Miami (Florida, US), Dec. 10 (LaPresse) – “We are facing rhetoric from elected officials that is so dehumanizing and cruel, especially towards immigrant populations. The residents of Miami were ready to put an end to all of this.” This was stated by Miami’s newly elected mayor, Democrat Eileen Higgins, who defeated the Republican candidate backed by President Donald Trump. Higgins, 61, will be the first woman to lead the city of Miami. In the majority-Hispanic city, she often spoke about Trump’s immigration crackdown, saying she had heard from many people in Miami worried about their detained family members. She ran her campaign as a proud Democrat, even though the race was officially nonpartisan, and defeated the Trump-backed candidate, former city administrator Emilio Gonzalez, who said he had called Higgins to congratulate her. With nearly all votes counted on Tuesday, Higgins beat the Republican by about 19 percentage points. Higgins, who speaks Spanish, represented a conservative-leaning district that includes the Cuban neighborhood of Little Havana. When she entered politics in 2018, she chose to present herself to voters as ‘La Gringa,’ a term used by Spanish speakers for white Americans, because many people did not know how to pronounce her name. Her platform included seeking city-owned land that could be converted into affordable housing and cutting unnecessary expenses.