IN DEPTH: Luis Pozzolo wants to flip Arizona's border district
By Tatiana Prophet
When Luis Pozzolo was 6 years old, his father, a Uruguayan senator, fled the country after a military coup d’etat that suspended the constitution and installed the military to rule from 1973 to 1985. Upon his return, the elder Luis Pozzolo was imprisoned for speaking out against the regime.
On Tuesday, the younger Luis Pozzolo, an American citizen since 2012, won the Republican primary in Arizona’s main border district, stretching from Yuma to Nogales. Now called District 7, the border area that comprises a lot of it has been a Democrat stronghold since at least 1960. Even in 1984, when Ronald Reagan swept most of the nation, the Arizona border area was the only district that went to a Democrat — and heavily, with Mo Udall winning 87 percent of the vote.
Despite a solid blue pedigree, the district does not intimidate Pozzolo, who sees an opening for the G.O.P. in the border area. He alleges that the district has been ignored for so long by its representative in Congress — 20-year veteran Rep. Raul Grijalva — that its voters are ready for a major change.
Grijalva has been through no less than 10 elections — all of which he won with very comfortable margins.
Unlike his father, a passionate and much-loved politician from a young age, Pozzolo pursued a career in business — both in corporate America and as a business owner — before deciding to run for office. See his bio here.
The elder Luis Pozzolo began his political career from the humblest of origins. His mother Guillermina was Chaná, making him the first person of indigenous descent to hold the office of president (for three days due to unforeseen circumstances with the president and vice president). He finished his career as a trailblazer beloved by politicians of all parties, and died in 2003. Many fondly remember “El Negro Jefe” as they lovingly called him, and filled the streets for his funeral.
After his father passed, the younger Luis came to the land of opportunity, first to Kentucky, then Texas, then Arizona. It’s hard to ignore conditions at the border in the last couple of years, and for Pozzolo, he could not ignore the lawlessness, poverty and violence that has become more and more common in his district.
Now the real fight is on. If Pozzolo wins the election, he would be the first member of Congress born in Uruguay.
Watch my one-hour interview with Luis Pozzolo here.
Further links:
Luis Pozzolo asks Mark Brnovich to investigate primary opponent Nina Becker.
Video of Luis Bernardo Pozzolo, beloved politician in Uruguay.
