Julio Ricardo Varela

Will Biden Feel the Bad Bunny Effect and Mention Puerto Rico in SOTU? (OPINION)

First Lady Jill Biden appeared as a presenter at the Grammys on Sunday, just minutes after Bad Bunny gave an unapologetically Puerto Rican performance to open the show. Will her husband face the music and say something about Puerto Rico in his State of the Union address Tuesday night?

  • Feb 7, 2023
  • 3:21 PM

In Futuro Media’s First-Ever Political Poll, DeSantis Has Highest Favorable Rating With Florida Latino Voters

In the first battleground state political poll from Futuro Media that spans three key states and issues important to the U.S. Latino community, Florida governor Ron DeSantis has the highest favorable rating with the state’s Latino voters in the leadup to the 2022 midterms.

  • Oct 25, 2022
  • 6:00 AM

10 Takeaways of NBC News/Telemundo Poll Reveal How Complex Latino Voters Really Are

A new NBC News/Telemundo poll released on Sunday concluded that “Democrats lead Republicans by more than 20 points among Latino voters, but that Democratic advantage has declined from previous election cycles.” A deeper look into the poll reveals more takeaways that reflect just how complex the Latino vote is in 2022. 

  • Oct 4, 2022
  • 2:15 PM

Passing the Baton at Latino Rebels

I will cheer from the sidelines, but the days of working the daily grind for Latino Rebels are over for me. Now there is a solid core team who will take over.

  • Aug 26, 2022
  • 4:59 PM

In Latest Quinnipiac National Poll, 110 ‘Self-Identified’ Latinos Give Biden a 24% Approval Rating

“The recent national survey conducted from June 3-6, 2022 reported results for 110 self-identified Hispanic adults with a margin of sampling error of +/- 9.3 percentage points,” Quinnipiac’s polling team told me Monday in an email.

  • Jun 13, 2022
  • 3:44 PM

Illinois Senators Are Latest Co-Sponsors of Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act

While movement this week from the House Committee on Natural Resources is likely focusing on a consensus Puerto Rico Status Act for a hearing before the August recess that could get the draft bill past committee and onto the House floor, Illinois’ two Senators have added their name to a growing list of upper chamber co-sponsors of a current self-determination bill that contains no consensus provisions with the island-colony’s statehood proponents.

  • Jun 10, 2022
  • 5:54 PM

A New 105-Page Report Provides an Even Deeper Look Into Why US Latinos Voted the Way They Did in 2020

“What we saw really was big movement among a small set of voters,” Carlos Odio, co-founder of Equis Labs, told Latino Rebels on Tuesday.

  • Dec 14, 2021
  • 10:00 AM

Proponents of 2021 Self-Determination Act for Puerto Rico Make New Push to House Committee Members

Organizations supporting the Self-Determination Act of 2021 (H.R. 2070) for Puerto Rico have initiated a series of nationwide actions directed at key House members of the Natural Resources Committee—details of which will be shared at a Wednesday noon press conference outside the White House in Washington, D.C.

  • Sep 29, 2021
  • 6:30 AM

Puerto Rico Independence Advocates Announce August 15 ‘NO to Statehood, YES to Decolonization’ Marches

Organizers shared a lengthy statement about the demonstrations.

  • Aug 11, 2021
  • 4:44 PM

New Poll Says That 70 Percent of Likely U.S. Voters Favor Earned Pathway to Citizenship

According to the poll, 82 percent of Democrats favor such a solution, along with 75 percent of Independents. In addition, a majority of Republican voters —53 percent— express support, although 26 percent said they “strongly oppose” it.

  • Aug 4, 2021
  • 10:45 AM

Are There Early Signs of a Compromise to Finally Solve Puerto Rico’s Status Debate?

Are we finally seeing something different here?

  • Aug 3, 2021
  • 6:02 PM

Latino Rebels Celebrates 10 Years

Ten years later, Latino Rebels has become a foundational tenet of the Latino digital journalism space.

  • May 5, 2021
  • 9:57 AM

A 63-Page Detailed Analysis of 2020 Latino Voters Is Exactly What Everyone Needs to Read Right Now

The simplest answer for Democrats is to treat Latino voters like the persuadable voters they are,” Carlos Odio of Equis told Latino Rebels.

  • Apr 2, 2021
  • 11:37 AM

Led by Velázquez, Ocasio-Cortez and Menendez, 83 Congressional Sponsors Submit Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act

“While many may disagree about the future of Puerto Rico’s status, we must recognize that the decision should come from those who will be impacted most: the people of Puerto Rico,” Velázquez said.

  • Mar 18, 2021
  • 9:11 PM

Is Ranked-Choice Voting the Way to Solve Puerto Rico’s Statehood Debate?

“We find that statehood starts off at a lower level of support when other options are present, though ultimately it wins in each case,” the authors wrote.

  • Mar 11, 2021
  • 9:27 PM

Velázquez and Ocasio-Cortez Respond to Pierluisi’s Puerto Rico Statehood Push, and (as Expected) They’re Not Supporting It

“The principled position, especially for the head of that colonizing power, is to say that people should have a process of self-determination and to not put your thumb on the scale of one direction or another,” Ocasio-Cortez told Axios.

  • Mar 5, 2021
  • 8:17 AM

More Than 80 Progressive Groups, Including National Urban League and Indivisible, Send Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act Letter to Schumer and Pelosi

The letter was dated the day after Puerto Rico statehood advocates formally introduced a bipartisan Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act of 2021 to the House.

  • Mar 4, 2021
  • 8:00 AM

The Day a Bipartisan Statehood Bill With 52 Co-Sponsors Is Introduced to the House, Pierluisi Says Fight in Senate Will Be ‘Tougher’

“I have no doubt this bill get a vote on the floor of the House when the time comes. In the case of the Senate, I do admit that the going will be tougher, but we’ll fight, we’ll fight the fight,” Pierluisi said.

  • Mar 2, 2021
  • 10:01 PM

Puerto Rico Senate President Says Statehood Vote Was Valid, But Still Merits Direct Response From Congress and Insists That Public Funds Can’t Be Used

“I have the firm conviction that the vote in favor of statehood must receive a direct and honest response from the U.S. Congress and from all who have a responsibility for their consequences,” Dalmau said in Spanish. “Yet, what was never consulted with the people of Puerto Rico was the use of public funds that would pay for the exorbitant salaries of six people who will pretend to go to Washington and do the same functions that three past Resident Commissioner of the statehood party have been doing for the last 17 years. That would be to lobby in favor of the election. That spending item was never part of the ballot.”

  • Feb 22, 2021
  • 9:24 AM

Senate Majority Leader Schumer Says He Won’t Support Statehood Bill for Puerto Rico

“I don’t agree with them. I am not going to support their statehood bill until we straighten Puerto Rico out,” Schumer said.

  • Feb 19, 2021
  • 12:48 PM

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