Claudia De la Cruz
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Claudia De la Cruz (born ) is an American
far-left Far-left politics, also known as extreme left politics or left-wing extremism, are politics further to the left on the left–right political spectrum than the standard political left. The term does not have a single, coherent definition; some ...
activist who was the
Party for Socialism and Liberation The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) is a communist party, communist political party in the United States, political party in the United States. PSL formed in 2004, when its members split from the Workers World Party. PSL describes it ...
nominee 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. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
in the 2024 election.


Early life and education

De la Cruz was born in the
South Bronx The South Bronx is an area of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Bronx, Concourse, Mott Haven, Bronx, Mott Haven, Melrose, B ...
to immigrants from the
Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...
. She attended Theodore Roosevelt High School and graduated in 1997. She claims a visit to
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
at age 17 inspired her opposition to imperialism. In 2001, De la Cruz earned a bachelor's degree in
forensic psychology Forensic psychology is the application of scientific knowledge and methods (in relation to psychology) to assist in answering legal questions that may arise in criminal, civil, contractual, or other judicial proceedings. Forensic psychology includes ...
from the
John Jay College of Criminal Justice The John Jay College of Criminal Justice (John Jay) is a public college focused on criminal justice and located in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY). John Jay was founded as the only liberal arts col ...
. In 2007, she earned a master's degree in social work from
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
and a master's degree in divinity from
Union Theological Seminary Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York (shortened to UTS or Union) is a Private college, private ecumenical liberal Christian seminary in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, affiliated with Columbia University since 1928. Presently, Co ...
.


Career and activism

At the
City University of New York The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...
, De la Cruz coordinated a teen group to study
resistance movements A resistance movement is an organized group of people that tries to resist or try to overthrow a government or an occupying power, causing disruption and unrest in civil order and stability. Such a movement may seek to achieve its goals through e ...
and march against the 2003 Iraq War. In 2004, she founded Da Urban Butterflies (DUB), a Washington Heights-based leadership group for teens and young women of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent. The "Butterflies" name honored the three Dominican
Mirabal sisters The Mirabal sisters ( ) were four sisters from the Dominican Republic, three of whom (Patria, Minerva and María Teresa) opposed the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo () and were involved in activities against his regime. The three sisters were a ...
who were killed in November 1960 for opposing the dictatorship of
Rafael Trujillo Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina ( ; ; 24 October 1891 – 30 May 1961), nicknamed ''El Jefe'' (; "the boss"), was a Dominican military officer and dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from August 1930 until Rafael Trujillo#Assassination, ...
. De la Cruz attended and later served as pastor of Santo Romero de Las Américas church, a
UCC The initialism UCC may stand for: Law * Uniform civil code of India, referring to proposed Civil code in the legal system of India, which would apply equally to all irrespective of their religion * Uniform Commercial Code, a 1952 uniform act to ...
congregation in New York City. She saw that church was important to her "social and political formation" and "wanted to do community organizing from a faith-based perspective". De la Cruz was co-executive director of The People's Forum, an activist organization in New York City that she co-founded. With the People's Forum, she has participated in numerous pro-Palestinian protests, including a "Shut Down
Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...
" event during the
Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...
.


2024 presidential campaign

De la Cruz announced her presidential campaign on September 7, 2023. She and running mate Karina Garcia were the presidential ticket for the
Party for Socialism and Liberation The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) is a communist party, communist political party in the United States, political party in the United States. PSL formed in 2004, when its members split from the Workers World Party. PSL describes it ...
(PSL), a Marxist–Leninist party, in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Their socialist policy program includes a pledge to support
reparations Reparation(s) may refer to: Christianity * Reparation (theology), the theological concept of corrective response to God and the associated prayers for repairing the damages of sin * Restitution (theology), the Christian doctrine calling for re ...
for Black Americans, institute a
single-payer healthcare Single-payer healthcare is a type of universal healthcare, in which the costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by a single public system (hence "single-payer"). Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from pr ...
system, end all U.S. aid to Israel, forgive all student loan debt, fully recognize Native American sovereignty and honor
treaty rights In Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States the term treaty rights specifically refers to rights for indigenous peoples enumerated in treaties with settler societies that arose from European colonization. Exactly who is indigeno ...
, cut the U.S. military budget by 90%, seize the 100 largest corporations, expand public transportation, and use taxation to eliminate billionaires. On January 28, 2024, Claudia De la Cruz and Karina Garcia held their first in-person campaign event in Newark, New Jersey. On February 29, 2024, De la Cruz participated in a presidential candidates debate hosted by the
Free & Equal Elections Foundation The Free & Equal Elections Foundation (Free & Equal) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-partisan organization in the United States, the mission of which is to empower American voters through education and advocacy of electoral reforms. Free & Eq ...
alongside
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
candidates
Jill Stein Jill Ellen Stein (born May 14, 1950) is an American physician, activist, and perennial candidate who was the Green Party of the United States, Green Party's nominee for President of the United States in the Jill Stein 2012 presidential campaign ...
and Jasmine Sherman and Libertarian Party candidates
Chase Oliver Chase Russell Oliver (born August 16, 1985) is an American political activist and politician who was the nominee of the Libertarian Party for the 2024 United States presidential election. Oliver finished fifth in the popular vote with 0.4% and 6 ...
and Lars Mapstead. In March 2024, the
South Carolina Workers Party The South Carolina Workers Party (SCWP) is a Progressivism in the United States, progressive Political parties in the United States, political party in the United States. SCWP formed in 2023, when it split from the now defunct Labor Party (Uni ...
voted to place De la Cruz and Garcia on the state ballot for president and vice president. In June 2024, De la Cruz gave a speech at a
pro-Palestine Palestinian nationalism is the national movement of the Palestinian people that espouses self-determination and sovereignty over the region of Palestine.de Waart, 1994p. 223 Referencing Article 9 of ''The Palestinian National Charter of 1968 ...
protest surrounding the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
. In the 2024 election, it was claimed that the Democrats worked to keep De la Cruz and other third-party candidates such as
Cornel West Cornel Ronald West (born June 2, 1953) is an American philosopher, theologian, political activist, politician, social critic, and public intellectual. West was an independent candidate in the 2024 United States presidential election and is an ou ...
off of ballots, with De La Cruz alleging in a statement that this was done because the party didn’t want to compete with a socialist candidate. In response, Democratic Party of Georgia Executive Director Tolulope Kevin Olasanoye said that administrative law judge Michael Malihi had “affirmed that none of
he aforementioned He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...
candidates were qualified to be on the Georgia ballot” due to a change made to Georgia law in 2017 which states that petitions for independent candidates must be “filed in the name of the 16 presidential electors, and not the candidates themselves”.
Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
opposed this and
Brad Raffensperger Bradford Jay Raffensperger (born May 18, 1955) is an American businessman, civil engineer, and politician serving as the Georgia Secretary of State, secretary of state of Georgia since 2019. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...
,
Georgia Secretary of State The Secretary of state (U.S. state government), secretary of state of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia is an elected official with a wide variety of responsibilities, including supervising elections and maintaining public records. ...
, overruled the decision. De la Cruz received 167,772 votes (0.11%). De la Cruz nearly doubled the PSL's 2020 total, and won the most votes received by a candidate running on an explicitly
socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
presidential ticket since the
Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
's
Norman Thomas Norman Mattoon Thomas (November 20, 1884 – December 19, 1968) was an American Presbyterian religious minister, minister, political activist, and perennial candidate for president. He achieved fame as a socialism, socialist and pacifism, pacifis ...
in
1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...
.


References


External links


2024 presidential campaign website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:de la Cruz, Claudia 1980s births Living people 21st-century American women politicians American community activists American politicians of Dominican Republic descent Candidates in the 2024 United States presidential election Christian communists Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Female candidates for President of the United States Hispanic and Latino American candidates for President of the United States John Jay College of Criminal Justice alumni Party for Socialism and Liberation politicians Politicians from the Bronx Union Theological Seminary alumni United Church of Christ ministers American activists for Palestinian solidarity