Zoraida Buxó Santiago (born 1963) is a Puerto Rican politician who served as a

Shadow A shadow is a dark area on a surface where light from a light source is blocked by an object. In contrast, shade occupies the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross-section of a shadow is a two-dimensio ...

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

Early life and education

Buxó was born in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

in 1963. Completed a BA in Business Administration from the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...

. She received a master's degree in law from

George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest law school in Washington, D. ...

and a J.D. from the

University of Puerto Rico School of Law The University of Puerto Rico School of Law is the law school of the University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras, the only law school in the University of Puerto Rico System and the only public law school in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1913 at ...

Career

Buxó career experience includes working as a lawyer and in leadership roles with non-governmental organizations. in 1993 she worked as a legal advisor for public safety for the Governors of Puerto Rico office. Served as Secretary of the

Puerto Rico Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation The Puerto Rico Department of Correction and Rehabilitation () is the law enforcement executive department of the government responsible for structuring, developing, and coordinating the public policies in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territo ...

from 1993 to 1995. She also worked in the office of the

Governor of Puerto Rico The governor of Puerto Rico () is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. Elected to a 4 year-term through popular vote by the residents of the archipelago and island, ...

and was a board member of the University of Puerto Rico. In 2021, Buxó ran in the

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

for U.S. Senate shadow delegates representing Puerto Rico. She won the special general election on May 16, 2021, with 46,222 votes (27.35% of the vote) and assumed office July 1, 2021. Her current term ends on December 31, 2024. As a shadow Senator, Buxó advocates for the enforcement of the results of the 2020 status referendum by the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

and the admission of

as the

51st state "51st state" is a phrase used in the United States of America to refer to the idea of adding an additional state to the current 50-state Union. Proposals for a 51st state may include granting statehood to one of the U.S. territories or Washing ...

of the Union. On October 29, 2024, Buxó endorsed

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

at a campaign rally in

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buxo, Zoraida 1963 births 21st-century Puerto Rican politicians 21st-century Puerto Rican women politicians Female United States senators George Washington University Law School alumni Living people Republican Party (Puerto Rico) politicians University of Puerto Rico alumni