Defectors

Praise

“Ramos’s empathy is formidable. As frightened as she is by the defectors’ politics, she is always curious to learn more.”
—Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times

“Defectors is a deeply reported, surprisingly personal exploration of a phenomenon that is little understood in our politics: The affiliation of Latino voters with causes and candidates that would seem, at first glance, unwelcoming to them. Paola takes us into the lives of Latinos who support presidential candidates with plans for mass deportations or lead efforts to ban books and stop diversity initiatives. She introduces us to Latinos who patrol the border as vigilantes and Latinos who marched on the Capitol on January 6th. From Miami and the Bronx to Arizona, New Mexico and the Rio Grande Valley, Paola shows us why the Latino vote is not just increasingly powerful, but increasingly in flux. It turns out the answers are there if you ask the right questions, and that is exactly what Paola does in this terrific book.”
—Rachel Maddow, Emmy award-winning host of The Rachel Maddow Show and New York Times bestselling author of Prequel

“Defectors…casts aside the misguided notion that Latinos are a monolith and looks at the small but expanding part of the population moving steadily right. Through reporting trips and conversations with experts and psychologists alike, Ramos interrogates the idea that the Latino electorate is aligned with progressive values, writing about an Afro-Latino former Proud Boy leader, a Latino border vigilante, and Latino insurrectionists who participated in the January 6 US Capitol attack. As she persuasively proves, not all white supremacists are white.”
—Vogue

“It’s hard to fathom how any vulnerable group, be they Latinos, Black, or even white women, can consistently vote for conservative candidates who are hostile to their interests, and their humanity. In Defectors, Paola Ramos seeks to understand ultra conservative Latinos, and instead of lecturing them, explains how they’ve come to support violent authoritarianism.” 
—Elie Mystal, New York Times bestselling author of Allow Me to Retort

“With both humanizing compassion and sharp urgency, Defectors highlights the voices and ideologies behind our current political moment. Paola deftly shows how historical trauma and cultural values have caused a rightward shift among an increasingly politically active population and reveals why America’s Latino voices will matter in this election more than ever, and in every election to come.”
—Ana Navarro, Emmy award-winning cohost of “The View”