After voting twice for Donald Trump, a Cuban resident in Miami decided to turn her back on the Republican Party. The rising cost of living, increasingly expensive health insurance, and the deportations of immigrants led her to change her political stance and support Democratic candidates in the .
This is Mayumi Castro Fernández, 54 years old, who obtained U.S. citizenship in 2013 and works as a cleaner for airplanes at Miami International Airport.
In an interview published on October 31 by the Miami Herald, the Cuban explained that, after years of supporting Trump, she decided to leave her Republican affiliation and register as a voter without a party affiliation.
"If after all these years they have not fulfilled their promises... I don't need to wait another two years to say: 'We'll see what happens'," he expressed.
"Right now, I'm choosing another side," he added.
His change of stance went beyond just words. Castro Fernández is actively participating in the campaign of the Democrat Eliott Rodríguez, who is attempting to seize the seat of Florida's Congressional District 27 from the Cuban-American Republican María Elvira Salazar.
The woman is a member of the 32BJ SEIU service workers' union, whose members engage in electoral mobilization activities in support of Rodríguez.
He reported that during his visits to various neighborhoods in Miami, he talks to residents about the issues that most impact their family economy.
The rising costs of gasoline, food, and rent frequently emerge as the main concerns that are heard.
Castro Fernández shares these concerns. She believes that the economic situation in Florida, particularly in Miami, has become increasingly difficult for those who rely on their wages.
The deportations also influenced his decision
Beyond the economic issues, the Trump administration's immigration policy was another crucial factor in its change of stance.
The Cuban explained that she remembered the president's promises to deport immigrants with criminal records, but she did not expect that the immigration operations would also end up affecting families that had been established in the United States for decades.
In the interview, he mentioned the case of a family that had been living in the United States for 20 years. Their children were born there and attended university, while their parents remained in hiding out of fear of ICE agents.
In September, María Elvira Salazar publicly questioned Trump's immigration policies, warning that they had gone too far and that some Hispanic voters felt betrayed.
However, her rival Eliott Rodríguez has questioned the congresswoman's legislative support for measures that allocated greater resources to federal immigration agencies.
Are Cuban Americans changing their minds?
Castro Fernández's experience aligns with the discontent reflected in some surveys among Hispanic voters, although his individual decision does not necessarily represent a widespread trend within the Cuban exile community.
In fact, a study from Florida International University (FIU), recently released, revealed that 76% of Cuban Americans surveyed in Miami-Dade oppose the increase in deportations of Cubans without legal status and without criminal records.
However, 68% expressed their intention to vote for Republican candidates in the legislative elections. The survey was conducted between September 4 and September 29 with 1,004 adult Cuban Americans.
The report from the Miami Herald also identified a trend that nuances the experience of Castro Fernández: between October 2024 and October 2026, the number of Hispanics registered as Republicans in Miami-Dade increased by more than 14,000, while approximately 9,500 Hispanic voters left the Democratic registration.
Castro Fernández assures that he will continue to observe the performance of the politicians he currently supports.
His support for the Democrats, as he explained, will also depend on whether they fulfill their promises regarding better wages, healthcare, and living conditions for workers.
He even warned that if he doesn't see results within two years, he will take to the streets again to advocate for a new political change.
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