Florida Mayor Calls Ron DeSantis a ‘Dictator’ for Blocking Coronavirus Restrictions

Mayor Carlos Hernandez, the Republican mayor of Hialeah in Florida’s Miami-Dade County, described Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) as a “dictator” for blocking local officials from implementing stringent coronavirus restrictions, an assertion the governor’s team dismissed as absurd.

“He’s a dictator,” the mayor said of DeSantis. “It’s a shame because we’re paying the price.”

Christina Pushaw, press secretary for the governor, dismissed the assertion as ridiculous.

“Ridiculous for anyone to call Governor DeSantis a dictator,” Pushaw said, according to the Washington Post. “Since when do dictators prioritize individual rights over the unchecked expansion of government power?”

She added that DeSantis can use executive power in the event of local officials overstepping their bounds and infringing on individual rights.

In May, DeSantis suspended all remaining coronavirus restrictions local governments had imposed in the Sunshine State, including mask mandates. The legislation, SB 2006, acts as a safeguard against government overreach, preventing local governments from overstepping their bounds and imposing lockdowns or other stringent measures while also banning the use of vaccine passports in Florida.

“I think the Legislature looked and said, ‘Well, okay, what if we were in a California situation?’” DeSantis said at the time. “What would the Legislature’s ability to be? And so they put safeguards for the people of Florida.”

As Breitbart News reported:

Per the bill, it is the “intent of the Legislature to minimize the negative effects of an extended emergency, such as a pandemic or another public health emergency.” It limits local emergency orders to seven days, allowing them to be extended once a week for 42 days. However, the governor can override the local emergency orders.

Local orders must be “limited in duration, applicability, and scope in order to reduce any infringement on individual rights or liberties to the greatest extent possible,” per the bill.

Last year, a group of Florida mayors begged DeSantis to impose a “mandatory mask mandate” across the state, a move DeSantis refused to make throughout the pandemic. At the time, Hernandez, who is close with former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, said it would be “very unprofessional and disrespectful” if the governor failed to respond to the plea.