LA Councilwoman Resigns Over Racist Remarks
Facts
- Nury Martinez on Wednesday announced her resignation from the LA City Council following leaked year-old audio in which she can be heard making apparently racist comments while talking with other Latino political leaders.
- Her decision to step down comes as protesters packed the Council chamber for the second day in a row and politicians, including Pres. Biden, called for her resignation. Earlier this week, Martinez renounced her leadership position and took a leave of absence.
- During a conversation involving two other council members, Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León, and the president of LA County Federation of Labor Ron Herrera in Oct. 2021, Martinez allegedly stated that White councilman Mike Bonin's young Black son "was like a monkey" and needed a "beatdown."
- She has also reportedly derided Indigenous Mexican immigrants of Oaxacan descent as "short, dark people" and "ugly."
- Meanwhile, California Attorney General Rob Bonta has opened an investigation into the city of LA's redistricting process to "help restore confidence" as the leaked audio has revealed an alleged scheme to protect Latino strength in council districts.
- This incident is also seen as potentially exposing fractures in the Latino-Black political coalition in Los Angeles as the city's demographics have changed, sharpening disputes within the partnership.
Sources: LA Times, New York Times, CNN, NBC, PBS NewsHour, and Washington Post.
Narratives
- Republican narrative, as provided by New York Post. While this scandal has shocked public opinion and provoked national outrage, Nury Martinez and her colleagues represent the true nature of so-called "progressive" politicians. Despite their appealing rhetoric, they are often identity-obsessed racists who simply use Black people to advance their own agenda and win elections.
- Democratic narrative, as provided by LA Times. The leaked recording shows that Gen Z and millennial Latinos must become politically active to promote multiracial solidarity. Disputes between groups of color have long been promoted by white supremacy and American political culture on older generations, with Martinez's remarks being a product of US colonialism across Latin America.