Who is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez And Why Should We Know Her

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (28) has defeated 10-term Congressman Joseph Crowley in the House of Representatives. Her victory has stunned everyone, and a lot of people are calling it one of the most shocking upsets in recent American political history as she has never held an office before.

Know more about Ocasio-Cortez

• Ocasio-Cortez is a progressive and a member of Democratic Socialists of America. She supports Medicare for All; a Jobs Guarantee; tuition-free public college; ending the privatization of prisons and enacting gun control policies.
•  She was born on October 13, 1989 in New York. Her mother is from Puerto Rico and her father is from South Bronx.
• According to her, her upbringing happened in a place where one's zip code determined their destiny.
• She says she will be working towards the welfare of the working families and work towards lowering rents, increasing incomes and ensuring that health facilities are accessible to everyone.
• Alexandria has a degree in economics and international relations from Boston University.

"Alexandria and I are joining together to take on the old boys club, rejecting corporate money, and run people-powered campaigns that envision a progressive New York that serves the many, not just the few who can afford to buy influence," said Cynthia Nixon, who’s running for New York governor,

• After college, she returned home and found work as an educational director for the nonprofit National Hispanic Institute. But she was compelled to take on another job when the recession hit.
• Ocasio-Cortez has worked as a waitress and bartender to help her mother who used to work as a house cleaner. Her father was a small business owner who succumbed to cancer.

In an interview with MSNBC, she said, “My mother cleaned homes and drove school buses, and when my family was on the brink of foreclosure … I started bartending and waitressing. I understand the pain of working-class Americans because I have experienced the pain.”

• Ocasio-Cortez describes herself as an educator, organiser and working class New Yorker who has worked with expectant mothers, waited tables and led classrooms
• Also, she was also a volunteer in Bernie Sanders’ 2016 Presidential campaign.

Pic credits: Indian Express

Also Read: Intimidating women and threatening them is not politics