Both parties want to win South Florida. Here’s one Cuban activist’s view of the political fight

MIAMI – When Félix Llerena arrived in Miami in 2017, he briefly were given desirous about the town’s politically active community of Cuban exiles. He was once quickly drawn to President Donald Trump for his aggressive approach toward Cuba’s communist government and his mentioned affinity for Cuban American tradition.

Today, Llerena is able to observe for citizenship and vote for the first time. He’s extra skeptical of the former Republican president. And his mom was once in a position to come to the United States previous this 12 months under an immigration program created by way of Democratic President Joe Biden’s management that is admitted tens of hundreds of Cubans and folks from nations with expatriate communities in South Florida.

Both parties’ efforts impact Llerena’s existence and satisfy other priorities he has. While he is leaning towards a Republican candidate subsequent 12 months, he says he tries to steer clear of sticking to one facet.

“I do not worship politicians,” he said. “They are simply doing their job. I do not defend political or partisan interests.”

His tale illustrates how each Republicans and Democrats are perceived by way of South Florida’s powerful bloc of Cuban American voters, which has influenced presidential elections for many years. Even as the Republican Party has made large inroads in Florida’s Latino communities, flipping Miami-Dade County in the governor’s race last year, nationwide Democrats say they may not surrender on Florida and nonetheless suppose it may be a swing state subsequent 12 months.

The parties use sharply other methods and arguments and incessantly paint the different facet as extremist or socialist — an extremely grave insult amongst Cuban exiles.

Democrats have attacked Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, every other GOP presidential candidate, on immigration and generally emphasize their remedy of contemporary border crossers who incessantly come with Cubans, Venezuelans, Haitians and different nationalities broadly represented in Florida. Republicans most often focal point on financial problems and argue Democratic efforts to goal inequality finally end up hurting middle-class households together with Latinos.

Both aspects could have to reply to a Trump criminal trial next year in South Florida on fees that he mishandled categorized information.

The GOP has been successful in Florida since 2016, when Trump flipped a state that two times went for Democrat Barack Obama. That 12 months, Democrats had about 327,000 extra registered electorate in the state. Today, the GOP has a voter-registration merit of about part 1,000,000. And after slightly successful the governor’s race in 2018, DeSantis was once reelected closing 12 months by way of 1.5 million votes.

Last month, the Florida Democratic Party introduced a voter registration effort referred to as “Take Back Florida” to take a look at to regain some misplaced floor. The birthday celebration chair mentioned it will be “all hands on deck” in Miami-Dade, where 60% of the voters are Hispanic.

“What the Democrats have lost are the younger Cuban American voters,” mentioned Dario Moreno, a political science professor at Florida International University.

Llerena, now 27, pays attention to his image, often wearing a suit and a tie at community events. He has appeared on Spanish-language local networks and as a guest of Univision’s Jorge Ramos. He has met with elected officials from both parties in Miami and Washington.

“I may be a ‘muelero,’” he said, an expression for someone with the gift of gab. “But I am pragmatic and realistic.”

Growing up in Cuba, he mentioned, early life are recommended to be dependable to the state and idolize its revolutionaries, fundamental of all Fidel Castro, who ruled Cuba for half a century after overthrowing a U.S.-backed executive in 1959. Castro suppressed dissent, jailed political prisoners, and antagonized Washington for part a century.

“In Cuba, the alphabet is not F for flowers or R for roses,” Llerena said. “F is for Fidel and R is for revolution.”

It wasn’t until he was in his teens and began using Internet cafes that Llerena says he formed different opinions. He paid attention to the U.S.-funded Radio and Television Marti networks. Eventually he began resisting the Castro-led government as a religious freedom and pro-democracy activist.

He remembers being 18 and hearing an announcement from then-President Barack Obama that Washington and Havana would move toward trying to normalize diplomatic relations. He still feels admiration for Obama but also disappointment, saying Cuba ultimately took advantage of him.

“The U.S. gave, gave, gave and Cuba gave nothing in return,” he said. “The reality for the Cuban people remained the same. I never benefited from the thaw, never felt a real change.”

Cuban government agents detained him in 2017 after a visit to the United States that he documented on social media to meet with members of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. He was expelled from his university and forced to sign a warning for public disorder, which human rights groups say Cuba uses to intimidate activists, political opponents and critics. Llerena left Cuba shortly after.

In 2020, Llerena was vocal about his support of Trump, saying those rallies showed the Cuban government that it wasn’t only the aging exiles who arrived after the Cuban Revolution or in the ensuing decades, but those who have come more recently that also support hard-line policies against the Cuban government.

Trump incessantly mentions how Cubans have come to love him. After his arraignment previous this 12 months in the categorized paperwork case Miami, he made a stop at the iconic Cuban restaurant Versailles Cafe and the crowd serenaded him with “Happy Birthday.”

But Llerena said he was offended by the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.

“I have fled a dictatorship where there has been a cult of personality for many decades,” he mentioned. “Politicians are all human beings and they make mistakes. There are many good things to like about Donald Trump, but in others, it was a disaster.”

Llerena a great deal benefited from adjustments carried out by way of Biden to curb the emerging numbers of migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border, together with many Cubans. A lawsuit from Republican-led states items to the humanitarian parole program, which began in 2022 for Venezuelans and was once expanded to migrants from Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua. It lets in up to 30,000 other folks to input the U.S. each and every month to keep for 2 years and get a piece allow.

Llerena mentioned he sought after to observe in an instant for his mom, who he had no longer noticed in additional than 5 years. Anticipating a court docket problem, he filed her software once the program opened.

He praises Biden for his immigration insurance policies and for his fortify for Ukraine towards the Russian invasion, however notes that he does not suppose the Biden management prioritized Cuba. Instead, he prefers two Republican overseas coverage hawks, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and previous Vice President Mike Pence, who each strike him as “presidenciables” — Spanish for presidential.

If Llerena will get his citizenship in time, he most likely may not vote in the state the place he entered American politics. He travels incessantly to Miami for occasions with the exile neighborhood however is now dwelling in Texas — every other state the place the Latino vote is important and the place Republicans have made inroads with Latino electorate to win statewide elections.

“I am obviously Cuban and I am going to die Cuban,” he said. “I have to advocate for my people.”