Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a Democratic congresswoman in the United States Congress, having won the election for the 14th congressional district of New York. She is the youngest woman ever elected to Congress in the history of the United States, at the age of 29
In the legislative elections held on November 6, 2018, she won the seat for the 14th district of New York by a substantial majority of votes.
Ocasio-Cortez was born in the Bronx, New York, on October 13, 1989. She is the daughter of a Puerto Rican mother and a father of Puerto Rican descent, also born in the Bronx. Ocasio-Cortez is a progressive and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. A strong advocate for universal healthcare and the Jobs Guarantee program, she seeks to end the privatization of prisons and supports access to public and free higher education; she is in favor of gun control policies. She also aims to raise taxes on the wealthiest individuals to 70% to fund her Green New Deal initiative, which targets tackling both climate change and income inequality through a massive and costly economic reform.
Since her election, she has faced racist attacks from President Trump himself and his party because of her Latina identity. In July 2019, referring to Ocasio among other Democratic congresswomen, he tweeted, "They should go back and help fix the totally destroyed and crime-infested places." He continued, "It’s very interesting to see the 'progressive' Democratic congresswomen who originally came from countries whose governments are a total and complete catastrophe ... and they aggressively tell the people of the United States ... how our government should be run." To which Ocasio replied, "Mr. President, the country I come from and the country we all take an oath to is the United States," adding, "You’re angry because you can’t conceive of an America that includes us."
In May of that same year, his inclusion alongside Fidel Castro and Kim Jong-un as enemies of the American nation in a tribute video for Memorial Day, broadcast on a minor league baseball scoreboard, sparked significant controversy, which the congresswoman characterized as a message of hatred that had brought her death threats.
In July 2020, she gave a feminist speech at the United States Congress in which she condemned the misogynistic insults she received from Republican legislator Ted Yoho of Florida, who confronted her in the halls of the Capitol, calling her "disgusting, crazy, and dangerous." Ocasio spoke about the normalization of the macho culture in American society and its political class. "We have all had to deal with this, in some way, at some point in our lives," she noted
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has recently made headlines in the Cuban community for urging her followers to boycott Goya products, the largest Latino food company in the United States, which enjoys great popularity among Hispanics in Florida. Its CEO, Robert Unanue, was invited to the White House as part of the launch of the Hispanic Prosperity Initiative, where he offered words of praise for the president that sparked outrage among some Hispanic leaders, including Ocasio. She incited the boycott of Goya products through an ironic tweet in which she said, "Oh, listen, I’m googling how to make my own Adobo," referring to one of the brand's most emblematic products. The hashtag used in the campaign was #Goyaway. Many activists, artists, and Hispanics have joined the support campaign for the famous company founded in 1936 by Unanue's grandfather, a Spanish immigrant.
