In The Community
The number of Latina women in American politics is growing with the addition of Claudia De la Cruz and Karina Garcia. The duo is running for President and Vice President of the United States as candidates for the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL). De la Cruz and Garcia are running on an audacious anti-capitalism platform for the 2024 Presidential Elections. Their candidacies are a bold departure from the mainstream, as their stated goal is to dismantle capitalism and usher in a fairer, more equitable society based on socialist principles.
In a recent interview with “Refinery 29,” De la Cruz and Garcia discuss their political career and what life experiences eventually led them to embrace their current political and economic views. Both De la Cruz and Garcia come from working-class backgrounds and have been shaped by their experiences growing up in marginalized communities. De la Cruz, raised in the South Bronx by Dominican immigrants, was exposed to liberation theology and socialist ideas at a young age, while Garcia, the daughter of Mexican immigrants, became aware of the injustices of capitalism through her activism against sweatshop labor.
In working with the United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS), Garcia understood that the problem was a systemic one. She noticed that no matter how many brands invested in being ethical and sustainable, there would always be others doing the opposite for the sake of the bottom line. “The logic of capitalism doesn't allow for ‘good capitalist companies’ because there is the endless, unlimited drive for creating profit. That’s what got me into anti-capitalist politics,” she told “Refinery 29.”
De la Cruz and Garcia’s decision to run for office is motivated by a deep dissatisfaction with the political landscape as it is now. They highlight the failure of both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party to address issues like poverty, immigration, foreign policy, student debt, and the climate crisis.
Rather than aligning themselves with established parties, De la Cruz and Garcia advocate for a radical alternative that will serve their communities. Together, they seek to build their own party to ignite a movement independent of capitalist systems, with the ultimate goal of dismantling capitalism entirely.
Their platform includes seizing control of the 100 largest corporations in the U.S. and turning them into public property, as well as prioritizing international solidarity and collaboration in foreign policy. The concept of government nationalizing private industry isn’t a new one, and foreign countries with established democracies, like Canada and Germany, have nationalized private corporations as recently as 2022.
They argue that the capitalist system prioritizes the interests of the wealthy elite at the expense of the working class, both domestically and globally, and they view their campaign as a crucial step towards building a broader socialist movement in the country.
They acknowledge their almost non-existent chances of victory given the way socialism is perceived in the U.S., and the structural barriers that favor a two-party system. At this point, it’s unclear how many state ballots they would even appear on as presidential candidates.
However, they believe that voting for the lesser of two evils perpetuates a flawed political system, and they advocate for concrete solutions that address the root causes of societal problems. “Anti-socialist sentiment has become like a second religion in the U.S., [and this happened] precisely because socialism speaks to working-class people because it places working-class people's needs at the forefront and [because] we see the capitalist system that we live up under, that has been imposed on us as a dictatorship of billionaires who plays a political class, to advance ruling class interest rather than ours,” asserted De la Cruz in the “Refinery 29” interview.
They believe that by challenging capitalist ideology's dominance in American politics and providing an alternative that resonates with millions who want to dismantle systems of oppression, De la Cruz and Garcia are paving the way for a more transformative vision of society—one that prioritizes the needs of the many over the interests of the few.
De la Cruz expressed this sentiment clearly in the “Refinery 29” interview, saying, “We don't want to deal with the symptoms of capitalism. We need to deal with the actual illness, and the biggest illness that we are dealing with globally is a capitalist system. We need to be able to create another structure. Voting for the lesser of two evils is not a strategy we should continue to entertain.”
De la Cruz and Garcia acknowledge that they’re not the first socialists to run for President and Vice President in a fervently capitalist country, but they’re committed to seeing their ideals put into practice and showing Americans a different perspective by presenting the possibility of a third party, and the options that it can bring to the table for all.
In our home everyone proudly walks in on election day with their “I Voted” sticker. That’s just the way I grew up. Every election, local or national, my family voted. When I was little, my parents typically would go to a polling location near my elementary school or somewhere near our house. I remember going with them and feeling the excitement build as my parents filled in the bubbles.
Photo Credit: Sophia Arredondo Stringer
This year, I will be voting for the first time. My mom and I recently had a conversation about why it’s so important to vote in this election. She told me that voting was significant for her because her family immigrated from Mexico to the United States and had to work hard to become naturalized citizens in order to exercise their right to vote. She herself was born on this side of the border so the right was automatically granted to her. She also reminded me that it was only 100 years ago that women gained the right to vote and just over 50 years since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. She told me we should never take our right to vote for granted. With that conversation, it hit me. I am a young Black and Latinx voter. I come from two beautiful cultures that worked immensely hard for their right to vote in this country–for the right to be represented.
The Black side of my family, my paternal side, has never been able to fully track our family history because of slavery. What I do know is that I am a descendent of enslaved people from the South. Strong people. Resilient people. The elders in my family grew up during the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War, at a time when thousands of Black men were drafted to fight in the war but faced intimidation and racism when trying to vote in the country they fought for. Even today, I know that voter suppression is still very real in many parts of the country.
I think about my family today and the world around me. With this pandemic, we had to celebrate my high school graduation with family driving through with signs. There have been a number of family members who have contracted COVID-19 and we worry for their lives. Amidst it all we have protests fighting for racial equality and justice. Between the new stories of innocent lives lost, police abusing their power, families in distress, and loved ones becoming sick, I am considering it all as I approach this election.
When the election happens, I will be away at college, or at least I think I will be. With the pandemic, nothing is certain. I’m trying to balance staying informed about the presidential election, COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement on top of getting ready to leave for a school 1,000 miles away. I’m just 18 years old and to put it simply, I’m already exhausted.
While there is a lot I don’t know about the near future, what I do know is that now it’s my turn to vote and I won’t take this opportunity for granted. When I reflect on what I want in a president, I know that not all my criteria can be met. However, I’ll vote for who can advance issues that matter to me such as women’s rights: eliminating the gender pay gap, protecting women’s rights to their own body without government control, the right to have birth control covered by our health insurance. I also care about affordable housing, universal health care, racial justice, and equity and access to higher education. I believe a president should be a leader to all, not just the wealthy or elite. And although I don’t know who will win the 2020 presidential election, I know that the issues that matter to me don’t matter to our current President. This is why I will be voting for Biden.
Now as I approach my first election, I want to make sure other young people vote too.
My generation is often quick to take to social media with our opinions but we must also take action with our votes. I hope that we all wear our “I Voted” stickers on November 3, 2020 and reflect on those who struggled before us to earn the right to have their voices heard.