By The Star Staff
Popular Democratic Party (PDP) President Jesús Manuel Ortiz González and the party’s secretary of federal and international affairs (SAAFI by its Spanish initials), Pablo José Hernández Rivera, on Tuesday will begin meetings in Orlando, Florida with members of the Puerto Rican diaspora to discuss the 2024 election.
Ortiz González also announced that he will soon appoint a liaison with the diaspora who will work within SAAFI.
“The Puerto Rican community in the states maintains a strong connection with island affairs,” Ortiz González said. “Those thousands of Puerto Rican brothers and sisters have historically worked closely with the PDP, and we will make sure those efforts resume. The PDP will strengthen ties with our people and insert them into the important issues we will work on for Puerto Rico.”
Both Ortiz González and Hernández Rivera established that the mission in Orlando is to organize PDP supporters in the diaspora to promote the pro-commonwealth party’s agenda, include Puerto Rico in U.S. politics, mobilize the resources of the diaspora to support the PDP in the elections through fundraising or remote volunteering, and support the needs of the diaspora from Puerto Rico.
“Throughout the history of Puerto Ricans in the United States, to the extent that they are integrated into the political process, whether as Democrats, Republicans, or independents, they have made progress by occupying elective positions or generating media space in favor of [Puerto Rico’s] causes,” Hernández Rivera said. “We celebrate and promote that.”
Hernández Rivera has particular experience in this type of work, since he served as coordinator of the PDP’s absentee voting campaign during the 2008 election season.
Pablo Cáceres Pérez, a Puerto Rican community leader who will participate in the meetings, pointed out that “to the extent that we strengthen the ties of collaboration and support, we are advancing as a society.”
The former director of the Florida regional office of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration pointed out that “all Puerto Ricans must mobilize and exercise the right to vote.”
“Additionally, we must remain alert on important issues that affect our communities inside and outside the island, such as health, education, and public safety, among others,” Cáceres Pérez said.
The PDP officials will also meet with the nonprofit, nonpartisan organization Mi Familia Vota, dedicated to building Latino political power by expanding the electorate, strengthening local infrastructure, and engaging voters all year round.
“Respecting the principles of neutrality of this organization, we endorse its work to promote that more Latinos and particularly Puerto Ricans are part of the political processes in their communities,” the PDP president said.
Mi Familia Vota currently operates in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Texas.
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