The Ecuadorian migrant who is running for the Senate says that she has been a victim of violence in the country with the murder of her father.
Debbie Mucarsel-Powell with members of the United States Coast Guard, on August 7, 2023.
The former Democratic congresswoman of Ecuadorian origin Debbie Mucarsel-Powell announced that she will participate in the 2024 elections for being a senator from Florida, in the United States.
That position is currently held by former Florida Governor Rick Scott.
“I am an immigrant, a Latina and a mother. I’m not afraid to compete with anyone who doesn’t put Florida first. This message is for you, Rick Scott. That is why I am running for the Senate,” he announced in a message on the X network (formerly known as Twitter).
In his first campaign video, Mucarsel-Powell, 52, defended Medicare – health insurance for the elderly – and gun control.
Also, he promised to fight so that all people in the United States, “regardless of where they come from”, can fulfill their “dream” and exercise their rights.
In addition, he made a play on words with the initials of his name “DMP”, which he said mean ” Don’t Mess with my People”, which in Spanish is equivalent to “Do not mess with my people”. He lashed out at Scott, whom he accused of enriching himself and trying to violate the rights of the people as governor and later senator.
In 2018, Mucarsel-Powell, who came to the United States when he was 14 years old, became the first person born in South America to reach the United States Congress. She points this out in a video posted on X, as well as the fact that she worked at a donut chain for minimum wage.
In 2020, the Ecuadorian migrant lost her seat in the House of Representatives, in 2020, which passed into the hands of Republican Carlos Giménez, former mayor of Miami-Dade.
Since then, Mucarsel-Powll has served as a Florida adviser and spokesperson for the gun control organization led by former Democratic congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who suffered severe brain damage from a 2011 shooting in Arizona.
In the video he mentions that his father, Guido Mucarsel Yunes, a businessman of Brazilian origin, died in Guayaquil (Ecuador) due to armed violence.
The former congresswoman has publicly denounced the ultra-conservative policies of the current Florida governor, Republican Ron DeSantis, on issues such as abortion, gender identity and the carrying of weapons.
Due to his origin, Mucarsel-Powll was pending the extraordinary elections in Ecuador, which were held on August 20, 2023, in which the candidates Daniel Noboa and Luisa González will go to the second round.
