Florida’s Latino vote is a crucial part of a winning strategy in the Sunshine State. The demographic shifts in recent years because of natural, financial, and governmental disasters has led to a big Puerto Rican diaspora in Florida. President Trump’s handling of the Hurricane Maria recovery has left Puerto Ricans upset with the administration.

Joe Biden and President Donald Trump are battling for Florida’s Latino voters.

Joe Biden's campaign is hiring more staff in Florida and increasing spending on Spanish-language advertising in response to a push from President Trump's re-election campaign to win over young Latino voters there. https://t.co/e3Yln0LiMb

— NPR Politics (@nprpolitics) September 24, 2020

Both the Democratic and Republican nominees are making concerted efforts to shore up Latino support in Florida. There are 3.1 million eligible Latino voters in the swing state and make up a crucial voting bloc. While a large number are conservative Cubans and Cuban-Americans, there are also other Latino communities representing different parts of Latin America.

The polling tells a story of two candidates locked in a heated race for the Latino vote in Florida.

For the *not a monolith* files: If we narrow the focus on Latino voters to Florida, we miss a major part of the story. There are so many variations based on geography, generation and country of origin + more. https://t.co/PS01cij7ZO

— Jennifer Medina (@jennymedina) September 17, 2020

Polls, like The Washington Post-ABC News poll, show Biden taking the lead with Latino voters in Florida. According to that poll, Biden is leading Trump 52 percent to 39 percent. However, Hillary Clinton won the Latino vote in Florida 62 percent to 35 percent in 2016. Clinton’s success with the Latino community of Florida shows that the Latino vote is not the only way to clinch the electoral college votes.

On the other hand, President Trump wants everyone to pay attention to one poll. President Trump is sharing a poll by The Washington Post and ABC News that shows him leading in Florida. According to the poll, Trump leads in Florida by 4 points.

The Latino community in southern Florida is being bombarded by a disinformation campaign.

NEW from me: My story in the next issue of the magazine on Biden looking to close the deal with Latino voters. The campaign is putting in work, identifying more Latinos to reach, doing massive national internal polls, buoyed by the record August $$ haul https://t.co/IlPBCZK7uN

— Adrian Carrasquillo (@Carrasquillo) September 23, 2020

The disinformation is aimed at Florida’s Latino voters and is peddling conspiracy theories against Biden. One of the most prominent examples of this disinformation was the racist and anti-Semitic insert published in a recent edition of the Miami Herald. The insert compared BLM protesters to Nazis but argued that Nazis were nicer since they didn’t steal anything.

Both candidates are pouring money into their campaign efforts in Florida. Both are spending time and money trying to court the Latino vote in an effort to win the key state.

Critics of the president are pointing to the sudden relief package to Puerto Rico is a grab for votes.

NEW: Trump announces aid for Puerto Rico, infusing politics in an apparent play for Florida voters https://t.co/W4so40ZhMi

— NBC Latino (@NBCLatino) September 18, 2020

President Trump was harshly and fairly criticized after he didn’t respond to the natural disaster in Puerto Rico. The 2017 hurricane devastated the island and left millions without power for weeks. One of the most memorable moments of that time was President Trump throwing paper towels to Puerto Ricans recovering from the disaster.

President Trump, during an election, approved $13 billion in relief funds for Puerto Rico. Puerto Rican voters have not forgotten the three years it took for the president to approve relief funds to help rebuild the island after a devastating storm.

READ: The Miami Herald Apologizes For Including Racist, Anti-Semitic Insert In Newspaper

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Cities across the U.S. are seeing a new wave of unrest following the grand jury’s finding on the Breonna Taylor case. Emotions are high as people protest against the lack of charges against the officers who were involved in Taylor’s death.

Protesters are raising their voices after the decision not to charge all of the officers involved in Breonna Taylor’s death.

At least 46 people were arrested in Louisville protesting the decision to not charge 3 officers for the police killing of #BreonnaTaylor.

▪️ Protests began mostly peaceful
▪️ Police fired chemical agents, flash bangs 30 min before curfew
▪️ 2 officers shot, wounded in clashes pic.twitter.com/VGc4bK1gyc

— AJ+ (@ajplus) September 24, 2020

Breonna Taylor was shot and killed on March 13 when police raided her apartment. The 26-year-old ER technician was sleeping when the police executed a “no-knock” warrant. However, police had the wrong address and Taylor’s boyfriend, believe their lives were in danger, fired at the police. Taylor was shot and killed in her apartment that night.

Major cities across the country saw major demonstrations spurred by the anger against the justice system.

the views crossing the bridge are truly so spectacular, traffic was shut down from crossing the bridge for about an hour pic.twitter.com/CWxanS3ZiX

— Amber Jamieson (@ambiej) September 25, 2020

A grand jury found one officer responsible for wanton endangerment after firing his weapon into neighboring apartments. There were no charges tied directly to Taylor’s death. The lack of charges has angered activists and advocates who are seeking significant police reform to prevent tragedies like this from happening again.

People have become hyper-aware of the issue and are paying attention to the outcomes.

This sign from a protest in honor of Breonna Taylor in San Diego pic.twitter.com/R8NgxQuCgt

— Name CAN be blank 😷 (@austin63867) September 24, 2020

Protest signs in different crowds show that the American people are paying attention. The Black Lives Matter movement became the cause at the forefront of American mentality since George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis. Floyd’s death sparked national outrage and renewed energy into fighting to stop the disproportionate violence Black men, women, and children face at the hands of police.

Some motorists have turned violent against the protesters.

Car hit a protester pic.twitter.com/dtETwNoHPT

— Shelly Bradbury (@ShellyBradbury) September 24, 2020

Video captured in both Denver and Los Angeles show vehicles driving through crowds of protesters. In Denver, the driver claims to have acted in self-defense after protesters surrounded his car. The driver claims that he did not intend to hurt anyone but reacted when protesters shattered his windshield.

In Louisville, police arrested the only Black woman in the Kentucky state legislature for protesting.

Police arrested Rep. Attica Scott, the only Black woman currently serving in the Kentucky state legislature.

She’s been charged with first-degree rioting https://t.co/zckgr8coGo

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) September 25, 2020

State Rep. Attica Scott was arrested for first-degree rioting, which is a class-D felony. The Louisville Metropolitan Police Department arrested 24 people Thursday night while protesting the decision not to charge the officers. Rep. Scott was arrested with other and charged with first-degree rioting and two misdemeanors for unlawful assembly and failure to disperse.

“Our call to action is to continue to make sure that the city of Louisville understands that we will not go away, that we will continue to demand the defunding of police and the dismantling of this police department because it’s corrupt from the inside out, from the bottom to the top,” Scott told NPR before the grand jury decision. “And it cannot continue to function in the way that it does.”

Taylor’s death has mobilized the nation with celebrities and politicians calling for justice.

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The last time I spoke to Breonna Taylor’s mom, Tamika Palmer, she was having a particularly bad day dealing with the loss of her daughter. She told me, “I can’t stop seeing her face. Her smile. It’s what I miss most about her…I’m still waiting for her to come through the door.” Everybody who’s lost a loved one knows that feeling. For every mother and father whose child is out in the world right now, imagine getting a call in the middle of the night that your daughter has been shot in her apartment. And then you find out the people who killed her were police officers who should never have been there in the first place. What would you want to happen now? Would you be content to hear five months later “there’s an investigation”? And that no one has been held accountable for shooting your innocent daughter multiple times and letting her life bleed out? If not for the coronavirus, I’d be out in the streets marching with the Black Lives Matter protesters. These 26 billboards, one for every year of Breonna’s life, are my offering. My form of protest. We cannot be silent. We have to use whatever megaphone we have to cry for justice. @oprahmagazine

A post shared by Oprah (@oprah) on Aug 10, 2020 at 3:59pm PDT

The fight for racial justice and a systemic change to our justice and policing systems is ongoing. The people are tired of being scared and are taking a stand with their protests.

If you are out there protesting, send us your videos and photos so we can see your activism in action!

READ: Oprah Winfrey Honors Breonna Taylor With Historic O Magazine Cover

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