Democratic congressional candidate Robin Peguero Sunday described himself as a "Democratic capitalist" in laying out his vision as the top choice for Florida's highly competitive 27th Congressional District race.
Appearing on WPLG-10’s “This Week in South Florida” show, hosted by Glenna Milberg, Peguero said he entered the race a year ago because he was “worried about the direction of this country, in particular worried about the direction that our president, President Trump, has taken us.”
Peguero is a former homicide prosecutor in Miami-Dade who was named investigative counsel for the House Select Committee on the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection attempt on the U.S. Capitol.
He is the son of a Dominican father and Ecuadorian mother who met while serving in the U.S. Army. When he was five years old, he and his family settled in Hialeah.
The Democratic primary is set for Aug. 18. Among his Democratic opponents: former CBS-4 Miami anchor Eliott Rodriguez.
The primary winner will face incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar. The district includes Miami, Coral Gables, Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay.
The non-partisan Cook Political Report shifted the seat in recent months from "safe Republican" to a “likely Republican” seat, meaning the race is more competitive than most House races.
"I am that person to go to Congress and make sure that we're putting a stop to the, to the damage [Trump’] caused in this country,” Peguero said.
With the upcoming August primary rapidly approaching, Peguero took aim at Trump and Salazar.
“I'm a former homicide prosecutor,” he said. “Who better there to cross-examine those officials who have run [amok] in this country," he said.
Affordability and income inequality
With South Florida facing severe income inequality and sky-high rents and home prices, WPLG’s Milberg pressed Peguero on his plans to tackle housing affordability — an issue she noted had been largely absent from his public platform.
Peguero countered that the issue is deeply personal, pointing out that his parents were able to buy a home in Hialeah on the salary of a mail carrier and a schoolteacher.
"That is impossible nowadays," he said, advocating for the government to step in by expanding the affordable housing supply and providing tax incentives for first-time buyers.
When Milberg questioned whether government intervention of this scale would be branded as "socialism" by South Florida voters — many of whom fled leftist regimes in Latin America and the Caribbean — Peguero rejected the tag.
"I like to call myself a Democratic capitalist because I believe that there's always a capitalistic solution to all of our problems," Peguero said. "Think of the public option in the healthcare market. That's just more choices for consumers, helping drive down the costs and increase competition."
Peguero’s economic focus centers squarely on middle-class relief, pledging to overturn recent Republican fiscal policies if Democrats capture the House majority. Republicans currently hold a slim margin.
"The system is rigged for the powerful, for the corrupt, for billionaires, and for corporations," Peguero argued. "What we need to do is repeal the tax giveaways and tax buyouts that our congresswoman [Salazar] voted for, for billionaires and corporations, and we invest that in middle-class and working-class families. We need to stop the Trump tariff taxes that are just, uh, him pick- pickpocketing us."
Immigration and foreign policy
In a district where international headlines mirror as local politics, Peguero sharply criticized the Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement policies, asserting that "this president's deported more Cubans than any other president in the history of the United States." He characterized the administration's deportations of those who arrived following the July 11, 2021, Cuban protests as "horrific."
On foreign policy regarding Cuba and Venezuela, Peguero advocates for targeted diplomacy rather than sweeping economic restrictions that squeeze ordinary citizens.
"What we need to do is not punish the Cuban people … with the banning of remittances or flights or this oil blockade that we're doing there," Peguero said. "The sanctions, again, need to be not on the Cuban people and hurting them, but on the military and on the authorities to make sure that we can force a transition, economic and democratic transition."
Peguero also sought to distinguish himself and his main Democratic primary opponent, Rodriguez.
"My opponent sometimes likes to, to brag about the fact that no one knew he was a Democrat until a couple of months ago," Peguero told WPLG’s Milberg. "But I've been a fighter for Democratic policies for the past twenty years."
“This is an existential moment in our country's history,” he said. “We need someone who has fought the president before, as I have, has the experience and the energy to lead this district."
Click here to visit Robin Peguero for Congress website.
