An executive with one of the largest corporate conglomerates in Mexico has launched an effort encouraging Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to pursue the Democratic nomination for the 2020 presidential race.
The drive is led by Nathalie Rayes, Vice President of Public Affairs for Grupo Salinas in the United States. Forbes magazine described the Mexico City-based syndicate as “an empire of retail, banking, TV, and telecom businesses.” Part of Rayes’ responsibilities includes motivating “change on social and civic issues” in this country.
According to a recent report by Rolling Stone, Rayes helped commission a multilingual song with an “urban Latino beat” to serve as “a soft intro to Eric Garcetti across the country.” In an email sent to potential supporters and donors last week, Rayes introduced the unofficial anthem titled “Eric Garcetti, Are You Ready?” She asked recipients to “help us get this song into as many homes, cars and ear pieces as possible” while identifying Garcetti, a committed globalist, as a “strong Latino candidate.”
LAist, an affiliate of KPCC Public Radio, reported:
The song mixes sound clips from Garcetti with Latin beats, with a YouTube video overlaid with photos of the mayor set in rhythm with the drums. The song is largely Spanish language, emphasizing his multicultural heritage.
Garcetti, a male feminist whose diverse ancestry includes Mexican-American, Jewish and Italian roots, often changes his persona like a human chameleon to fit the environment he’s in at the time. The tribute track in his honor fuses African, Latin American and Caribbean sounds and even adds a little kiddie level hip-hop. It was produced by a Chicago-based band called La Obra which describes it’s genre as “a new style of Bachata music.”
Although Rayes told Rolling Stone that her campaign to convince Garcetti to run for the nation’s highest office is independent of the mayor himself, the publication described her as “a long-time friend and political ally” who formerly occupied influential positions within L.A. City Hall.
Her employer, Grupo Salinas, lists several offices in Mexico and one in Los Angeles. The conglomerate is owned by Ricardo Salinas Pliego — one of the wealthiest billionaires in Mexico who is known for his appreciation of regional art and culture.
In 2014, Garcetti helped Mr. Salinas Pliego expand his network of philanthropic youth orchestras to the U.S. by making it part of an after-school program in L.A.’s public education system. Participation is free for eligible students, most of whom are categorized as underserved with no musical experience. Instruments are also provided. The program, called Esperanza Azteca (or the Azteca Hope Symphonic Orchestra), strives to empower youth “through a strong commitment to music education and the pursuit of artistic excellence.”
“My city is where creativity lives, so it’s important for me to cultivate the next generation of artists,” Garcetti said at the time.
A video promoting the extracurricular development opportunity describes it as “the first American chapter” of a transnational project whose “roots are in Mexico.”
While Mayor Garcetti has not yet announced his intention to seek his party’s nomination, he has repeatedly presented himself as a candidate. Last month, municipal employees stood on the steps of City Hall demanding that Garcetti “stop campaigning” and focus on several pressing, unresolved problems in Los Angeles instead. He has been criticized for spending much of his second term as mayor away from L.A. as the city experienced a homeless epidemic and sanitation problems that contributed to a recent outbreak of flea-borne typhus.
No presidential candidate has ever gone from a mayor’s office to the White House. A CNN poll last month showed Garcetti with just 2% support for the Democratic nod, trailing Joe Biden (33%), Bernie Sanders (13%), Kamala Harris (9%), Elizabeth Warren (8%), and several other potential contenders.
Follow Jeffrey Cawood on Twitter @Near_Chaos.