I think it’s going to be more important for Republicans,” said Peter Feaman of the Republican National Committee. “I don’t think the Democrats or the Democratic Party understand that this open border policy is not favored by Hispanic voters who have come here legally.”
Garrido said immigration is just one issue, and Hispanic voters in Cuba, South and Central America have different experiences and issues.
“Unifying the Hispanic vote behind a political party is not something that’s going to be possible,” Garrido said.
