Latinas United for Political Empowerment (LUPE) was established in 2003 to promote the interests of Latinas in New Jersey. ¹ LUPE trains women to run for elected office, serve in appointed office, and work on political campaigns. ²

The organization has endorsed and aligned with the Democratic Party and its candidates. ^{3 4}

Background

Latinas United for Political Empowerment was started by a group of women who averaged more than 20 years of experience in law, education, human services, business, and public policy. ⁵

LUPE says its mission is to educate, empower, and engage Latinas to promote leadership and civic engagement. ⁶

LUPE is a 501(c)(4). Its sister organization is LUPE Fund, a 501(c)(3) established in 2006. ⁷

History

In 1999, several of the future founders of Latinas United for Political Empowerment collaborated with the Hispanic National Bar Association to organize a national training event for Latinas interested in running for public office called Eleccion Latina. The event was held at De Paul University in Chicago. At the event, five Latina U.S. Representatives spoke. More than 85 Latinas from across the country participated in the weekend event. ⁸

The event prompted the establishment of a permanent organization in New Jersey seeking to advance Latinas in the political and policy making arenas. ⁹

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) hired Neomi Velazquez, a founding member of LUPE, as an aide. However, in 2018, he fired her after she posted derogatory religious and political comments on Facebook, saying that members of the Trump administration were “evangelist a**holes” and “molesters, liars, drunks, racists, heartless, bigots.” ¹⁰ LUPE had endorsed Murphy’s campaign for governor. ¹¹

While the organization claims to be nonpartisan, after the 2020 election, LUPE President Patricia Campos-Medina wrote to leaders of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee on LUPE letterhead to say, “New Jersey voters strongly support President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, while opposing the hate rhetoric of President Trump and his Administration.” The letter went on to urge the state Democrats to appoint Latinas to the state’s redistricting commission. ¹²

Programs and Advocacy

Programs of Latinas United for Political Empowerment include LUPE Latina Leadership Scholarship, Power of Women, and Election Latina. ¹³

LUPE partnered with the Center for American Women in Politics to develop programs to promote Latinas running for office. ¹⁴

LUPE joined other organizations in the Better Ballots New Jersey campaign to do away with the “party line” ballot rule, claiming the ballots are confusing to voters and that gerrymandering creates disenfranchisement. ¹⁵

Leadership

Iveth P. Mosquera is president of the board of Latinas United for Political Empowerment. Mosquera is the director of marketing, public relations and government affairs at Matheny School and Hospital in Peapack, New Jersey. She  is a co-founder of the LUPE Young Latina Leadership Scholarship in 2011, which has awarded more than $60,000 in scholarships.  She is vice president of the board of the League of Women Voters of New Jersey. She was previously acting director of marketing and communications and project manager at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School for five years. ¹⁶

Joanna Feliciano is the vice president of LUPE. She is the chief operating officer of Elevink. ¹⁷

1. “About.” Latinas United for Political Empowerment. Accessed March 16, 2023. https://www.lupenj.org/about
2. “Eleccion Latina.” Latinas United for Political Empowerment. Accessed March 16, 2023. https://www.lupenj.org/eleccion_latina
3. Hutchins, Ryan. “Murphy aide suspended for deriding evangelicals on Facebook.” Politico. October 5, 2018. Accessed March 17, 2023. https://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2018/10/05/murphy-aide-cursed-about-evangelicals-on-facebook-640507
4. LUPAC Letter on Redistricting Appointments. Accessed March 17, 2023. https://www.insidernj.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/LUPEPAC-Ltr-on-Redistricting-Appts.pdf
5. “About.” Latinas United for Political Empowerment. Accessed March 16, 2023. https://www.lupenj.org/about
6. “About.” Latinas United for Political Empowerment. Accessed March 16, 2023. https://www.lupenj.org/about
7. “About.” Latinas United for Political Empowerment. Accessed March 16, 2023. https://www.lupenj.org/about
8.  “About.” Latinas United for Political Empowerment. Accessed March 16, 2023. https://www.lupenj.org/about
9. “About.” Latinas United for Political Empowerment. Accessed March 16, 2023. https://www.lupenj.org/about
10. ^[1] Racioppi, Dustin. “Murphy aide suspended after posting comments about Trump administration, Kavanaugh.” NorthJersey.com. October 5, 2018. Accessed March 17, 2023. https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/new-jersey/governor/2018/10/05/murphy-aide-puts-him-spot-offensive-religious-political-comments/1533454002/
11. Hutchins, Ryan. “Murphy aide suspended for deriding evangelicals on Facebook.” Politico. October 5, 2018. Accessed March 17, 2023. https://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2018/10/05/murphy-aide-cursed-about-evangelicals-on-facebook-640507
12. LUPAC Letter on Redistricting Appointments. Accessed March 17, 2023. https://www.insidernj.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/LUPEPAC-Ltr-on-Redistricting-Appts.pdf
13. “Programs.” Latinas United for Political Empowerment. Accessed March 16, 2023. https://www.lupenj.org/programs
14. Patricia Campos Medina and Laura Matos. “Latinos are 20% of the state yet they got 0% representation on N.J.’s redistricting panel.” New Jersey.com. November 18, 2020. Accessed March 17, 2023. https://www.nj.com/opinion/2020/11/latinos-are-20-of-the-state-yet-they-got-0-representation-on-njs-redistricting-panel-opinion.html
15. “Better Ballots New Jersey.” Good Government Coalition of Virginia. Accessed March 17, 2023. https://ggcnj.org/betterballotsnj/
16.  ^[1] “Iveth P. Mosquera.” Latinas United for Political Empowerment. Accessed March 16, 2023. https://www.lupenj.org/iveth_p_mosquera
17.  “Joanna Feliciano.” Latinas United for Political Empowerment. Accessed March 16, 2023.  https://www.lupenj.org/joanna_feliciano