CHICAGO

Congressman Chuy Garcia is running for Chicago Mayor in a crowded race. If he wins the elections in February, Chuy will become the first mayor with a Latino background, and the community will play a crucial role during his term.

"I WANT TO bring equity to many parts of Chicago that have historically not enjoyed it. I want to rebuild the city and ensure everyone in the area is progressing," says Chuy.

On top of that, Chuy plans to invest in security. "I want Chigaco to shine again, make it safer. We're facing some huge challenges in terms of public safety right now, but Chicago has so much going for it. It is a beautiful city. It has all kinds of ethnic diversity, communities, and great food. It's a world-class city with great architecture and music. Those are the things that I want people to want to visit Chicago in the future. Of course, I want to be a welcoming mayor when elected," says the congressman.

This sense of commitment to the community started before Chuy started his political career in 1986. He describes his journey as the true American Dream, and he could never have imagined that he would become a member of the Congress of the United States when he crossed the border in El Paso.

Chuy arrived in Chicago when he was nine years old in 1965 and was part of a large wave of Mexican-Latino immigrants moving to Chicago. He learned how to speak English at school and grew up in a rapidly changing neighborhood. He also learned how to play softball, about gangs, and the Civil Rights

"Chicano students became active in university campus affairs and neighborhood issues of education, employment, affirmative action, health care, and housing issues. The fight for the rights of immigrants, immigration reform, and protection of immigrants were always present," he adds.

Over five decades since he crossed the border, the Latino community still faces challenges. Latino women tend to earn even less than men, and housing is another urgent issue.

"The need for affordable housing in Chicago is a growing problem. Housing has be- movement in the first years. come unaffordable, especially for larger families. Latinos tend to have larger families and extended families living arrangements."

If elected, Chuy wants his term to be remembered as a period that brought people together and put aside differences and tensions in a post-COVID scenario. "Hopefully, it's a post-racial reckoning, but in the civil disturbances that we've experienced in Chicago and that we made progress giving more people opportunities to advance, we made the city safer and that we made it a place where all of us can freely move around and enjoy everything that we have while we're improving," adds Chuy.

"After I arrived in Chicago and was very profoundly impacted by it, I learned I was exposed to a lot of social justice issues as a very young person, and I learned about the movement for Latino empowerment, including the farm workers, Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta," says Chuy.

His first years in Chicago would shape his interest in social justice and the first steps for his political career. He attended the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he became the president of the Union for Mexicano.

On top of that, Chuy adds that as a Congressman, he worked hard to try to make immigration reform become a reality.

However, the greatest challenge has been making the Latino community visible and teaching people about their social roles. Chuy highlights the Latino community is crucial to the whole city.

"Wherever I go, I share that Latinos are a socioeconomic force of vitality and vibrancy."