Miami, United States. -The city of Hialeah officially designated on Tuesday several sections of East 4th Avenue with the name of “Lincoln Díaz-Balart Way”, in tribute to the Cuban-American former congressman recognized for his work in favor of human rights and freedom in Latin America, especially in Cuba.
The ceremony, held this morning At the intersection of EAST 45th Street and EAST 65th Lane, it was headed by Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart (FL-26), brother of the honoree and current vice president of the Assignments Committee of the House of Representatives of the United States. Esteban Bovo; the Miami-Dade Commissioner for District 13, René García; The US ambassador to Panama, the Cuban American Kevin Marino Cabreraand several councilors of the city.
During the act, René García highlighted the public legacy of the former congressman: “He was a leader who did serve this community and gave voice to those people who did not matter. It did not matter if they were Cubans, if they were Nicaraguans, if they were Haitians. He always thought that the important thing about a public office was to represent his community with respect and integrity.”
Florida’s former state senator added that “there are many politicians who have come before and after, but no one can compare the trajectory that Lincoln Díaz-Balart had.”
Lincoln Díaz-Balart was chosen to the United States Congress in 1993 as part of Chamber 103. He remained in office until his retirement in 2011, representing Hialeah for years and consolidating himself as one of the strongest voices against the Cuban regime.
Among its main legislative contributions is the writing of the democracy requirement for the lifting of US sanctions to the Cuban regime, as well as the authorship of Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (Nacara), which benefited thousands of Central American immigrants.
The stretch that now bears his name includes the EAST 4th Avenue from East Okeechobee Road to East 21st Street, and from East 25th Street to East 65th Street, in a city with a high concentration of Cuban Americans and other Latin American immigrants.
Mario Díaz-Balart celebrated the initiative as an act of symbolic justice towards a figure that “defended the silenced and oppressed.” From Washington, Lincoln Díaz-Balart promoted firm opposition policies to dictatorships in the region and accompanied migratory and humanitarian causes with lasting impact on southern Florida.
