Two Democratic Socialists of America congressional candidates from New York City are spending the weekend in Montevideo, Uruguay, joining a gathering of leftist lawmakers from across the Western Hemisphere rather than knocking on doors back home. Claire Valdez, who is running to replace retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez in New York's 7th Congressional District, and Darializa Avila Chevalier, who is seeking the 13th District seat covering Upper Manhattan and part of the Bronx, both plan to attend the Pan-American Congress in the Uruguayan capital.
As reported by the New York Daily News, the trip puts the two incoming freshmen alongside a congressional delegation led by Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García of Illinois, both established progressive Democrats. Also attending are Pennsylvania State Rep. Chris Rabb, a likely incoming Democratic lawmaker from Philadelphia, and Adam Hamawy, a likely incoming Democratic lawmaker from New Jersey. Sen. Bernie Sanders is set to deliver remote remarks to the gathering, according to Common Dreams.
From Primary Upsets to International Stage
Valdez and Avila Chevalier both won their June Democratic primaries against more establishment-oriented rivals, and both are favored to win their congressional seats in deep-blue districts this November. Valdez, a New York State Assemblymember for Queens' 37th District, defeated Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso to secure the NY-07 nomination, according to the Daily News. She is a dual citizen of the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Nation and the United States and a former Columbia University UAW Local 2110 organizer, per City & State New York, which reported she won the primary with 58% of the vote.
Avila Chevalier, an Afro-Latina public defense investigator at Neighborhood Defender Services of Harlem and a CUNY doctoral candidate, defeated five-term incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat, positioning her to become the first Dominican American woman elected to Congress, according to a Wikipedia account of the race. That primary drew heavy outside spending, with the pro-Palestine super PAC American Priorities pouring $1.3 million into independent expenditures backing her campaign. Hoodline previously reported that Avila Chevalier faced scrutiny during the race over donors tied to spy tech including Palantir and Dataminr.
What the Pan-American Congress Wants
The Pan-American Congress was inaugurated in Colombia in 2024 and includes leftists from nations including Nicaragua and Cuba. The gathering has vowed to combat economic, political, racial, sexual, gender, and cultural exclusion, and has pledged to forge a lasting peace through dialogue and diplomacy while opposing what it calls the politics of military and economic warfare that punish and displace peoples, per the Daily News account of the group's stated goals.
The forum, according to its own materials cited by the Pan-American Congress, launched in Bogotá under Colombian President Gustavo Petro before a second gathering in Mexico City hosted by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, ahead of this year's designation of Montevideo as host city. The event was preceded by preparatory policy summits this year in Rio de Janeiro, Santiago and Toronto focused on regional green industrial policy and artificial intelligence digital sovereignty, according to the Broadbent Institute.
Valdez said she looks forward to meeting leaders across the Americas and future congressional colleagues, and said she plans to discuss building a future of peace, stability, and dignity, per the Daily News. David Adler called the candidates' attendance an indispensable opportunity to forge fresh leadership, adding that the candidates' project begins in the Western Hemisphere.
Republicans Sharpen Attack Lines
Republican strategists plan to use the Uruguay event to portray Democrats as out-of-touch radicals, according to the Daily News report. Maureen O'Toole said the Democratic Party is cozying up to socialists and putting America last. The framing echoes a broader GOP effort to tie New York's Democratic Socialist candidates to foreign leftist movements ahead of the midterms, and it comes as Cait Conley, the Democratic nominee for NY-17 in Westchester County, runs to unseat Rep. Mike Lawler in a very different kind of swing-district contest.
Neither Valdez nor Avila Chevalier responded to questions about who or what entity is paying for their trips, the Daily News reported, and Avila Chevalier did not respond to requests for comment. The trip also lands amid ongoing friction between congressional progressives and the Trump administration's Latin America policy. Rep. Jayapal, in an August letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, protested what she called the administration's “Donroe Doctrine,” accusing Washington of using counter-narcotics partnerships with select Latin American governments to project military dominance across the hemisphere, according to Just The News.
Part of a Bigger Progressive Wave
The Montevideo trip follows a strong primary season for the left. An August CBS News analysis found that roughly two-thirds of U.S. House candidates endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America or Justice Democrats won their 2026 primaries, with CBS News projecting seven to nine of them will take office after the November midterms.
Valdez's foreign policy positioning traces back to her campaign launch, when Hoodline reported that Mayor Zohran Mamdani and UAW President Shawn Fain endorsed her for NY-07 following Velázquez's retirement announcement, and her launch video explicitly opposed regime change abroad. Whether either candidate faces further questions over the Montevideo trip's funding, or how they will navigate foreign policy friction within the House Democratic caucus once seated, remains to be seen.
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