BTN STAFF
Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis is facing criticism for his recent comments regarding the state’s recent rise in COVID-19 cases. A couple weeks ago, DeSantis stated that the number one outbreak “is in agricultural communities.” Then last week he added that “overwhelmingly Hispanic” farmworkers and day laborers were the leading source of the new cases.
On Monday (June 22nd), some Florida Latino Democratic and civil rights leaders took offense to the governor’s comments and demanded he apologize for it. During a press call Florida State Representative Javier Fernández said: “We’re living in very dark and sad times,” when the governor places blame not on “his failed leadership but on some of the most vulnerable members of our community here in Florida.”
DeSantis, who is an ally of Pres. Trump, supported the idea of building a wall during his campaign for governor in 2018. Oscar Londoño, executive director of a Latino organization called ‘We Count!’ thinks that DeSantis comments are reflective of his history. “His messaging continues to try to stoke nativism, racism, and anti-immigrant sentiment across the state of Florida,” said Londoño. To read more about this story click here.