New York Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez (Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, 72) is one of the most influential members of the progressive Democratic caucus in the House of Representatives. With her arrival in Washington in 1993, she made history as the first Hispanic of her party to take over the Capitol where, in addition to her district, she pays particular attention to the issues of Puerto Rico and Latin America.
These concerns have recently focused on extrajudicial attacks on suspected drug traffickers’ boats in international Caribbean waters, which have already resulted in 69 killings. Furthermore, a couple of weeks ago, Velázquez wrote a letter to Treasury Minister Scott Bessent, asking for transparency on the White House’s decision to offer a bailout plan of 40 billion dollars (about 34,575 million euros) to Argentina.
She received EL PAÍS in her office in Williamsburg, a part of the district she represents (and which includes parts of Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan) in a city that has re-elected her 16 times. The appointment was on the eve of the elections which gave the position of mayor to the young democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, whose candidacy the deputy soon supported. Asked what lesson can be learned from a victory like the one that finally occurred — and that Tuesday’s victories in New Jersey, Virginia and California completed a great night for his people — Velázquez responded: “The important thing is the signal we sent to the Republicans: there is an erosion of public support for Donald Trump, whose approval is at rock bottom.”
Ask. This week marks one year since the American president won. How would you define these 12 months?
Answer. As devoid of empathy and full of chaos and cruelty. No respect for the rule of law. We are heading, if we are not already, towards a dictatorship.
Q. Aren’t you afraid of appearing alarmist?
R. Control the three powers of the State. In the legislature, his party abdicates its constitutional responsibility by not opposing the president’s power, because it is afraid of him. That’s the case with (millionaire pedophile Jeffrey) Epstein. (Republican Majority Leader Mike) Johnson is blocking the inauguration of a Democratic representative-elect (Adelita Grijalva, Arizona), because he knows that as soon as he does, we will have enough votes to release documents that may contain Trump’s name. It is a very dark moment, in which those in the majority do not let us do our job, legislate or approve a budget.
Q. Is a government shutdown the only way Democrats can resist?
R. Republicans control both houses, the presidency, and probably even the Supreme Court (with its conservative majority). They don’t have the votes needed to pass the budget. Why should we support them if they refuse to negotiate? We want a written commitment, because we don’t trust it, that says they won’t eliminate health subsidies.
Q. Did Democrats fight Trump enough in those first 10 months of his second presidency?
R. This crisis (the government shutdown) has made it very clear that right now we are protecting Americans, protecting the health care of the people of this country and sending a strong message. The president cannot use the budget to take money away from the most vulnerable, children and the elderly. Eighteen million people could lose health coverage in the name of tax cuts for billionaires. So, when we are clear about what battles we need to fight and what positions we need to take, we win. And this is a lesson we must learn from Mamdani.
Q. Do you agree with the analysis that your party lost the election because it spoke too far to the left?
R. No. I am a committed member of the progressive wing of the parliamentary group, and have done so for 34 years. Many voters distrust us because they think we are too tied to big multinationals and that we are not here to fight for the rights of the working class.
Q. That analysis I was talking about relates more to the issues of the so-called culture wars. Who cared more woke up that the things that really worried voters…
R. We cannot be afraid, nor let the other side define us. We need to talk about the issues that matter to people. Which? Many left this district 30 years ago because of crime, because of drugs, and yet we decided that we needed to fight for the resources to create programs that generate jobs. We cleaned it up, but then sold it to the highest bidder. And so we ended up with (Mayors Michael) Bloomberg and (Rudy) Giuliani… For a long time, people didn’t know who to vote for. But a candidate clearly explaining what his vision is, as Mamdani has done, is enough to excite the base.
Q. Does the party leader for the 2028 presidential elections already exist or will he appear between now and then?
R. In politics a month is an eternity. So there’s still a lot of time. It will come.
Q. This week saw the triumph of a 34-year-old candidate, Mamdani, and the withdrawal of 85-year-old former Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi. Is it time for a generational change?
R. It is happening everywhere and will happen in both parties too. It was one of the greatest honors of my career to work with Pelosi. I have always been amazed by his ability to unite the parliamentary group, as well as his strong leadership. As the first woman to hold the gavel speakerit broke barriers for many of us.
Q. Do you think Trump will send troops to New York to challenge Mamdani’s victory and what do you plan to do to stand up to him?
R. We had meetings and conversations in the field. We will be ready. Public opinion is everything, so we must continue to organize and mobilize, and that’s exactly what we’re doing here in New York City. We won’t wait to see what he does next. We have to move forward and work on the field.
Q. She has been very active about Trump’s help to Argentine President Javier Milei. He also used that help to put pressure on voters in the last elections in the South American country…
R. The fact that the Treasury Secretary did not go to Congress to explain is unacceptable. The Exchange Stability Fund was used in 1995 to provide assistance to Mexico, but this time there was no accountability, transparency or controls. Instead of doing it for economic reasons that benefit the United States or to protect taxpayer money, Trump did it out of ideology, because he wanted to help a conservative and reactionary president and save him in the elections.
Q. A couple of years ago, he introduced a motion in Congress calling for an end to the Monroe Doctrine. Trump is demonstrating a faith that confounds his faithful in interventionism in what Washington called “the backyard.”
R. He is a president who does not respect the law, who believes that it is not convenient for him. What he is demonstrating is his own doctrine, of intervention without transparency and without any consultation (in Congress). This represents a setback in attempts to improve relations with Latin America.
Q. Is it a distraction maneuver?
R. Every time you feel threatened, you create a crisis. It is clear with the tariffs. He has no coherent economic policy, but rather a plan based on loyalty and personal grudges. He didn’t like what Brazil did to Bolsonaro (former president Jair) and imposed a 50% tax on him. As for Venezuela, they have not yet provided any evidence (that those boats were carrying drugs). It is a violation of our American and international laws.
Q. Do you believe Trump when he says he has no intention of launching a military operation on the ground in Venezuela?
R. I want to believe him, but he’s a persistent liar. He does not respect the law and has no self-control when he feels threatened.
Q. Taking into account the phenomenal deployment of warships and troops already present in the Caribbean… could you back out at this point?
R. It doesn’t seem easy. The operation represents an extraordinary expenditure of taxpayers’ money.
Q. Do you agree with those analyzing that behind these attacks in the Caribbean lies the desire to overthrow the Chavista regime?
R. The only thing I can tell you is that they have not provided any evidence. He says he’s doing it for safety and to protect the country, when the big problem in the United States is fentanyl, and it’s not produced in Venezuela; He comes from Mexico. We don’t even have data on the survivors of the shipwreck. If they are guilty of a crime, why not bring them here for trial?
Q. Even the Washington ecosystem doesn’t seem very concerned about these people…
R. At first, almost no one talked about these attacks, not even in Congress. But things are changing, both in the case of Venezuela and in the case of tariffs. It would be desirable for the international community and the United Nations to protest what is happening in the Caribbean, raising the issue, including how Puerto Rico is being militarized and used as a platform to attack Venezuela. Isn’t this treating Puerto Rico practically like a colony?
Q. What political future do you see for the island?
R. Puerto Rico will never become a state, because the Senate needs 60 votes, and this will never happen. But we must be very careful when we say this. We cannot decolonize Puerto Rico by imposing statehood, just because it is politically convenient for some here on the continent. Republicans don’t want it because they believe Puerto Rico will vote Democrat. But that should not be the issue, but rather our moral obligation to decolonize Puerto Rico, to provide a mechanism that allows the people of Puerto Rico to decide their own future.
Q. Does this include independence?
R. It could be independence. It could be a regime of free association, but never the current status, because it is now a colony.
