A political group affiliated with billionaire and mega-donor Charles Koch, launched a seven-figure campaign to reach Latinos in seven different states.
The Libre Initiative, as the group is known, released a new website Monday, along with a video and the official debut of "Sabor a Freedom," its Spanish-language podcast. The group is best known for its advocacy of free-market policies on Hispanic communities.
The video podcast had a soft launch in March, with an episode featuring Mexican TV chef Pati Jinich commemorating International Women's Day, where the chef discussed her immigrant story while teaching Cesar Grajales, the host to make sopa de tortilla.
Last week, the group also released a video titled "Vive tu American Dream," featuring Libre President Daniel Garza's backstory through the foundation of Libre in 2011.
"People come to America to achieve their aspirations — and the Latino community has been no different," Garza says in the video. "Critical to a strong America is a strong Latino community— and vice versa. We are interdependent on each other."
This isn't the first time during this cycle where Libre invests on campaigns centering the Latino community.
Back in August 2023, the organization launched a multi-state effort to counter Democratic messaging around "Bidenomics," the term the administration uses to describe the incumbent's economic record.
That campaign by the libertarian-leaning organization, called "La Prosperidad es Posible" (Prosperity is Possible" aimed to engage Latino voters in battleground districts in Arizona, Nevada, Ohio and Wisconsin that Biden's moves to forgive $39 billion of student loan debt and restrict oil and gas leases hurt their wallets.
The campaign also sought to target inflation and Biden's pro-union policies, using intimate gatherings, carne asadas and events at gas stations, where Libre covered the cost of gas for attendees.
"I think it's a disconnect. There has been an economic approach that hasn't rendered real prosperity, real opportunities for the Latino community," Garza said back in August.
The Libre initiative was founded in 2011 as part of the Koch network, but it has come in a tumultuous time for Hispanic conservatism. They have supported moderate immigration and criminal justice reforms but have opposed the Affordable Healthcare Act and increased federal spending on social programs.
The Latino political landscape has shifted since Trump's victory in 2016, as well as President Biden's in 2020, as experts believe Hispanics are increasingly shifting to the right of politics, several studies show.
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