|
By Oscar Corral. Ocorral@Herald.Com.
The Miami Herald. Posted on
Mon, Jan. 06, 2003.
Newly elected congressman Mario Díaz-Balart huddled at Casa Larios
restaurant in South Miami recently, chatting on a cellphone with Otto Reich
about Reich's future at the U.S. State Department.
The phone had been passed around between Díaz-Balart's brother,
congressman Lincoln Díaz-Balart, and congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen,
who were sitting next to Mario at the table, according to accounts provided by
the three of them.
After hanging up, the conversation drifted to the fiscal challenges Florida
would be confronting with newly approved constitutional amendments, such as the
one putting limits on class sizes, that will likely strain the state's budget in
years to come.
Then Mario Díaz-Balart, the youngest brother in a family whose
political dynasty stretches back more than a century from Cuba to Miami, got on
the phone again and did something that surprised even a veteran politician like
Ros-Lehtinen.
''I don't know what number he called,'' Ros-Lehtinen said, "But he got
Jeb [Bush] on the phone right there. We brainstormed with him about how to solve
the state's fiscal crisis.
"Mario doesn't put things on a to-do list. He just does them.''
As Mario Díaz-Balart, a former state legislator, prepares to take on
a job with national scope, he is leaning heavily on Lincoln and on Ros-Lehtinen
-- whom he affectionately calls his ''older sister'' -- for a crash course on
Congress.
Not that he really needs one. He knows from watching his brother and
Ros-Lehtinen that there is a learning curve for an incoming freshman, but that
being under the wings of two senior representatives has significant advantages.
He also knows he enters Congress with a badge of distinction: He drew state
districts in Florida that helped boost the Republican majority in Congress.
''I realize this is a different animal. It's the big leagues,'' Mario said. "I
have a lot to learn, but I have huge advantages, like Ileana, and others too.''
SIBLING TEAM
Like Kendrick Meek, the other freshman congressman heading to Washington
from Miami-Dade County to take over the seat formerly held by his mother, Carrie
Meek, Díaz-Balart is following a family member to Washington. He and
Lincoln will make up one of only two sibling teams in the House of
Representatives.
The other siblings are a pair of Democrats from Southern California, Linda
and Loretta Sanchez, the first sisters to serve together in Congress.
''He's not only a good friend of mine, or a brother, he's also a good
advisor,'' Lincoln Díaz-Balart said. "I don't think he is going to
have many surprises. I think he is going to hit the ground running.''
Mario Díaz-Balart, 41, has already set up district offices in Collier
and Miami-Dade counties, and has found himself a one-bedroom apartment two
blocks from Capitol Hill in Washington. He will leave his car in Miami and walk
to work every day after being sworn in Tuesday, he said.
After his landslide victory over Democrat Annie Betancourt in November, Díaz-Balart
increased to four the number of Cuban Americans in Congress. And the veterans
can use his help: A movement is gaining ground across the nation to ease or lift
economic sanctions against Cuba, and the embargo's stalwart protectors are badly
in need of support.
''He's going to be a great ally,'' Ros-Lehtinen said. "He's not just
another voice or vote. He brings a different point of view. He represents a new
generation.''
Unlike older brother Lincoln, who was born in Cuba, Mario was born in Fort
Lauderdale. But he is no less dogmatic about his anti-Castro, pro-embargo
stance, which he drove home in his campaign. Betancourt said she wanted economic
sanctions eased, and eventually lost to Díaz-Balart by a two-to-one
margin. The race was seen by some as a referendum on the embargo.
But Díaz-Balart was careful not to turn the campaign into a one-issue
race. And he continues to downplay Cuba. When rattling off his goals in a recent
interview, he did not mention Cuba, focusing instead on domestic priorities.
That's a relief to some in Miami's Haitian community, who have criticized
South Florida's Republican national representatives for neglecting Haitians'
concerns.
''I do believe that he can represent everyone, not just Cubans,'' said
Jacques Despinosse, a Haitian-American political activist. "I think it's
about time to open our arms and send an olive branch to the other party to let
them know that their political affiliation should not be a barrier.''
THE EVERGLADES
Likewise, environmentalists, who expressed concerns with Díaz-Balart's
environmental record during the campaign, are taking a wait-and-see approach to
his new role. Almost the entire Everglades and Big Cypress National Preserve are
in Díaz-Balart's District 25, which stretches from west Miami-Dade across
the southern tip of the peninsula to Collier County.
''I think he's got a really unique challenge,'' said Shannon Estenoz,
national co-chair of the Everglades Coalition and South Florida director of the
World Wildlife Fund. "It's kind of exciting to have a new young congressman
who could come and be a hero of the Everglades.''
In the short term, Díaz-Balart said he will try to get a seat on the
budget committee and help steer transportation funding to Florida. He says his
long-term goal is to earn a seat on the powerful appropriations committee and
help pass legislation to ease the skyrocketing costs of health and property
insurance.
''Mario cares about the Cuba issue, like we all do,'' said Miami Mayor Manny
Diaz, who is trying to increase ties between the city and the area's Washington
delegation. "But I do think Mario is very committed and very active on
local issues. I think he is going to do very well up there.''
During 14 years as a GOP state senator and representative, Díaz-Balart
emerged from his brother's political shadow to be consistently ranked as one of
the most effective legislators in Tallahassee, according to yearly analyses
conducted by The Herald.
As a state legislator, Díaz-Balart helped secure more than $300
million for universities in South Florida, and played a major role in starting
law schools at Florida International University and Florida A&M University.
He also helped pass groundbreaking laws to protect children, including the Jimmy
Ryce Act. The law allows the continued confinement of sexual predators who have
completed their sentences if they're still found to be dangerous.
Don Ryce, father of murdered Miami-Dade boy Jimmy Ryce, for whom the
legislation is named, said Díaz-Balart came through for the family.
''Mario did not let his ego get in the way of getting the law passed,'' Don
Ryce said. "He treated us throughout with respect and he always kept his
word to us.''
RUNS IN THE FAMILY
To many people, it's no surprise to see Díaz-Balart ascend to
Congress. He comes from a family that has been enmeshed in politics for
generations, whose ties stretch from Fidel Castro to Fulgencio Batista, from
Ronald Reagan to George W. Bush.
Díaz-Balart's grandfather, Rafael, was the mayor of the town of Banes
and a member of Cuba's Congress. Díaz-Balart's father, also named Rafael,
was a representative and majority leader in Cuba's House.
As the story goes, Rafael introduced his younger sister, Mirta Díaz-Balart,
to Castro, who was a close friend. The two eventually married, then split up.
Rafael Díaz-Balart went on to become a close friend and advisor to Cuban
leader Fulgencio Batista before he was overthrown by Castro in 1959.
Since then, the Díaz-Balarts have been sworn enemies of Cuba's
communist dictator, and their stateside politics reflect that animosity. Mario Díaz-Balart
is no exception. He grew up on a healthy diet of anti-Castro rhetoric mixed with
history and philosophy.
''We didn't go to sporting events. We talked politics,'' Díaz-Balart
said of growing up in his ultra-political family. "We'd have lunches or
dinners at people's homes and talk about history. That's how we grew up. That's
how we are.
"Service is what drives the family. Clearly it's not money or
business.''
Rafael Díaz-Balart, who splits his residence between Miami and
Madrid, said his son Mario grew up with a strong character.
''All my kids have character,'' Rafael Díaz-Balart said in an
interview from Spain. Besides Lincoln and Mario, he has two other sons: José,
a TV newscaster, and Rafael, a banker.
"They were formed in an ambience of devotion to the Cuban homeland.
From the beginning we all knew Mario had a strong character. Like all my sons,
he is one hundred percent Cuban and one hundred percent American.''
| 
