Calls on Blanco to apologize or withdraw
The Irina Vilariño Campaign for Congress in Florida 26 today issued the following statement:
“Leaders of candidate Omar Blanco’s campaign organization have already launched offensive and personal attacks against Irina Vilariño in a ‘dice and slice’ strategy that signals how ugly Blanco’s campaign intends to be.
“In an August 20th Twitter post, a key Blanco advisor tweeted about Irina’s arrival during the Mariel Boatlift in 1980 and her background as a Marielita, suggesting that she would have to resort to extraordinary campaign tactics to overcome this obstacle.
“Our campaign finds this type of derogatory language offensive. How Blanco could permit his campaign leadership to stoop to such early slurs is repulsive and is not just an insult to Irina but to the other many hundreds of thousands of Cuban exiles who have fled communism in search of the freedom offered on American shores.
“Irina is extremely proud of the fact that her family arrived in the United States with nothing. They started a produce stand and today, because of their tireless work, the family operates multiple restaurants and has employed thousands of residents in our community. Like the Vilariño family, there are tens of thousands of stories of families from Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti, Colombia, Venezuela, and countless others, that because of their work ethic are a testament to America’s exceptionalism. On behalf of the Marielitos who have worked hard and are part of the South Florida success story, we call on Omar Blanco to publicly apologize and to ask for the resignation of his campaign advisors who have engaged in this behavior and to apologize.
“Blanco has rapidly shown himself to be incapable of appealing to Miami’s diverse communities and with such tactics will be unelectable. For the sake of human decency and our effort to win back Congressional District 26, his behavior should change immediately, or he should withdraw.”
