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LAST WEDNESDAY, July 6, an article by national politics reporter Jennifer Medina was published in the New York Times. The text contains baseless accusations against Representative Mayra Flores (R-TX), who was labeled as “extreme right-wing” for simply defending conservative and patriotic values.
Following the publication of the attack against Mayra Flores, national attention fell on the Republican representative, who recently won a historic special election in Rio del Valle Grande — a region historically dominated by Democrats. In a harsh statement, Flores responded to Medina and the Times in a message sent to Fox News by showing pride in her Hispanic origins and the values she professes.
“I am proud of my culture and my beautiful family,” the representative wrote. “I was born in Burgos, Tamaulipas, Mexico, and raised with strong Conservative values to always put God and Family first. I have received only hate from the liberal media and constantly [been] told by the left to go back to Mexico.”
“They don’t support us, immigrants; they only use us for political power and don’t care about our well-being. I am here now and won’t allow them to continue taking advantage of my people. The NYT knows nothing about me or our culture. Somos gente de Dios, Familia y Trabajo (sic) [We are people that honor God, love our Family, and Work hard], Sí Señor!” the Republican emphasized.
Before her response was sent to Fox, Mayra Flores had already responded to the New York Times from her official Twitter account.
“It amazes me that because my values are rooted in God, Family, and Country, the liberal media takes it upon themselves to attack me and label me ‘far-right.’ But at least they used the word ‘Latina’ over their other made-up terms.” said the Republican, referring to the term ‘Latinx,’ — a term rejected within the Hispanic community — used by Democrats and progressive activists.
The massive support for Mayra Flores
After Medina’s article was published, the NYT began to receive harsh criticism on social networks. Thousands of users and analysts accused the newspaper of employing double standards for criticizing Flores’ conservative ideals while defending progressive radical politicians such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) or Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
Likewise, the New York Times was accused of making a “racist” attack against Flores. This is because the ideals and values that the Republican defends — such as the defense of life, private property, faith in God, care for our borders, and respect for law enforcement— are shared by a large part of the Hispanic community in the United States.
Multiple national conservative media outlets in the country also came out in support of Flores following the article’s publication, as did much of the conservative Hispanic community that felt attacked by Medina and the Times.
Emmanuel Alejandro Rondón is a journalist at El American specializing in the areas of American politics and media analysis // Emmanuel Alejandro Rondón es periodista de El American especializado en las áreas de política americana y análisis de medios de comunicación.
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