“The success of a progressive like James Talarico in the Texas election would bring great hope to many other regions in the United States and ultimately prove that America can overcome its present conservative challenges,” writes Rafael Hernandez Guerrero PZ ‘29. “Candidates like James Talarico present a unique chance for progressives to help Democrats gain the upper hand in Congress and prove themselves as representative of working class interests by actually working to reduce the political power wielded by billionaires if they win seats this upcoming election season.”
Tag: Rafael Hernandez Guerrero
OPINION: What Fred Hampton can teach us about coalition-building
“If we are to challenge the elites, organization starts at the smallest scale,” Rafael Hernandez Guerrero PZ ’29 writes. “In reaction to a mistrust of the democratic process at the federal level, we must involve ourselves in a politics in which we can have immediate impact — i.e. the politics at the local level.”
OPINION: Progressives need to take advantage of white working class anti-elite sentiment
“The white working-class, however, is not a monolith; they are a heterogeneous group with varying levels of class consciousness and prejudice,” writes Hernandez Guerrero PZ ‘29. “While progressive factions seek to mobilize the American working-class, they fail to meaningfully engage the bulk of the white working class, instead painting a harmful caricature of an imagined racist and uneducated underclass not even worth engaging with.”
OPINION: Trump’s bigotry drove Latino conservatism
White Democrats are continually baffled by Latinos voting for Trump, a figure who seems to promote the minority as a special target of poisonous hatred. “Are conservative Latinos crazy?” rings the admonishing cry. Rafael Hernandez Guerrero PZ ’29 argues that Latinos for Trump have a logic that, however perverse, is deeply rooted in histories of American imperialism, racism and colonialism.
OPINION: The Mexicanization of American politics brought to you by Trump and the libs
Donald Trump is not a populist. He rose to power in a fashion comparable to that of a “caudillo,” a leader who assumes dictatorial powers and sells the populace the idea that they are the one true savior in times of crisis. Rafael Hernández Guerrero believes that the solution to economic inequality is ultimately economic democracy, not a strongman.