Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez argued Monday that some Latino people are black during an interview about how the pandemic is impacting the Latino community.
“I always say Latinos are black. We are Afro-Latina and we — we run an entire racial spectrum,” she said during an interview on Telemundo. Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive Democrat, is running for re-election after beating former New York Rep. Joe Crowley in 2018.
Ocasio-Cortez went on to suggest that people should have discussions about the “African and indigenous roots from which we come and how that’s reflected in systems of power, wealth inequality and, frankly, our political system.”
She faces stiff competition this election year from former journalist Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, among other candidates. Caruso-Cabrera has raised about $2 million. Ocasio-Cortez tried throughout the interview Monday to create the perception that black people and Latinos in the United States face similar struggles.
“African-Americans have some of the highest mortality rates in the country due to COVID, but in terms of our — our Latino community here in the United States, we are bearing some of the largest economic brunts of COVID-19. We are experiencing the highest unemployment rates and job displacement due to the mass layoffs,” she said.
Ocasio-Cortez was referring to the impact the coronavirus pandemic is having on minority communities. Coronavirus, or COVID-19, originated in Wuhan, China, before spreading globally to the United States, where it has reportedly killed more than 120,000.
Ocasio-Cortez has not replied to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment for clarification.
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