Cuban-American Francis Suárez is re-elected as mayor of Miami

The mayor of Miami, Francis Suarez, was re-elected this Tuesday by almost 80 percent of the votes for a second four-year term as head of the city and He promised to make Miami the pride of the United States and "the capital of capital."

In his speech to celebrate the victory, Suárez thanked his followers and his campaign team, as well as family and friends who joined him at The Wharf restaurant.

"Miami, the magical city, is back. Today we embark on a new chapter, a journey together to finish what we started to create the most fair and successful city in our country. To create a model that can become into a model for the United States, which brings prosperity and peace not only to Miamians but to this entire nation," Suárez said at the beginning of a speech that he gave in both English and Spanish.

The mayor promised to keep taxes low, facilitating what he defined as "the success of the private sector." He also promised "the most dynamic technology economy in the world" and turning Miami into "a center of cryptocurrencies and finance and the capital of capital."

He promised to increase funding for the police, and build more affordable housing using public lands for public good and give all children the opportunity to succeed no matter where they are born.

"We are going to do this united, not divided. We are going to do this by being humble. We are going to do this by working hard, not worrying about who gets the credit, ignoring the haters, and finally, by the grace of God," he concluded .

During his first term as mayor, Francis Suárez managed to get many technology firms to establish themselves in Miami, although his detractors criticize him for, in his desire to transform the city into a hub of innovation, he has left aside some needs of the residents, according to local media point out.

He defends himself by claiming that he did not change the services for the ordinary people of the city, but that “it is about ensuring the future of young people.”

Suárez achieved re-election against businessman Max Martínez, Marie Exantus, former police officer Frank Pichel and lawyer Mayra Joli, whose name appeared on the ballot although she does not reside in the city.

The Miami mayoral race is non-partisan and although Francis Suárez is registered as a Republican, he sometimes criticized the former president Donald Trump and to the governor Ron DeSantis, for their insistence on prohibiting local municipalities from imposing the mandatory use of masks.

Son of Xavier Suárez, former mayor of the same city, Before being first elected as Miami's mayor in 2017, Francis served two terms as a commissioner.

In addition to Miami, thousands of voters from several South Florida cities also went to the polls to elect their mayors and commissioners.

Another city in this district that elected a new mayor is Hialeah, with a majority of Cuban residents, where five candidates ran to replace the outgoing Carlos Hernández. The winner was Esteban Bovo, with 12,837 votes in his favor (59%). In Miami Beach, Mayor Dan Gelber was re-elected with 7,742 votes (62%).