From "Miss Beans" to "breakfast tacos": anti-Hispanic bias and racism in the electoral race

The attacks on the Mexican-born congresswoman add to the racist comparisons to appeal to Hispanic voters

Mayra Flores, the first Mexican-born congresswoman, has once again been the victim of progressive media attacks. This time, a blogger funded by Democratic Congressman Vicente Gonzalez has insulted the Republican representative with the nicknames "Miss Beans," "Miss Enchilada" or "lying cotton picker."

The insults come just days after The McHale Report blog received a $1,200 check from Gonzalez's campaign funds for "advertising services," according to the Democrats' Federal Election Commission finance report uncovered by NBC. The result: dozens of insults to the congresswoman and not a single Gonzalez ad.

The blog has a real obsession with the congresswoman, to whom it dedicates all kinds of memes, insults and defamations. The attacks, according to The Texas Tribune, have provoked criticism even within the Democratic Party. Vicente González, Mayra Flores' rival in the race for the 34th district of Texas, said he was unaware of these insults and pledged not to give any more money to the blogger.

 

Mayra Flores en Blog McHalen
Meme of Mayra Flores (The McHalen Blog)

It is just one more example of the campaign against the congresswoman. Mayra Flores herself reviews on Twitter the insults received from the extreme left so far this summer. Gonzalez's 'apologies', on the other hand, do not sound very convincing either. He simply insists that he was unaware of the content of the blog and takes advantage of the media echo to lash out against Trump.

The Hispanic voter, underappreciated: #WeAreNotTacos

Mayra Flores made history by becoming the first congresswoman born in Mexico. She managed to win the 34th district of Texas, traditionally Democratic, and since then she has aroused criticism from the Democratic environment and the establishment, where her slogan "God, country and family" does not seem to have gone down well.

The attacks on Flores take place in a context in which the parties are trying to attract the Hispanic vote, aware of the importance of the Hispanic-American community in the electoral future. The Democrats, traditional recipients of the Hispanic vote, see how it is moving to the Republican side and try to react.

However, they do not always do it in the right way. An example is the episode starring Jill Biden a few days ago. The first lady wrecked in her attempt to reach out to the community by talking about Hispanics as "breakfast tacos". Biden's statements provoked complaints from several associations and sparked the #WeAreNotTacos movement on social networks. The community does not want to be treated as captive voters of prejudice and racism.