The Dangerous Reach of LIBRE in Hidalgo County
How LIBRE’s Misinformation Threatens Our Elders, Low-Income Families, and the Rio Grande Valley Economy
If you live in the Rio Grande Valley, you’ve probably have not heard of LIBRE. You can read my previous essay on LIBRE Initiative here for some more background.
Anyhow, LIBRE claims to be a nonprofit fighting for “economic freedom” and “prosperity.” But their messaging tells a completely different story. Their work in Hidalgo County is partisan, manipulative, and targeted at our most vulnerable neighbors. And I’ve seen it with my own eyes.
There’s a man in Edinburg—Jorge Martínez. I knocked on his door while block walking for the Democratic Party back in February 2024. We exchanged a few words; he was all about “school choice.” This was before the voucher scam passed. Guess who it was: the LIBRE guy, the one spreading all the lies, misleading and misinforming. I recognized him because I had just done a TikTok post of a video of him with state representative Oscar Longoria. You can see it here:
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Yes, it’s Oscar Longoria and he did do the video with LIBRE’s Jorge Martínez, and he probably hoped you never saw it. Longoria is also one of the state reps from the RGV who did not leave the state to break quorum during the gerrymandering. But I digress. Back to the LIBRE scam.
On a different block walk event in South McAllen, we knocked on a retiree’s home. He told us: “Nos quieren quitar el Social Security. Muy apenas podemos. Quiten a Biden.” Translation? “Yes, they want to take away our Social Security; I’m barely making it. Biden needs to go.” We assumed he meant Trump. Nope. He had seen the messaging on pamphlets and online—and it was LIBRE behind it.
This supposed nonprofit organization has money. They can afford to pay their canvassers. They host fancy luncheons—free food, suits and ties, treated like royalty. My pet groomer told me about it. She and her friends attended an event. They didn’t care to hear the messaging—they just wanted the free food and a chance to earn some extra cash. I only heard about it because I asked my groomer if she was registered to vote, my usual small talk with everyone.
I’ve canvassed quite a bit, and I’ve seen and heard too many stories to ignore. LIBRE is actively misleading people. Here is another example, LIBRE advocating for the 2017 tax cuts, which overwhelmingly benefits the ultra wealthy and harms the rest of us. See it for yourself, get ready to want to punch your chair:
And there is more where that came from.
How OBBB Will Impact Medicaid, Medicare, and SNAP in the RGV
The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) imposes massive cuts and new requirements that will hit the Rio Grande Valley hard. It slashes vital programs—including Medicaid, Medicare, and SNAP—to pay for tax breaks that mostly benefit the ultra-wealthy. Medicaid, which covers nearly 72 million people, faces the largest cuts in history, with the CBO projecting 10 million more uninsured by 2034. Texas already has one of the highest uninsured rates, and the RGV is even worse.
The bill makes enrollment harder with more paperwork, frequent eligibility checks, and strict work requirements. Adults aged 19–64 must work, do community service, attend school part-time, or complete training—even parents of teens. Cost-sharing fees up to $35 per visit could make care unaffordable, and mistakes or missed deadlines may drop people from coverage.
Medicare will see $45 billion in cuts in 2026, growing to $75 billion by 2034. SNAP benefits will shrink for millions of families, with stricter work rules. Planned Parenthood clinics risk defunding, threatening reproductive care and contraception access, especially in underserved and rural areas.
These cuts don’t just hurt patients—they threaten the Valley’s economy. Hospitals and clinics rely on Medicaid funding. Cuts could force staff reductions, lower wages, and reduced services, hitting rural clinics hardest. Health care workers may lose income or jobs, and communities could face limited access to essential care.
With all this bad policy, LIBRE still calls the OBBB great for Medicaid. Check it out:
Reading LIBRE’s BS makes me go crazy, up in arms.
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A Call to Local Leadership
For leaders in Hidalgo County—elected officials, party organizers, and community advocates—the message is clear: the cuts outlined in the OBBB are real and will affect many in the area, even if the most significant impacts are delayed until after the 2026 midterms. Postponing the implementation allows lawmakers to highlight more popular aspects of the bill while voters do not yet feel the pain of health care losses.
It is essential to ensure that residents are fully informed in both English and Spanish about the law’s provisions, the potential effects on health care, nutrition programs, education, and the economy, and the challenges families may face. Providing clear, accessible information now is a critical step in protecting our community’s well-being and preparing everyone to navigate these changes effectively.
I can almost guarantee that the majority of the Valley is not aware all that is coming.
A Call to the Community
For residents of the Rio Grande Valley, we cannot continue business as usual. Voter turnout is abysmal. If we are to fight against this take over, all of us must work together to get people to the polls. It will require a massive movement. We need people power: Spanish messaging, neighbors talking to neighbors, and social media posts encouraging civic engagement. This Take Our County Back campaign will be won not by waiting for someone else to act, but by us, together, in every corner of Hidalgo County.
The LIBRE propaganda machine is telling our elderly and our most vulnerable neighbors that the OBBB will be better for them. They are lying. They are cruel. Misinformation like this puts families at risk, misleads voters, and undermines the well-being of entire communities. We cannot stand by while our neighbors are deceived. LIBRE is here, lying to our elders and low-income voters, spreading messages that benefit the rich at the expense of our families. If we don’t mobilize, they will continue to poison our community.
People must listen. People must act. People MUST vote.
Sources / Fact Checks:
League of Women Voters, What You Need to Know About the One Big Beautiful Bill: https://www.lwv.org/blog/what-you-need-know-about-one-big-beautiful-bill
The Hill, Trump, Democrats spar over Medicaid cuts ahead of 2026 midterms: https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5384501-trump-democrats-medicaid-cuts-2026-midterms/
Berkeley School of Public Health, What Do Cuts to Medicaid Really Mean?: https://publichealth.berkeley.edu/articles/news/commentary/what-do-cuts-to-medicaid-really-mean
American Progress, The Truth About the One Big Beautiful Bill, ACT’s Cuts to Medicaid and Medicare: https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-truth-about-the-one-big-beautiful-bill-acts-cuts-to-medicaid-and-medicare/
Tax Policy Center, Distributional Effects of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/publications/distributional-effects-tax-cuts-and-jobs-act
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicaid Expansion & OBBB:
https://www.cms.gov
Social Security Administration, Program Facts:
https://www.ssa.gov
LIBRE nonprofit status: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer: https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/