Julián Castro: “The death of George Floyd has shaken the country, but the basic problem has always been there” | International

Last December, during a campaign visit to Los Angeles, the then presidential candidate Julián Castro (San Antonio, 1974) asked to accompany the local Black Lives Matter movement in a protest outside the police headquarters. There were a dozen people. Castro’s campaign spoke with special forcefulness of institutional racism in the United States, of reforming the police forces and criminal justice, which punish non-whites with particular harshness. In speeches and debates, Castro mentioned by heart a dozen black victims of police violence. That campaign ended last january. Suddenly there’s thousands of people on the streets from around the country saying the same thing after the death of George Floyd.

The pandemic has halted all electoral campaigns at a time when they should already be launched. The last time Castro traveled was to New York: “We were going to see a Broadway show for my daughter’s birthday on March 12. That afternoon they canceled everything and we went back the next day. ”

Since then, the former Secretary of Housing and former Mayor of San Antonio has transformed his electoral platform into People First Future, a pressure group to help progressive candidates in key elections in the United States in 2020. “I want people from the left to dare to make lasting changes in their communities,” he tells EL PAÍS by phone from San Antonio, where he has three months. “First of all, choose positions at all levels so we never see what happened to George Floyd again.”

Question. We are seeing reform proposals in police departments across the country unthinkable just a week ago. What has changed?

Answer. The murder of George Floyd on camera by a policeman has launched a shock wave in this country because people can see that it is clearly a murder. And video incidents are piling up. People remember Eric Garner also saying that he couldn’t breathe. They remind others that they have died at the hands of the police, and finally enough people have realized: “There is something wrong here and it has to change, yes or yes.” What has happened is that we have reached a critical mass, a breaking point, in which there are enough people who have realized that this has to change.

P. But we have seen many horrible videos like that in recent years. Why has it curdled now?

R. First, there is not the slightest discussion about what happened to George Floyd. It’s very clear. There is no possible ambiguity, neither moral nor factual. Second, people have been dealing with covid-19 and frustration over the growing inequality in our country for three months. This has been one more example of that inequality and I am convinced that it has overwhelmed that frustration.

P. The presidency of Donald Trump can it be another factor?

R. Of course. Because it has made it even worse. It has shown no will to unite the country. It has been divisive. He has spent the last five years on the political scene stoking the flames of reactionary racism, and that also comes at a cost. There are many people tired of this and who want a change. And they also see the finish line of this Administration close and they want to get there. People want to reach the goal of this Administration now.

P. His campaign approached Black Lives Matter when it wasn’t an especially popular spot. Why?

R. I focused on ending police violence and changes in the system because I saw that it was real, that millions of people have to get up every day in this country and think about what it means to be black and the consequences they have if they interact with police officers. Although at the time it was not a hot topic in 2020, people still had to deal with it, live with it, and suffer the consequences of a broken system. The urgency to fix it did not disappear because the media was not covering it with the same intensity as in 2016. Our campaign was about that. We offered advanced solutions to these eternal problems of our country. It fills me with joy to see that much of what we proposed, such as ending qualified immunity or banning some police tactics, is making its way through Congress. Real laws. Between then and now, George Floyd’s death has rocked the country, but the underlying problem has always been there. It is going to be a long way. Even in places like Minneapolis, where they have said they are going to dismantle the police. It will take time and they know it.

P. The primary campaign left the feeling of a Democratic Party divided between young leftists and a moderate old guard. Where do you stand?

R. I would like others to judge it. I consider myself progressive. My vision for the future of this country is progressive and I certainly would not describe myself as an old guard or establishment. I also think that if we really want to move forward we have to work together all the Democrats. So I appreciate that there are people on the progressive side and on the moderate side who are looking for ways to work together, especially when on the other side, in the Republican Party, there are completely irrational, very hard-line people with no interest in talking to nobody from the Democratic Party. So the next few months are to unite as a party to make sure Joe Biden wins, and we can take some of those progressive steps out of 2021.

P. Do you have any tasks in the Biden campaign?

R. I will be happy to give all the support and contributions I can give. We have let the campaign know that we are ready to help in any way and I am looking forward to it. The teams have spoken. I don’t have a formal role in the campaign, but as I say, both in police or immigration matters or anything else, I am delighted to contribute and campaign for Biden and make sure he wins.

P. Is it hard to support an opponent?

R. Not at all. In all my history in public service I have supported many people. As you know, when I finished my campaign I supported Senator Elizabeth Warren and I am delighted to support Vice President Biden. He and I we work together in the Obama Administration. I have always been impressed by his vision for the future of the country and his personality. It has been very easy to give my support.

P. A candidate like Biden, considered the symbol of the moderate old guard, Does it fit well with the level of demand that we are seeing on the streets?

R. I think so. Look at this police issue, for example. When he spoke in Philadelphia, he spoke very directly about very specific changes that need to be made, such as banning drowning keys, demilitarizing police forces, and setting a national standard on the use of force. Those things would be draft changes for now. That says something to people on the streets. I hear people asking for changes now, and that is what he is offering. I must say that this is a very different campaign due to covid-19. Normally, Biden and Trump would be giving rallies out there and there would be more feedback. Right now, that doesn’t exist, so it’s a rare campaign. You can’t take anything for granted, but right now it’s going well.

P. Do you think Biden can count the votes of the party’s young leftists as safe the followers of Bernie Sanders or yours?

R. I think he is going to have the vast majority of those votes because he is earning them. He is working on it. He doesn’t take anything for sure. Not only has he reached out to Sanders and Warren, but to all progressives, including me. I think people can see that a Biden Administration is going to welcome everyone and include their voices in government. I think people are going to respond at the polls. Another issue is that our country, and of course the progressive movement, cannot afford four more years of Donald Trump. This kind of inhuman leadership vacuum at such a critical time is dangerous for our country and completely antithetical for progressives.

P. In other words, Trump is going to be an important factor in mobilizing left-wing youth.

R. I think Biden’s outstretched hand, plus how bad Trump has been, will end up giving him the vast majority of those supports.

P. After watching these primaries, it’s a bit ironic that Democrats are going to run in 2020 with the most left-wing program in decades and at the same time the most candidate establishment of all.

R. Well, life and politics sometimes have quirks to themselves. At this point in history, Joe Biden is somehow the perfect vehicle for the most left-wing program in our party’s history because he brings the experience, stability, and knowledge of having held office, but also with maturity and wisdom to accept new ideas. And you have the ability to present those ideas in a way that can enlist the support of a majority of Americans.

P. What consequence is going to have what has happened these two weeks in the November election?

R. If Americans ask themselves: do we want four more years of this? The answer is clearly no. When you compare Joe Biden, his humanity, his vision of the future and his willingness to include, in front of Donald Trump, divisive, vengeful, unsuccessful and self-involved, the option is clear. I think Biden is going to win.

P. Do you think this will finally be the year of the Latino mobilization in places like Florida or Texas?

R. When you take to the streets of San Antonio or many other communities you see that Latinos are part of this movement, especially young people. I am convinced that young Latinos have a motivation that they did not have long ago and that is a great opportunity to take them to the polls in November. I believe that in Arizona, Texas, Florida, and in small regions of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, Latinos are going to vote and make a difference on the electoral map.

P. What would have to happen for Trump to win in November? Do you see any way?

R. I do not see it. You can never say that it will not happen because things can change, and also a rabbit was taken out of the hat in 2016. I think the Democrats, all of us, we can not take anything for granted. But, as they say, a leopard cannot change its spots. Trump is presented with a resume in 2020 that he did not have in 2016. People can see it with their own eyes and judge what they have heard him say and what he has done. And I don’t think I’m capable … I don’t think I can get it out.

P. There are calls for Biden to make an effort in Texas, where if he won it would be final, because of its size. Do you think there are possibilities?

R. Completely. We have had four surveys in the last week that show that the race is at less than two points. In some of them, Biden was ahead. Texas is fast separating from the Republican Party. The suburbs especially are rejecting Trump’s republicanism. They know that it does not represent their values ​​or their family. So they are tied. With a push in November, I believe Biden can win Texas’ 38 electoral votes and that we can have the first Democratic senator since the early 1990s.

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