Corporate influence over politics in Florida, has left many organizations searching for ways to encourage more democratic engagement. WMNF’s Josh Holton reports, a coalition of organizations with Florida For All held an educational webinar last night to explore how some of that influence affects the structure of Florida’s economy.
Ida Eskamani is the sister of Democratic Representative Ana Eskamani and former legislative director for Florida Rising, and says the Florida legislature is the front line for the global fight against multinational corporations.
“The economy doesn’t have to be one that extracts and excludes and profits for the 1%. An economy can actually be a thing that drives justice, that builds wealth for us. Like how we design the economy is up to us and our elected officials can make those decisions.”
She added that states are using their government to design a different kind of economy, but she said history offers hope.
“The history of America is one of corporate exploitation of black bodies of indigenous land and of working class people. and so, throughout history, we’ve seen examples of worker solidarity across race, across gender, across national origin towards this vision of an economy that really works for us. and we know that we are the heroes that we’ve been waiting. For there is no one gonna save us. It is us. And our model of power is not that of one person can fix it. That is authoritarianism. Our model of power is centered in collective action.”
Jackson Oberlink is the legislative director for Florida for All and said the two bills which exemplify the kind of corporate influence that they are opposing are House Bill 585 and Senate Bill 832.
“And basically this bill would shield corporate polluters mosaic from accountability. from lawsuits, when, once they pollute land from their phosphate mining with radioactive waste. So this is a really terrible bill and there’s some pretty blatant corruption going on here. Nadeska gave a pretty fiery testimony in a session this week in committee, calling out the sponsor, who was sitting right behind her from take for taking. $10,000, .four days before he filed this bill from Mosaic. so the connection here could not be more transparent.”
House Bill 585 is now in the Civil Justice and Claims Subcommittee and Senate Bill 832 passed unanimously in the Environment and Natural Resources Committee and is now in the Rules Committee.
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