LAS VEGAS.- In an election year, some presidential candidates attend the NALEO Educational Fund Annual Conference, but this year President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump rejected the invitation.
“We are very disappointed that We will not have with us the presence of either of the two main candidates for the presidency of the United StatesPresident Biden and President Trump,” Vargas said in an interview prior to the start of the annual meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The renowned activist pointed out that the presence of presidential candidates is important at this event – organized by and for Latino officials throughout the country, at the local, state and federal level – as a way of sending a message to Latino voters of the importance that they have in the American electoral process.
“It is an opportunity that they themselves are not taking into account. [su] importance”Vargas lamented. “Of this audience that we are meeting here are officials at the local level who are handling the issues that, in many ways, want to be in collaboration with the federal government and it is important that anyone who wants to be president of the United States knows well the priorities , the concerns that officials have at the local level throughout the country.”
Last year, at the meeting in New York, presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. attended, when he was still a candidate for the Democratic Party. Months later he decided to compete independently.
The election year is key
Vargas highlighted that this year’s NALEO conference is particularly important due to the current political scenario in the US and the ongoing electoral process and Nevada is a key statewhere even the Latino vote will be essential.
“This state precisely because it is at stake for the elections and we want to elevate the Latino electorate of Nevada and the impact it will have on the elections in this state, but also at the national level,” Vargas said.
Can Latinos tilt the vote to one side or the other?Vargas was questioned, who responded forcefully, without a doubt, about the importance of the Latino vote.
“No, no, it’s not like they can [hacer], they are going to do it. Latino voters have shown here that they can make a difference in elections at the national level and we hope to see that impact again,” she explained.
An agenda for the future
NALEO focuses its agenda on the importance of Nevada as a key entity in the 2024 election, but also on the emergence of new leaders and the challenges represented by new technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence.
“We are addressing the most important issues, everything that has to do with, for example, Artificial Intelligence,” he explained.
The perspective is that local officials have a clear idea about this technology and how they can take advantage of it in their daily work and relationship with their communities.
“At the national level we have a thousand people who are going to meet here, many of them are councilors at the municipal level, they are mayors, they are commissioners at the county level, we have state legislators […] In other words, we have representatives from all levels of government, which is something that very few organizations can have this type of government representation at the local, state and federal level.”
The presence of the federal government
Members of the Biden Administration cabinet participate in the event, Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), and Julie Su, Acting Secretary of the Department of Labor.
Tom Pérez, senior advisor to the White House, will also participate, it was reported at the last minute.
Vargas acknowledged that there is still a long way to go in terms of high-level Latino officials.
“At this moment we have, I think there are two members of the cabinet who are Latino and we have had more, but there are also many more who have been appointed to different levels of the federal government,” he highlighted. “It is something that we are dedicated to encouraging and supporting those who want to serve the public, in the administration, whether Democrat or Republican, because we know that it is important to have in the Government individuals who know what the priorities are, the needs of the community Latina at the national level.”
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