New York.– The Democratic candidate for New York’s 13th Congressional District, Darializa Ávila Chevalier, was forced to publicly apologize to former Vice President Kamala Harris during an election debate, after old social media posts surfaced in which she used offensive language against the Democratic leader.
The controversy arose following the disclosure of deleted messages from an old Twitter account belonging to Ávila Chevalier, including a post in which he wrote a vulgar expression directed at Harris after the then-vice president urged Guatemalan migrants not to enter the United States illegally.
During the debate, her rival, Congressman Adriano Espaillat, questioned the candidate about those comments and pressured her to answer for the statements.
In light of the accusations, Ávila Chevalier offered a public apology.
“To Vice President Kamala Harris, I sincerely apologize. You did not deserve that language from me,” expressed the 32-year-old candidate.
Furthermore, he acknowledged that he would have liked to see a Black woman reach the Presidency of the United States and stated that his comments from back then do not represent who he is today.
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However, Espaillat considered the explanation insufficient and highlighted that the posts were made when she was already an adult and a political activist.
“This did not happen when I was a teenager. It was just a few years ago. Words matter and I think it is irresponsible for someone with such an irresponsible history on social media to aspire to Congress,” the legislator maintained.
The controversy adds to other questions regarding past posts by Ávila Chevalier, in which he expressed radical positions on various political and social issues, generating criticism both inside and outside the Democratic Party.
Despite this, the candidate insisted that she has evolved politically and assured that her current positions are different from those expressed in those publications.
The incident occurred in the midst of one of the most contested Democratic primary campaigns in New York, where Ávila Chevalier seeks to unseat Espaillat, who has represented District 13 since 2017.
The controversy has once again placed the candidate’s digital history under scrutiny just days before voters head to the polls to decide who will be the Democratic candidate in one of the districts with the largest Latino and Dominican presence in the United States.
