Reference News Network, December 19 report: Spain's "El País" website published an article titled "Eileen Higgins Makes History, Becoming Miami's First Female Mayor to Break the Conservative Hold" on December 10. The author is Álvaro Fernández. The full excerpt is as follows:

Eileen Higgins made history on December 9, becoming the first female mayor of Miami in the United States. She defeated her opponent and former municipal official Emilio González with nearly 60% of the vote. With this victory, the 61-year-old Higgins became the first Democrat to hold this position in nearly 30 years, and also the first non-Cuban-American.

In a statement, Higgins said, "Tonight, the people of Miami created history. We have together bid farewell to years of chaos and corruption, opening the door to a new era for our city." While thanking voters for their support, she also said, "We have defeated outdated politics."

Boosting Democratic Morale

As the second-largest city in Florida, the Miami mayoral election was not strictly a partisan contest, but it was indeed seen as a political struggle between Democrat Higgins and Republican González from the beginning. For decades, Miami-Dade County, which had been a Democratic stronghold, turned to Trump in the 2024 presidential election, shifting to the Republican Party.

This situation has increasingly politicized the Miami mayoral race. After Democrats achieved significant victories in key elections such as the New York City mayor and governors of Virginia and New Jersey, Trump fully supported González's campaign for mayor of Miami, making the competition even more intense. The Democrats' victories were interpreted as a rejection of Trump's policies, and they boosted the morale of the Democratic Party for the 2026 midterm elections.

According to Higgins' LinkedIn profile, she studied mechanical engineering at the University of New Mexico and earned a Master's degree in business administration from Cornell University.

During President Obama's term from 2009 to 2012, she worked at the U.S. Department of State. During that time, she was a member of the support team at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico, mainly responsible for work in energy, environment, climate change, law enforcement, and business opportunities. She later served as an economic and energy officer in South Africa and Namibia.

From 2018 until November of this year, she served as a member of the Miami-Dade County Commission, elected by the fifth district. According to her LinkedIn profile, during her tenure, she actively promoted the redevelopment of vacant land and the approval process for affordable housing construction permits. In addition, she vigorously promoted transportation improvement policies, including the construction of pedestrian walkways, the adoption of a monorail and bus-only lane systems.

Miami has 500,000 residents, more than 70% of whom are Latino, and nearly 60% are immigrants. Most residents are Cuban or Cuban-Americans. Miami is just one of the 34 municipalities in Miami-Dade County.

During the campaign, the Republicans compared Higgins to Zohran Mamdani, who won the New York City mayoral election. This move clearly aimed to create negative feelings among exile groups from countries such as Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua in South Florida.

González entered the race with the support of some prominent Republicans, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Senator Rick Scott, as well as Texas Senator Ted Cruz. This support earned González a nickname among Democrats: "Mayor Make America Great Again."

Exploiting Public Discontent

Trump's anti-immigration policies have severely affected South Florida. Residents of Miami-Dade County watched as thousands of Cubans, Venezuelans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans fell into a dilemma after government cancellation of humanitarian programs and protections allowing immigrants to live and work legally in the country. They also witnessed the emergence of immigration detention centers with names that were very disturbing, which were criticized for human rights violations. At the same time, workplace raids, highway arrests, and immigration court cases have become increasingly prevalent, creating a climate of fear in the immigrant community.

The political consequences of this have been severe, with many Trump supporters expressing regret. Surveys show that people are dissatisfied with the actions of immigration authorities, and most oppose arresting and deporting undocumented immigrants without criminal records.

In this atmosphere, Higgins skillfully exploited this discontent. During the campaign, she publicly criticized the president's "cruel" policies and portrayed herself as a candidate who could empathize with the plight of the Latin American community, advocating respect for immigrants. She also stated that the agreement between Miami police and federal agencies to arrest immigrants signed in June was "a mistake," and she would work to overturn the agreement.

The incoming mayor pointed out that the termination of temporary protected status for Venezuelans and Haitians would threaten Miami's economy, leading to the loss of work permits for hundreds of thousands of people, thus affecting local families and businesses.

She also opposed transferring a prime downtown Miami site of Miami Dade College to the state of Florida for the construction of a controversial Trump Presidential Library.

Local politics in Miami have long been plagued by corruption scandals and are often described as "family politics," because members of the same family have held similar public offices for many years. For example, the outgoing mayor, Francis Suárez, is the son of Javier Suárez, who served as mayor in the 1980s and 1990s and ran again this year. (Translated by Wang Meng)

Original: toutiao.com/article/7585401184853230114/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.