Martha Bueno
Martha Bueno | |
|---|---|
| File:Martha Bueno.jpg | |
| Chair of the West Kendall Community Council | |
| Assumed office 2021 | |
| Member of the West Kendall Community Council | |
| Assumed office 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Mauricio Rodriguez-Varela |
| Constituency | Subarea 113 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 29, 1979 Miami, Florida |
| Citizenship |  American |
| Political party | Independent |
| Children | 4 |
| Alma mater | Florida International University |
| Occupation | Civic activist |
| Profession | Businesswoman, Politician |
| Website | marthabueno |
Martha Laura Bueno (born in Miami, FL on 29 March 1979) is a Cuban-American politician and activist who is serving as Chair of the West Kendall Community Council, a local government board in Miami-Dade County, as well as a candidate for the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners in the 2022 elections. Born in Miami from Cuban parents, she has also worked as an activist against the Communist Party of Cuba, organizing protests in Florida and launching the non-profit organization People 4 Cuba, with the aim of smuggling humanitarian relief on the island nation. A former leading figure within the Libertarian Party, she left the party in 2021 and is now an independent.
Biography[edit]
Martha Laura Bueno was born on 29 March 1979 in Miami, FL,[1] the daughter of Cuban exiles who fled Cuba following repressions during the Fidel Castro regime. In Cuba, her father, jailed for a failed attempt to leave the country, would be broken out of prison by her mother.[2] Bueno was born in a family of farmers with agricultural experience dating back three generations.[1] As a child, she would live for six years in Venezuela before returning to the United States.[1] She received a degree in Psychology from Florida International University, with a minor in business administration.[1]
At age 17, she launched her own business.[1] Eventually, she would become a real estate agent specialized in distressed properties,[1] as well as a hemp farmer.[3]
International Activism[edit]
Against the Communist Party of Cuba[edit]
Martha Bueno has been described as a Cuban-American activist severely critical of the rule of the Communist Party in Cuba. Early on, she launched the Libertarios Hispanos podcast, a talk show dedicated to the political developments in Latin America and within the Hispanic American community of the United States.[4]
Bueno has asked the United States government to apply more pressure for the United Nations to offer humanitarian relief to Cuba as well as a peacekeeping mission to protect democratic activists.[5] She's been a strong supporter of the 2021 protests against the Cuban government and organized several mirror rallies in Miami.[6] In an interview, she stated that she still has family in Cuba under repression by communist authorities.[6] In 2022, she condemned the Miami Bitcoin Conference as "disrespectful" for inviting the founders of cryptocurrency QvaPay, which she called a "tool of the Cuban regime".[7]
Martha Bueno is the founder and director of People 4 Cuba, a non-profit organization aimed at gathering humanitarian supplies to send to Cuba.[2] According to Reason Magazine, the organization had shipped 800 pounds of food and medical relief to the island nation by March 2022 but was facing increasing problems from crackdowns by the Cuban authorities.[2]
In Georgia[edit]
As an elected official in Miami-Dade County, Martha Bueno has supported more transatlantic cooperation between the local government and other port cities around the world. In this context, she visited the Georgian port city of Batumi in 2021, meeting with Adjara Autonomous Republic Chairman Tornike Rizhvadze to start a process of local government cooperation.
In January 2020, Martha Bueno criticized U.S. Congressman Pete Olson (R-Texas) for accusing the Georgian government of entertaining a pro-Russian foreign policy. She accused him of threatening relations with "the U.S.'s only ally in the Caucasus region" and linked his statements with campaign contributions from Frontera Resources, an oil company whose contract with the Georgian government was at the time under review.[8]
Political career[edit]
Local Activism[edit]
Martha Bueno is a former member of the Libertarian Party.[3] She served as vice-chairwoman of the Libertarian Party of Miami-Dade County between 2017 and 2021, elected four times to the post.[3] She left the Libertarian Party officially in 2021, though she continues to support several libertarian positions, such as marijuana legalization[9] and the popularization of cryptocurrency.[5]
At the local politics level, she has spoken out against the influence of large campaign donors at the local political level.[5] During the COVID-19 pandemic, she was highly critical of what she called mismanagement by local authorities to dispense of testing equipment and regulate economic activity.[5]
West Kendall Community Council[edit]
In August 2018, Martha Bueno was elected as a member of the West Kendall Community Council, representing Subarea 113. The board is tasked with making zoning and land-use decisions in the unincorporated parts of Miami-Dade County.[3] She would be elected as Chairwoman of the Community Council in 2021.
As an elected official, she led a citizens' movement against the proposal by County Commissioner Javier Souto to incorporate the Westchester neighborhood, a move that many saw as an attempt by Souto to keep elected office after being termed out by being elected its mayor.[10] She was also vocal against a 2020 proposal by the Miami-Dade County Commission to cut the power of Community Councils, which she linked with a private developer's roadblocks on Fisher Island.[11] Overall, she has supported decentralization and decreasing the powers of the County Commission in unincorporated areas, in favor of Community Councils.[5]
Candidate for Miami-Dade County Commission[edit]
In February 2021, Martha Bueno announced her candidacy for the Miami-Dade County Commission's 10th District, one of the county's largest districts and its only one made of only unincorporated areas.[12] While running as an independent, she has been largely critical of what she calls a "systemic lack of transparency" within the county's government[13] and pledged to focus on affordable housing and traffic issues,[9] while opposing unjustified property tax increases. She's criticized the Miami-Dade Public Transportation system as remaining inefficient despite large public investments.[5]
Bueno is running to replace Commissioner Javier Souto, who has held the office since 1993.[3] Her main opponent is State Representative Anthony Rodriguez (R-118th District), a Republican state legislator since 2018 who has raised more than $1.4 million.[3] Bueno has accused Rodriguez of having an obscure campaign finance history, raising questions about his early departure from the State Legislature and the sources of his campaign funds. She made several headlines during the campaign when she announced her use of the social media platform OnlyFans to raise awareness on Rodriguez's campaign finance history.[12]
Martha Bueno was endorsed by The Miami Herald,[9] as well as Republican UFC fighter Jorge Masvidal.[12] She was also endorsed by the Hialeah Republican Club, the largest GOP organization in South Florida, before the latter withdrew its endorsement after "discovering she is an independent". According to Bueno, the withdrawal was made following pressure by the campaign of Anthony Rodriguez.[14]
The primary election will be on 23 August 2022.
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Meet Martha". MarthaBueno.com. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Weissmueller, Zach (2022-03-16). "The Decomposition of Cuba's Communist Regime". Reason Magazine. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Deluca, Alex (2022-07-29). ""Dirty Politics": Miami-Dade Commissioner Candidate Launches OnlyFans Account". Miami New Times. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
- ↑ "MARTHA BUENO". Ladies of Liberty. Retrieved 2022-08-02..
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Scheckner, Jesse (2021-11-22). "'I'm an activist who simply got frustrated': Martha Bueno explains Miami-Dade Commission bid". Florida Politics. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lance, Steve (2021-08-12). "Martha Bueno: Cubans Chant That 'They Are Not Scared Anymore, They're Just Ready for a Change'". NTD. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
- ↑ Prospero, Eduardo. "Can QvaPay Break Through Cuba's Embargo? Or, Is It A Governmental Spy Tool?". Bitcoinist.com. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
- ↑ "მარტა ბუენო- კონგრესმენ პიტ ოლსონის შესყიდვა თქვენც შეგიძლიათ, იაფია". Info Postalioni (in ქართული). 2020-01-29. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Herald recommends: Community-engaged candidate ready to serve District 10 on commission". The Miami Herald. 2022-07-31. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
- ↑ "Javier Souto pulls back Westchester incorporation post resident pushback". Political Cortadito. 2022-03-07. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
- ↑ "Commission could cut community councils out for Fisher Island developer". Political Cortadito. 2020-02-19. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Waldman, Joel (2022-08-01). "Martha Bueno, candidate for Miami-Dade commission seat, turns to OnlyFans to expose "dirty politics"". CBS News. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
- ↑ "Miami Foundation plans forums for every Miami-Dade Commission race". Political Cortadito. 2022-07-16. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
- ↑ "Hialeah Republican withdraws support for NPA county commission candidate". Political Cortadito. 2022-05-29. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
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