By Karen Gutiérrez
Posted October 31, 2024
Congresswoman Yadira Caraveo (CO-08) last week visited Greeley for a tour of local small businesses to highlight the important role they play in driving economic growth, job creation, and strengthening Colorado communities.
“The most important thing for me as a Representative is to go to the community and learn from them what I need to be doing for them. It is very important to see that Hispanics need to learn more about the resources the federal government has, to help small businesses. We need to communicate this, and it is something I only learn when I am in the community, talking and negotiating with them,” explained Congresswoman Caraveo.
The Weekly Issue/El Semanario followed Congresswoman Yadira Caraveo’s tour with small businesses in Greeley, watch here.
During the tour on Oct. 23, Congresswoman Caraveo met with small business owners, employees, and customers to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing small businesses.
The tour is part of Congresswoman Caraveo’s ongoing commitment and efforts to hear from local small business owners and ensure that they have the resources and support they need to succeed.
“It’s a struggle, and there are many things, many obstacles with the government, explained Gabriela Muñoz, owner Aztlán Insurance Agency. “You want to try to help your people, but at the same time you struggle with your own business. So, we need more help. We need more focus on small businesses.”
Congresswoman Caraveo spoke with Gerardo Lucero, owner Los Comales Market. “Many times, we have to give more, learn more ourselves to be able to do better, because sometimes you fail from one business to another to see how your business looks,” Lucero tol Rep. Caraveo. “Sometimes, you really don’t know how to manage it.”
During her tour of Greeley last week, Congresswoman Caraveo met with not only small business owners, but employees and customers to hear their concerns and learn how the federal government can help them thrive in today’s competitive market.
“Much of what we do to do is provide them with information about programs that exist,” said U.S. Rep. Caraveo. “So, it should be our responsibility to give them information about the different programs that the federal and state governments have to help them establish and grow their businesses, and to provide it in Spanish. This is also the topic of one of the bills I have, to ensure that everything is in the language they speak the most.
U.S. Rep. Caraveo emphasized the importance of small businesses as a driving force of the economy, especially during times of economic uncertainty. She also highlighted the need for support measures that allow these businesses to face challenges such as misinformation.
“Small business are incredibly important for Colorado,” emphasized Rep. Caraveo. “Most businesses in Colorado are small businesses and particularly for Latinos—we are business people. We like to start our own businesses and work with our families. The economy is based on these types of businesses. Most employees work for these kinds of businesses, so it’s important to support them as consumers and as legislators.”
Congresswoman Caraveo’s visits are part of her commitment to stay close to the communities she represents with the hope that these meetings will help identify solutions that boost development of small businesses in Greeley.
“I think the biggest thing will be that the people here—Chicanos, Mexicans, Latinos—know that we are here,” said Pablo Guzman, owner
The Midnight Oil Bookstore. “In the City, we have over 50% of the people that are from Latin America, and we are here, and we spend money here. We attend all the events here, we are with our families in the parks, and it’s important that people see that we are here to help each other.”
Congresswoman Yadira Caraveo is the first Latina doctor in the history of the U.S. Congress. During her first term in office representing Colorado’s newest congressional seat, Caraveo has focused on commonsense legislation that ranked her as the 8th most bipartisan Freshman Member of the 118th Congress. Caraveo serves on the House Agriculture and House Science, Space & Technology Committees.
Karen Gutiérrez is an Independent Digital Journalist for El Semanario.
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