Miami Mayor Francis Suarez wants to turn the popular spring break retreat into next Silicon Valley

[Music] welcome back to cbs this morning i wanted a good miami throwback to start the day florida is experiencing a big influx of new residents in the wake of the pandemic the miami area has seen a 15 increase in tech professionals it has welcomed more i.t and software workers in the last year than anywhere else in the country by contrast new york city lost 18 percent of his tech workforce and the bay area lost nearly 35 percent we recently spoke with miami mayor francis suarez the 43 year old who's in his first term told us it's his personal mission to transform miami into the next great tech capital people often counter brand miami they'll say well miami is just a you know hospitality town or just a retirement place or this is just a moment in time and for me this is a movement thank you all for coming here today mayor francis suarez is a miami-born republican and cuban-american with an appreciation for traditional cafeto and he's waging a gorilla style marketing campaign trying to lure entrepreneurs to miami with the goal of turning paradise city into tech's new frontier that invitation to come to miami first came in the form of a tweet it did it got about 2.7 million impressions it was a tweet from deleon from the founder's fund who said hey guys what if we move silicon valley to miami and i tweeted out they called the tweet heard around the world four simple words how can i help that tweet and others by a leading silicon valley venture capitalist helped inspire entrepreneurs to flock to miami for an impromptu tech week earlier this spring mayor suarez embraced the moment by launching his cafeto tech talks and hosting business leaders in town hall style conversations we have very little homelessness in comparison with major cities of very little crime in comparison with major cities when you say i want to build the city of the future how would something like that look like look i have two children technology's here to stay whether you're republican or democrat it's not a partisan issue and so for me as you think about how do you create high-paying jobs which have a generational impact you have to attract the people that create these companies people like jason richmond who relocated from new york to miami during the pandemic i've seen a growing sort of ecosystem of talent pools coming here to miami over the last couple of months richmond works at safecraft a data company that provided information to scientists local governments and even the cdc to aid in the pandemic response trying to figure out where can i go somewhere warm with low taxes healthy lifestyle and this was the natural choice have you found the conditions for your company to thrive in this environment yeah so i came down here uh to eventually build an office for the team but i think that what the pandemic has proven is that with the sort of acceleration of digital transformation you could really work from anywhere right but not everyone is as optimistic about miami's future when forests burn carbon journalist david wallace wells author of the uninhabitable earth warns that the fate of this futurist paradise could be largely underwater of all the cities in the u.s you know miami may be the most dramatic illustration of at least the crisis of sea level rise you've already started to see the army corps of engineers developing a series of plans to protect major american cities from sea level rise and their plan for miami includes sea walls on the mainland it does not even attempt to protect any of miami beach or the rest of the archipelago which is essentially an acknowledgment from the army corps of engineers that that land is practically speaking lost miami will still be there in 2050 but it will be dealing with so much more climate struggle than we have today we're one of the few cities probably in the world that's spending hundreds of billions of dollars to make sure that miami is as water resilient as any city on the planet as a resident of miami myself there are days where we don't have a drop of rain and still we we have flooded streets because of high tide climate change seems to be a a yes urgent matter but also a long-term challenge yeah um how do you balance those two well first of all i have a great great incentive to think long-term in my two children but there have been multiple climatic phenomena so we know what the challenges are we're not putting our head in the sand pretending like they don't exist mayor suarez says he's also working to ensure that any technological boom benefits everyone especially since miami has a higher poverty rate than the national average it's something we're very intentional about that's why we say that we don't just want to miami it's here forever we want to miami it's here for everyone we're a community of immigrants this is very natural for us to invite people from outside and when they're coming here not just to buy property but to build jobs which builds careers which has a generational impact on families that for me is what makes it truly gratifying and to make sure nobody gets left behind the city is providing underserved students with fry free high-speed internet access for two years and it's also working with programs to train adults so they have the skills necessary for the modern economy gail anthony and i think you know it's interesting the mayor is a rising star in politics in florida so a different kind of republican than what we're seeing right now yeah you can really feel his enthusiasm for what he wants to happen in the city but when i think about floor i go to miami sometimes for a long weekend because it seems very uh very fast very fast to me it is i mean very fast we'll see if this holds you know if this is a movement not just a moment like yes it's very interesting transformation he's in the middle of the challenges ahead though are clearly are clearly pretty dramatic yeah but it could change how we think of miami also the other thing about florida the taxes everybody loves the lack of taxes in florida we're seeing that people from new york and california moving to florida that is very attractive

Channel: CBS Mornings

Views: 9,279

Keywords: video, cbs, news, miami, mayor, francis suarez, spring break, retreat, silicon valley, tech hub, cbs this morning, ctm, cbs news, morning show, cbs morning show

Id: 6fikFrEnMWI

Length: 5min 48sec (348 seconds)

Published: Thu May 27 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/GringoMambi]

Could care less about this man's accent. Can we talk about how this tech boom has done more damage than good thus far? It's displaced the already working class Miamian's to live beyond their means or have a fair shot at affordable housing.

I would say if the new wealth within the city would actually trickle down into functional projects that would help said working class and development of this city into the future, ok. BUT this sapingo wants to cut ALL TAXES for the wealthy. Meaning? Any and all public projects are to self serve their elite class (not like it already isn't; luxury condo after luxury condo/and that gaudy bridge arches project, Bechams new stadium with private hotels on public land etc)

He ran in 2016 on the premise of affordable housing, essentially doing a bait and switch. This dude serves the Miami mafias and 1%. Fuck him and his Botox ridden face, fake ass bitch.

[u/TheGoodPane]

His accent is standard Miami. What effect it will have if he ever enters national politics (especially as a republican) will be interesting.

[u/Gabemiami]

I know non-Hispanics who have the Miami accent. I’m Hispanic, but I don’t have the accent. I guess it depends on with whom someone hangs out.

[u/Digitaltwinn]

Probably fake. Like his face.

[u/ACertainKindOfStupid]

“The Mayor is a rising star in politics.”

When Twitter Bubbles mate.

This Fool is out next election.

[u/BMWM6]

He is a crook...

[u/SpeedBoatSquirrel]

He has a stronger and more stereotypical version of the Miami English accent. I know guys who did the same type of private schools and they don’t have it this strong.

As for him, he’s all hype and no substance.

[u/Itwontbepainless]

He sounds like an idiot and it would be embarrassing to hear that accent on a national stage.

[u/Beneficial_Avocado74]

Sounds like your typical miami Chonga 😂