Democrats for President Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, applicants were engaged today in a tough debate on poverty and racism in the city of Flint (Michigan), where high doses of lead were discovered in tap water that have affected the health of many of its inhabitants.
The differences between the candidates around international trade agreements also staged part of the debate, held two days before the Democratic primary in Michigan, a key state for both candidates who have been affected by the closure of many factories and plants sector automobile.
"We are tonight in Flint, Michigan, because it is happening a horrible tragedy," said Senator Sanders.
Clinton began the debate calling for the resignation of the governor of Michigan, Republican Rick Snyder for his mismanagement of the crisis in Flint, for not properly treated water and the delay in action to the situation.
Sanders asked months ago Snyder's resignation, but Clinton had not done so to this debate when he stated that "it is raining lead in Flint, and the state is negligent in failing to give the funds it needs."
Flint tap water was contaminated after the city changed provider to save without debug properly, and its corrosive properties allowed large amounts of lead from old pipes by circulating is filtrasen.
Exposure to large doses of lead can trigger kidney disease and is especially harmful to children, who can lead, among other things, behavioral problems and learning delays.
Sanders recalled the case of a 9 year old who is in special education by the effect of lead, and said it was committed "a crime against the child and against the people of Flint."
Both Clinton and Sanders left the door open to criminal charges against those responsible for the crisis if they reach the presidency of the US, and former Secretary of State undertook to remove lead not only water but also land and painting of old buildings in the country within five years.
Both heard testimony from residents and Mikki Wade, a mother of two children who said that even when the pipes are replaced, do not know if "ever" will be "peaceful drinking water" of their city.
The debate was sober topics, which included poverty, racism and the shooting that left six dead in February in Kalamazoo (Michigan); but also by the tension between the candidates.
"Clinton has supported each of the trade agreements" driven since 1990, said Sanders to denounce the damage that, in his view, have made such pacts to Michigan's economy.
"I was against from the 90s I went to Mexico and saw the lives of people working in US companies and charging 25 cents per hour (...) and I understood that it should not force American workers to compete with them," said Sanders .
Meanwhile, his rival was criticized for having voted against the bailout of the auto industry at the end of the last decade, to ensure that if everyone had voted him in the Senate, this sector "would have collapsed."
They also spoke about racism in the country, the abandonment of many public schools, the environment and his view of "fracking," which involves using water mixed with sand and chemicals pressure to break the rocky areas underground where it is stored oil and gas.
Clinton cited a number of requirements that would have to meet any project of "fracking" during his presidency, while Sanders was more direct and said he does not support it at all. EFE