Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, better known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist who has represented New York's 14th congressional district since 2019. She was elected as a Democrat, defeating the Republican Anthony Pappas. She has stood out as a strong challenger of the status quo in Congress and maintains a steadfast commitment to her voters through humanitarian issues, public hearings, and direct community assistance in various aspects. AOC was the subject of the first "profile of the week" on the Observatory. Recently, she provided an interview to the New York Times in which she reflects on how she has changed since her first election. This interview, along with Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez's career and impact on Latino communities, are the topics of the present analysis.

Born in 1989, in October 2023, the congresswoman will reach 34 years old. When asked about her maturity and sense of achievement at her age, AOC sees a greater sense of stability and confidence in her career. When she began her first term in 2019, Donald Trump and the conservative wave were still a major anomaly in American politics. For the congresswoman, the Democratic Party itself was "lost in many ways," and the period was marked by an internal transition from an older and out-of-touch party to a newer one more adapted to the political and social moment. In this context, she had to prove her commitment to her voters and their causes.

It's worth noting that AOC's victory in 2018 was a major surprise. Considering that New York City, and particularly the 14th congressional district, has historically been Democratic, the real "election" took place on June 26 when she defeated incumbent Congressman Joe Crowley in the primaries. This was no small feat, as Crowley was a high-ranking veteran in the Democratic Party's structure. She was the first person since 2004 to challenge Joe Crowley in the primaries and ran a campaign without corporate donations or support from the Democratic PAC, which had ample resources to favor him.

Nowadays, however, AOC knows that her image is linked to her progressive causes. Due to her activism, she is recognized as a member of the group known as The Squad, currently consisting of eight Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The group was initially composed of four women elected in the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. Since then, Jamaal Bowman of New York and Cori Bush of Missouri joined after the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections. Two years later, the group added Greg Casar of Texas and Summer Lee of Pennsylvania. The Squad is well-known for being among the most active and progressive left-wing members of the U.S. Congress.        

In this regard, she and her group formulated the Green New Deal, presented in her first year in office, as one of the largest efforts to address environmental catastrophes, deforestation, and global warming. Public investments would be directed towards sustainable economic activities, reducing harmful emissions into the atmosphere, and advancing the energy transition. Starting in 2021, the Biden administration attempted to advance this agenda with the Build Back Better initiative, despite significant cuts in the initial project.

She also seeks to universalize Medicare, a proposal for public health care as a basic human right. This is also a topic strongly associated with Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez, as is the Women's HealthProtection Act. Additionally, she advocates for the prison system reform, and especially relevant to the Observatory, changes to the United States immigration system.

On the immigration issue, AOC was questioned by the New York Times journalist about Biden's stance on immigration and the Southern border of the country. The journalist argued that there were similarities between Biden's immigration policies and Trump's, citing the continued deportations and immigrant detention centers in the Biden administration, AOC’s fellow Democrat. Without much hesitation, the congresswoman responds, "Immigration is possibly the weakest point of this administration." For her, the decisions are more influenced by politics than any other area. She emphasized that to address the immigration problem and all the underlying issues, it is necessary to start not only at the border but also with the United States' foreign policy.

In a previous analysis, we examined immigration policies in the United States, based on the end of Title 42, an immigration exception policy for health reasons invoked due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which facilitated the deportation of immigrants during that period, as well as other measures like "Stay in Mexico", which forced asylum seekers to remain in Mexico until they could have a hearing with a U.S. judge. In the text mentioned above, we also analyzed Joe Biden's immigration policies in comparison to those of Donald Trump. The underlying conclusion of our Observatory's text is similar to AOC's jab at her fellow party member, understanding that there is a willingness within the administration to change immigration rules in the United States, but this willingness is inhibited by the weakness in enforcing its ideas and the political inability to reconcile differences among various political actors on the part of the Joe Biden administration.

In August 2023, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and some progressive colleagues from the Democratic Party embarked on a trip to Brazil, Chile, and Colombia, where left-wing governments are in power. The aim was to engage with authorities and activist communities connected to civil rights. This week-long trip, organized by a progressive research group in Washington, was not funded by taxpayers' money. Ocasio-Cortez stated that it's time for a realignment of the United States' relationship with Latin America, emphasizing trust and mutual respect. The trip, referred to as the "AOC’s socialist sympathy tour" by the Wall Street Journal, was also a subject of questioning for the New York Times journalist, especially due to alleged anti-U.S. positions of left-wing governments in Latin America. However, for AOC, her foreign policy goals do not diverge from those of the President or her country. She believes that the United States' past interventionist foreign policy in Latin America has created a "trust problem with our neighbors in the Western Hemisphere."

In a Jacobinarticle from September 9th, AOC also discussed this trip. According to the article, she reiterated the importance of building genuine relationships with social movements in Latin America. In this article, AOC also talks about the 50th anniversary of Augusto Pinochet's coup in Chile on September 11th. She stated that it is mandatory for the United States government to make public the documents regarding its involvement in the coup and that this action is crucial for the "healing and understanding" of the Chilean people.

Recently, the expansion project of the BRICS group and the possibility of replacing the dollar's hegemony in the international system have put the U.S. media on alert. The New York Times’ headline, "American Power Just Took a Big Hit," is one example of this shift in mindset. In this context, AOC's trip, her cultural exchange with popular movements in Latin America, and her Mea Culpa speech on behalf of the United States are a perfect opportunity for her opponents to paint her as a traitor to the nation and unpatriotic.

Another significant challenge that AOC has faced since her debut in politics is related to her identity. In her journey, she realized that she and other women of ethnic minorities ("a lot of women and people of color – and especially women of color") must work much harder than their peers to overcome the obstacles in their paths. Her Latina identity made her feel that many doors were closed to her both professionally and personally. As mentioned earlier, the interview with the NYT focused on the shift from the newcomer from New York's 14th district to the experienced Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez. In the context of her identity, AOC told the newspaper that in 2019, she realized that the best she could do was to work as hard as she could to earn the benefit of the doubt from her supporters, from other members of Congress, and from the American society.

However, her Puerto Rican identity is also a driving force in her political career. AOC proposes a series of measures related to Puerto Rico, including the dissolution of La Junta, a colloquial name for the Fiscal Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico, responsible for overseeing the island's spendings since 2016. She also advocates for infrastructure improvement, as the island faces a lack of basic services, power outages, underreported deaths, and a lack of public education, especially after Hurricane Maria in 2017. She also recognizes that the issues of justice in Puerto Rico are rooted in a complex history of colonization and inequality. To mitigate these problems, she seeks to promote social, economic, and racial justice for the residents.

The political trajectory of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – AOC – is marked by constant evolution and a commitment to progressive causes for her community. Since her election in 2019, she has gone from being a newcomer in Congress to becoming an influential figure in American politics, respected on the global stage. She proudly embraces her identity as a Latin woman and turns difficulties into motivation to work even harder. AOC continues to shape the American political landscape and is expected to expand her sphere of influence and further mature as an American Congresswoman.