6 out of 15 City Councilors in Providence are Latino, and The Providence Eye is interviewing them to get to know each one better, including understanding their views on the intersection of identity and governance.
Providence City Councilmember Miguel Sanchez represents Ward 6, which includes the Manton and Mt. Pleasant neighborhoods. He currently serves as the Majority Whip of City Council, and is a member of the Committee on Finance, the Committee on City Public Works, and the Rules Committee. He is also a member of the Recreational Advisory Board and the Providence Redevelopment Agency.
Sanchez was born here in Providence but did a large part of his grade school education in Iowa, where his mother resides. However, he has always considered Rhode Island home.
He describes his community as a diverse, working-class hub. Home to numerous bakeries and small businesses, Ward 6 is around 65 percent Latino. Some of Sanchez’s favorite local businesses are La Antigua Bakery, Sophia’s Café, and Chilangos. He also described small but robust African American and Asian communities, as well as a few churches. Given the dense nature of his ward, Sanchez has been insistent on the need for more multifamily zoning. This is but one issue on which he has been active.
Sanchez has made a name for himself for his outspoken activism and advocacy. He was terminated from his constituent services associate role in Governor McKee’s office in October of 2023, following a series of posts condemning the violence in Gaza, marching in pro-Palestine protests, and vocally calling for a ceasefire. Thinking back on his actions, Sanchez said, “When I believe something is wrong and something needs to change, I’m always going to use my voice.” It is these morals and principles that Sanchez maintains when he governs, and he remains steadfast on his actions, “what I did back in October was, in my opinion, the bare minimum that any human being in the United States should be doing when our tax dollars and United States support are contributing to these atrocities, and yeah, I want to speak up against it.” Above all, however, Sanchez acts on behalf of his constituents, and says that he has been met with widespread support from his neighborhood in response to his activism. He is also proud of the ceasefire resolution the city passed in November, one of the first municipal ceasefire resolutions in the country.
Currently, Sanchez works for a non-profit social services organization called Better Lives Rhode Island, doing outreach for the unhoused community in Rhode Island. When describing the job, Sanchez said, “I do everything from giving folks camping supplies, getting them different housing referrals, and harm reduction. It’s definitely a tough job, but I think it’s so impactful to interact on a daily basis with folks in our city that have really been left behind and need the most help, while at the same time, in the evenings, I’m going to City Hall and trying to fight for what I believe in and what our community needs.” He strongly condemns the recent decision of the United States Supreme Court allowing the criminalization of unhoused people at the city level, explaining that failing to care for unhoused people leads to more overdoses, illness, and general disrespect. He advocates in favor of rent stabilization and against parking minimums, seeing it as integral that the conversation on housing security is brought directly to City Hall.
At 26, Miguel Sanchez is the youngest member of the City Council, but his roots in Providence run deep. His grandfather was the first to establish a Mexican market in Providence in the 1980s—now Casa Mexico on Atwells Avenue—and Sanchez demonstrates his strong connection to his community in his municipal governance. Sanchez is the first Mexican-American on the Providence City Council, and describes his time in public service as an extension of his grandfather’s legacy in the Latino movement and community in Providence. Sanchez has a strong sense of purpose in representing his community in Providence, and while he is proud to be the first Mexican-American elected to the City Council, he says he definitely does not want to be the last. A large reason for doing this work is, “trying to make sure that we’re giving folks the opportunity to be in these spaces, to be able to keep the momentum going.” Sanchez sees his youth as essential to being a voice for his community, in that it allows him to have his ear closer to the ground on many issues facing the Providence community.
He is intentional about the way that he searches for community input in a way that is accessible to Latinos in the Providence community. He has strong relationships with churches and business owners in his neighborhood, stressing how corner stores and markets often function as community hubs. He works hard to ensure that these community centers have flyers and information available about government programs, services, and grants. He emphasized that “we really need to make sure we meet folks where they are at,” and how often that is not at City Hall or in community meetings. He organizes block parties or carnivals every year to bring people together and make himself accessible as a Councilmember. He has been leading this shift in City Hall, proud of the Dominican, Peruvian, and Guatemalan festivals that the city has held, and is working with community members to create a Mexican Independence Day festival in September. He hopes that all community members can revel in the pride of their origins.
Sanchez also sees that the Latino community has distinct needs, many of which are informed by their culture and the way they share information. Important to the Latinos in Providence, from Sanchez’s experience, has been street safety, fair housing, and equitable education. However, Sanchez governs with all his constituents in mind, and emphasized that quality of life issues do not discriminate between ethnic groups. In fact, he is proud of having led the charge for cannabis reform, to ban new self-storage facilities in the city, and also, starting an advisory board that is focusing on ending gun violence here.
With regard to Providence schools, Sanchez voiced strong opposition to the Rhode Island State takeover of the Providence Public School District. While conscious of the challenges brought by the pandemic, he believes the state takeover is not accomplishing its goals and has instead led to centralized power in the hands of the Education Commissioner, with limited accountability. He hopes that soon Providence schools will be back under local control.
Sanchez knows that almost all his decisions impact the large Latino community in Providence and governs with this in mind. He supports Latino members of the Rhode Island State Legislature and public advocacy groups such as the Coalition for a Multilingual RI in the development of bill proposals that uniquely serve the community. To make city information more accessible to a wider audience, Sanchez makes regular appearances on Spanish-language public radio. He has led the effort to establish a regular connection with the Mexican consulate in Boston and sees it as crucial that he works hard to constantly connect his constituents with the resources they need.
Sanchez wants to be careful about recognizing, however, that Latinos do not operate as a monolith. Even among the six Latino City Council members, their opinions and decisions deviate widely, and rarely do they vote as a bloc. Sanchez commented that their voting does not align along any markers of identity, or even party lines. This, in Sanchez’s view, allows for a very fluid governing body not common in politics. When comparing Providence City Council to the U.S. Congress, Sanchez spoke of the rigidity of party lines, something that does not exist at the Providence municipal level. All six of the Latino City Council members, in his opinion, bring in different perspectives, priorities, and agendas. He believes this disagreement to make for a healthy governing body and a healthy democracy, even if it creates logistical challenges.
Sanchez values his family and his community, and he is enjoying being able to serve on the City Council concurrently as his brother, Enrique Sanchez, is serving as a Rhode Island State Representative. Surrounded constantly by extended family, Miguel Sanchez is most at home with his two dogs, Frida and Tallulah.
Miguel Sanchez thinks critically about how each of his actions impact his constituents, underscoring the necessity of creating space for the civic engagement of his communities. His Mexican-American background and his youth give him an important perspective and opportunity to govern Providence in new ways, but what Sanchez brings to the Council is an unwavering commitment to justly serving his communities and a constant effort to keep them at the center of all city decisions.
Michelle Alas Molina is a Salvadoran immigrant and a lifelong multilingual learner. She currently studies Latin American and Caribbean Studies and International and Public Affairs at Brown University in the class of 2025, where she is Editor-in-Chief of the Brown Journal of World Affairs and a Bonner Community Fellow at Progreso Latino. She is passionate about equitable education, immigration justice, and democratic institutions.
