A discrepancy between Florida Agricultural Commissioner Nikki Fried’s English and Spanish websites has been recently criticized as a deliberate attempt to withhold progressive ideas from Hispanic and Latino voters.
Newsweek noticed the discrepancy and quickly questioned Fried’s campaign team who, without responding, changed the Spanish website to match the English website.
The discrepancy is that the English site mentions her platforms being mainly rooted in voting rights, protecting the environment, criminal justice reform, stopping the NRA’s ability to permit weapons licenses, and legalizing marijuana; while the Spanish site left out all the other issues and only mentioned her support on legalizing marijuana.
As reported by Newsweek, Fried’s initial statement on the Spanish website showed only 95 words, compared to the updated 202 words that now includes all the issues highlighted on the English website. Democratic strategist Evelyn Péréz-Verdía, who joined Fried’s team as senior advisor on Latino issues, told Newsweek that the discrepancy was not meant to be misleading and that the likely reasoning behind withholding information is that the team just forgot to add it.
Péréz-Verdía further addressed the issue to Newsweek by alluding that it is not about misinformation, it is about “understanding those are charged words, charged symbols that are painful to a lot of people.” Ultimately stating Fried’s goal was to project progressive ideas without the negative connotation the label ‘progresista’ strikes in Hispanic and Latinos who often associate the term with socialism. “If you call yourself a progressive in Hialeah, you’re done,” she added.
Republican Governor’s Association spokesperson Joanna Rodriguez commented on Twitter about the discrepancy by saying, “Nikki Fried tried to hide her liberal bonafides from Hispanic voters on her website, until she got caught. Fried may pander to Hispanic voters with poll-tested catchphrases about being a ‘capitalista,’ but in reality she’s nothing but a mentirosa,” which means liar in Spanish.
Although some Republicans think that this will hurt her popularity among Hispanic and Latino voters in the upcoming election, Fried’s Communications Director Max Flugrath told Newsweek, “As a former small business owner, Commissioner Fried will be bold and forceful in pushing back against the false narrative of socialism parroted endlessly by the Republican Party.”
In a recent poll by the Political Matrix/Listener Group, it shows Charlie Crist leading Nikki Fried by 10.4% to be the Democratic candidate in the 2022 gubernatorial election against current Governor Ron DeSantis.
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Casey Owens is a contributing writer for The Florida Capital Star. Follow him on Twitter at @cowensreports. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Nikki Fried” by Nikki Fried. Background Photo “Florida Senate Capitol” by Michael Rivera CC 3.0.
