International
Rudy Salas, a key record to recover the Democratic majority in the US Lower House.
Rudy Salas has become a key file for the Democrats to regain control of the US Lower House by competing for an agricultural district of California, Hispanic and in which his party has surpassed in recent years the Republican in the voter registry.
Salas, 47 years old and who seeks to make history as the first Hispanic elected to the country’s Congress by District 22, told EFE that he hopes to give his community a leader who fights for their true needs.
The candidate faces for the second time the Republican congressman David Valadao, who won the elections in 2022 by just 4,000 votes, in a district where about 60% of eligible voters are Latinos.
“The inhabitants of this area have many concerns that can be addressed from Congress and I will work from there to improve their situation,” Salas said in a telephone interview.
The electoral contest has drawn attention at the national level because the Latino has the possibility of obtaining a victory in this agricultural area of the San Joaquín Valley, which has been a republican bastion, dominated by the interests of the great ranchers.
However, in this district, which covers the counties of Kern, Kings and Tulare, the majority of registered voters are now Democrats (41.2%), while Republicans represent 27.3% and independents 23.1%.
Rudy Salas, the Latino who wants to leave a mark
Salas said he was prepared to reach Washington after a decade in the California Assembly, where he supported laws in favor of working people like his father, with whom he cultivated in the countryside.
He had already marked a milestone before by being the first Latino member of the Bakersfield City Council, the city where he was born and the most important in the district.
When asked about the difference between this campaign and the last one, the candidate explains that the low participation in 2022 put him at a disadvantage compared to his opponent, so in this cycle he has dedicated himself to “educating voters why this election is so important for them and their families.”
The Hispanic started this process last year, which has led him and his collaborators to knock on more than 150,000 doors, make more than a million calls and dozens of forums with the community.
70% with Latin roots
In that tour he found that the greatest concerns of the inhabitants of this district, where seven out of ten have Latin roots, focus on health, education, access to drinking water, the economy, affordable housing and immigration.
“I have heard many stories of families with mixed immigration status that have been waiting for an immigration reform for ten, twenty years or more,” says the candidate, who received the support of the Agricultural Workers’ Union (UFW).
Salas supports a path to citizenship for the long-standing undocumented and opposes the proposal for mass deportations and the expansion of migrant detention centres.
But his campaign has also focused on bringing to light the contradictory positions of Valadao, who will complete 12 years in the US Congress and is currently a member of the powerful Committee on Allocations and the Budget Committee of the House.
Key to the control of the Camera
He criticizes the Republican’s votes against the laws to reduce the cost of medicines, the Affordable Health Care, better known as Obamacare, and the Infrastructure, which had bipartisan support, among many others.
The Democrats need to turn around for the least four seats of the Lower House – currently controlled by the Republicans with 221 seats – so the Salas contest has gained relevance.
Apart from the 22nd district, California has four other tight contests where the Democratic Party has its hopes to achieve a victory and regain control of Congress.
Agreass of the responsibility he carries on his shoulders, the Latino has called on voters to help him “make a difference in people’s lives.”
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
International
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.
Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”
International
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.
The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”
The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”
Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.
The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
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