Gloria Estela La Riva (born August 13, 1954) is an American
perennial political candidate, and communist activist with the
Party for Socialism and Liberation
The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) is a communist party in the United States, established in 2004. Its members are active in a wide range of movements including the labor, anti-war, immigrants' rights, women's rights, and anti-police ...
(PSL) and the
Peace and Freedom Party. She was the PSL's nominee and the Peace and Freedom's nominee in the
2020 presidential election
This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included.
January
*5 January:
**C ...
, her
tenth consecutive candidacy as either a presidential or vice presidential candidate. She was previously a member of the
Workers World Party
The Workers World Party (WWP) is a revolutionary Marxist–Leninist communist party founded in 1959 by a group led by Sam Marcy of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP). Marcy and his followers split from the SWP in 1958 over a series of long-sta ...
. She ran as the PSL's and the Peace and Freedom Party's presidential candidate in the 2016 presidential election, with
Eugene Puryear
Eugene Puryear (born February 28, 1986, in Charlottesville, Virginia) is an American journalist, author, activist, politician, and host on Breakthrough News. In 2014, he was a candidate for the at-large seat in the DC Council with the D.C. Stateh ...
and
Dennis J. Banks as her running mates respectively. She was the PSL's presidential nominee in the
2008 presidential election. For the 2020 election, Sunil Freeman was her running mate.
Life and career
La Riva was born in
Albuquerque
Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
,
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...
, on August 13, 1954. She graduated from high school and began attending
Brandeis University
, mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = NECHE
, president = Ronald D. Liebowitz
, ...
in 1972. She was a third-party candidate for
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
in the
1992 presidential election, representing the
Workers World Party
The Workers World Party (WWP) is a revolutionary Marxist–Leninist communist party founded in 1959 by a group led by Sam Marcy of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP). Marcy and his followers split from the SWP in 1958 over a series of long-sta ...
. She had also been the Workers World Party vice-presidential candidate in the elections of
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
,
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
,
1996, and
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
.
La Riva is a founding member of the
Party for Socialism and Liberation
The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) is a communist party in the United States, established in 2004. Its members are active in a wide range of movements including the labor, anti-war, immigrants' rights, women's rights, and anti-police ...
.
La Riva was also the
Peace and Freedom Party candidate for
Governor of California in
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...
, receiving 72,774 votes (0.9%). She ran again in the
1998 gubernatorial election, capturing 59,218 votes (0.71%). She also ran for
San Francisco Mayor
The mayor of the City and County of San Francisco is the head of the executive branch of the San Francisco city and county government. The officeholder has the duty to enforce city laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by ...
in
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...
(7,328 votes – 5.4%), coming in third overall, and second in the working class wards of the city, and 1991 (2,552 votes – 1.4%), and for Congress in 2010 (3rd place – 3%).
In the
2008 Presidential election, La Riva received 6,821 votes, the 10th highest vote total.
La Riva has also been the director of the National Committee to Free the
Cuban Five
The Cuban Five, also known as the Miami Five, are five Cuban intelligence officers (Gerardo Hernández, Antonio Guerrero, Ramón Labañino, Fernando González, and René González) who were arrested in September 1998 and later convicted in Miam ...
, and president of the typographical sector of the Northern California Media Workers Union.
In
2010, La Riva was the Peace and Freedom Party's candidate for U.S. Congress in California's 8th Congressional District. Running against Democratic House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi, she came in third, receiving 5,161 votes, 3% of the overall vote. Also in 2010, La Riva was awarded the
Friendship Medal by the
Cuban Council of State.
In the
2012 presidential election
This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included.
January
*3–4 January ...
, La Riva was a presidential stand-in for
Peta Lindsay
Peta Lindsay (born 1984) is an American anti-war activist. She was a presidential nominee of the Party for Socialism and Liberation in the 2012 U.S. presidential election.
Early life and education
Lindsay was born in Virginia and grew up in Phi ...
, the PSL nominee for president who was not allowed on the ballot in some states due to her age.
La Riva was on the ballot in Colorado, Iowa, Utah, and Wisconsin, and she received 1,608 votes, or less than 0.01% of the total votes.
In July 2015, she was announced as the PSL's
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
presidential nominee, with
Eugene Puryear
Eugene Puryear (born February 28, 1986, in Charlottesville, Virginia) is an American journalist, author, activist, politician, and host on Breakthrough News. In 2014, he was a candidate for the at-large seat in the DC Council with the D.C. Stateh ...
as her running mate. She attained ballot access in eight states: Vermont, New Mexico, Iowa, Louisiana, Colorado, Washington, New Jersey, and California. She received 74,401 votes in the election, or 0.05% of the total votes.
La Riva was a candidate for the Peace and Freedom Party nomination for Governor of California in
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...
. She received 19,075 votes in the
nonpartisan blanket primary
A nonpartisan blanket primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of the political party. Partisan elections are, on the other hand, segregated by political party. ...
, or 0.3% of the total votes.
She received the Party of Socialism and Liberation nomination for the
2020 presidential election
This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included.
January
*5 January:
**C ...
, with
Leonard Peltier
Leonard Peltier (born September 12, 1944) is a Native American activist and militant member of the American Indian Movement (AIM) who, following a controversial trial, was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of two Fe ...
as her running mate. Peltier later stepped down from the ticket due to his deteriorating health and was replaced by Sunil Freeman. Additionally, she won the
Peace & Freedom Party primary in California for the
2020 United States presidential election, beating
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
candidate
Howie Hawkins
}
Howard Gresham Hawkins III (born December 8, 1952) is an American trade unionist, environmental activist, and perennial candidate from New York. A co-founder of the Green Party of the United States, Hawkins was the party's presidential nominee ...
. She won the nomination of the
Liberty Union Party
The Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party, known as the Liberty Union Party (LUP) until 2021, is a political party active in the U.S. state of Vermont. It is a self-proclaimed "non-violent socialist party".
The LUP was founded in 1970 by former ...
in Vermont. She obtained no electoral votes in the election, and a total of 85,623 nationally, or about 0.05% of the total, being sixth most voted candidate, after
Rocky de la Fuente
Roque "Rocky" De La Fuente Guerra (born October 10, 1954) is an American businessman and politician. A perennial candidate, De La Fuente was the Reform Party nominee in the 2016 and 2020 United States presidential elections. He also appeared on ...
, and ahead of
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.
Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
.
Other activities
La Riva has translated
Fidel Castro's book ''Cuba at the Crossroads'' (1997) , and produced the documentary videos ''NATO Targets'', ''Workers' Democracy in Cuba'' (1996), ''Genocide by Sanctions: The Case of Iraq'' (1998) and ''Let Iraq Live!''
Personal
She is married to Richard Becker, whose brother is PSL co-founder Brian Becker.
References
External links
2020 campaign website2020 campaign Twitter profile2016 campaign website"Standing for Castro at the US election" a brief report on Gloria La Riva by
France 24
France 24 ( in French) is a French state-owned international news television network based in Paris. Its channels broadcast in French, English, Arabic, and Spanish and are aimed at the overseas market.
Based in the Paris suburb of Issy-les-Mo ...
, October 29, 2008
"Meet Gloria" profile on Votepsl.org
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:La Riva, Gloria
1954 births
Living people
1984 United States vice-presidential candidates
1988 United States vice-presidential candidates
1996 United States vice-presidential candidates
2000 United States vice-presidential candidates
20th-century American politicians
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American women politicians
American anti-poverty advocates
American anti–Iraq War activists
American communists
American documentary filmmakers
Brandeis University alumni
Candidates in the 1992 United States presidential election
Candidates in the 2008 United States presidential election
Candidates in the 2012 United States presidential election
Candidates in the 2016 United States presidential election
Candidates in the 2018 United States elections
Candidates in the 2020 United States presidential election
Female candidates for President of the United States
Female candidates for Vice President of the United States
Hispanic and Latino American candidates for President of the United States
Hispanic and Latino American women in politics
Mexican-American people in California politics
Party for Socialism and Liberation politicians
Peace and Freedom Party presidential nominees
Politicians from Albuquerque, New Mexico
American women documentary filmmakers
Women in California politics
Workers World Party presidential nominees
Workers World Party vice presidential nominees