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Real News For Real New Mexicans.
The Chile Wire with Abe Baldonado.
Abe Baldonado:Hey, y'all. Welcome back to The Chile Wire. This week, I have a special guest. He is a candidate for lieutenant governor of New Mexico, Manny Lardizabal. Right?
Manny Lardizabal:Yes, sir. You got it. You got it.
Abe Baldonado:You I get it? Alright. It was choppy. Manny educated me right before we turned the cameras on. I wanted to make sure that I didn't butcher his name because as someone named Abenicio Baldinado, my name's usually pretty chopped up sometimes.
Abe Baldonado:Manny, thank you for joining The Chile Wire today, taking time out of the I'm sure your busy schedule running a campaign and doing also your day to day work, and welcome to The Chile Wire. And before we get started, Manny, it's a tradition here. I have to ask, red or green?
Manny Lardizabal:Both.
Abe Baldonado:That's the hardest question you're gonna get
Manny Lardizabal:today. Christmas.
Abe Baldonado:Christmas. I love it. I love it. We've had a few Christmases. We also had a a guest who likes his on the side, but we told him we wouldn't judge.
Abe Baldonado:So we're not gonna judge
Manny Lardizabal:him. Alright.
Abe Baldonado:Love it. Well, Manny, thank you for taking time out today, but I wanna give you a moment right now to share who Manny is. Hey. Thank you
Manny Lardizabal:for having me on. Like you said, my name is Manny Lardizabal, and I'm running for lieutenant governor. I've been a a business owner for over twenty one years, a pastor for twenty seven years. My wife and I, we oversee Transformation Ministries International. We're part also of an organization of small private investors, and we invest into businesses, small businesses where banks don't lend them the money for whatever reason if they've never been in business long enough or for whatever reason, we'll step in, carry the note, and help them succeed in their businesses and stuff.
Abe Baldonado:Wow. That's amazing.
Manny Lardizabal:Yeah. That's we've always been about, community and how can we help not only, with their personalized but economy
Abe Baldonado:wise,
Manny Lardizabal:being able to create wealth.
Abe Baldonado:Manny, from what you've seen, this is a conversation we've had on the Chile Wire with other guests, but it seems like there's a lot of red tape that Santa Fe puts out for our small business owners and we've heard it over and over again that New Mexico is a tough place to do business. Is that something that you've seen in the work that you're doing from small mom and pop shops that are trying to start up and just the cards are already against them because of bad governance?
Manny Lardizabal:Right. And and we can speak from experience. There's several businesses that we had before, during COVID, for example. One of our businesses was broken in five times. Wow.
Manny Lardizabal:Five times. Never had issues before that. Police never came out to do police reports. And the reason why we had to close was our insurance dropped us because we were considered now a high risk. Not something based on what we did, but what somebody else did.
Manny Lardizabal:And so, lack of of of enforcement of of laws is huge. It's it was one it still is a big issue. But also all the red tape. Yeah. The process of trying to open up a business in New Mexico, there are several businesses that we've closed and moved to other states because they're business friendly, And we gotta change that.
Manny Lardizabal:There has to be a change in the mindset up in Santa Fe that the small mom and pop businesses are actually part of the backbone of the economy. Absolutely. Not some side side thing. They're actually part of part of it.
Abe Baldonado:Absolutely. And when we think nationally and globally, right, all these companies, all these restaurants that are now national or even global like McDonald's and others, they all started off as small mom and pop shops, you know, and they had an environment that was prosperous to them that allowed them to grow. It seems like we're losing some of that. And I'm glad you brought up COVID, Manny, because we've seen so many businesses, businesses that we used to frequent, that we really enjoyed
Manny Lardizabal:Right.
Abe Baldonado:Shut their doors, and they're still shuttering. Some of them are trying to last hold on as long as possible. But even here in the Albuquerque area, many, like, main stables of Albuquerque Mhmm. That were really good restaurants have shut down. I think New Mexico shouldn't forget about what we did during COVID when we shut down businesses.
Abe Baldonado:We made businesses criminals for trying to conduct their business.
Manny Lardizabal:Yes.
Abe Baldonado:I think it's important that New Mexicans don't forget about that this election cycle because what we've seen over the last eight years under democratic leadership has been failed policies and also, hey, you do this. We won't but you do this Yeah. But we won't. Government, we're gonna tell you what to do. You shut down your business, you struggle with your payroll, you figure out ways to to pay your staff and unfortunately, a lot of businesses just didn't survive that.
Manny Lardizabal:Couldn't do it. Yeah. They just couldn't do it. Again, one of our business, we had to we had to close it. We couldn't do it.
Manny Lardizabal:Again, they were enforcing not being open and all that, and we were doing everything possible to survive. Yeah. And, unfortunately, today, people are still just surviving. Yeah. They're not living.
Manny Lardizabal:They're not able to create enough wealth to actually live in our state. They're they're living here surviving, and that has to change. It has to them. It it there I I see it. I've experienced it.
Manny Lardizabal:Traveling out through the state already covered 23 counties out of 33 counties. It that's the number one thing. The businesses, the economy, trying, trying to go from just surviving and barely making it to actually being so prosperous that you can be a blessing to somebody else. Yeah. You're not looking for the blessing.
Abe Baldonado:You can actually be the blessing to the community. Absolutely. It's the hand up. And I think a lot of times, people don't think about that, you know, workforce and new startups, companies, businesses, they provide opportunity. Whether you're, you know, in high school trying to get work experience, there's a role for you.
Abe Baldonado:If you have a long career track, there's upward mobility to eventually maybe be a manager or director of some sort. And businesses flourish that type of prosperity. They provide opportunity and we just we we struggle with that. We don't have a big economy and, you know, I love our oil and gas industry, but it shouldn't be the only industry that rely on. And, know, what are we doing?
Abe Baldonado:Why are we not getting and every time I hear of big companies and big investments potentially looking at New Mexico, they always back out. And we have to ask, why are they backing out?
Manny Lardizabal:Because we're not business friendly. Yeah. There's it's not only the red tape, but the way they structure, the way they tax the big corporations that are trying to come in to benefit our communities. It it's it's it that has to change. You know, you're you're you were saying earlier about the small mom and pops.
Manny Lardizabal:One of our businesses were it were in the, retail furniture. One of the things that we used to do is, individuals that were coming out of prison and when they would come out, we were one of the businesses that would give them work. We would help them get, create job skills and all that. And that was one of the things that got lost. It was huge.
Manny Lardizabal:And and one of the things that that us me being part of that program, it was a bunch of small mom and pop businesses that were doing it, giving the reentry opportunity for the for the people to reenter and and get experience under their belt and stuff. Because a lot of them, they come out and They don't have anything. They don't have anything, and they got a bull's eye on their back already. So over 80% of the businesses are not gonna hire them. So what do you do?
Abe Baldonado:Yeah. Right? Because if you don't intervene, their chances of going back into a life of crime are significantly higher.
Manny Lardizabal:Yes. Way higher. And it it it has. You know, we, there's a program called Frontline Resurrection. And my wife and I, that's what we do.
Manny Lardizabal:I they come to our home. We teach them. We just don't minister them. We teach them how to create wealth. And that's one of the systems that I'm I call it a four pillar, thing for the economy because a lot of them, they come out of the streets and and and, prison with that already on their record.
Manny Lardizabal:Yeah. You know? Business aren't not gonna hire them. So what we do is we teach them how to sell a product, how to provide a service, and how to become an investor. Those are other three rivers that the education system today doesn't teach.
Manny Lardizabal:They teach you, graduate, go to college, and go get a J O B, which I call journey under broke because you really don't retire. Yeah.
Abe Baldonado:Right? Yeah. Retirement is pretty scarce now. Yeah.
Manny Lardizabal:Especially in our state. Yes. It's like you just can't do it.
Abe Baldonado:Well, in a state that predominantly relies on Medicaid and many, governmental programs, a lot of these folks aren't building retirement, but they're living off and dying off on a government system that we know is not sustainable, you know, contrary to major investments in universal childcare that isn't free, but also increased costs in our supplemental programs like food and child tax credits. You know, those are great. However, there's no accountability built into them. And so we're seeing a lot of fraud, waste, and abuse. I know a lot of people don't like hearing that, but the reality is is when you set up a structure like that with no accountability measures, you're gonna be led to fraud, waste, and abuse and it does happen.
Abe Baldonado:And you also exacerbate poverty. It just continues to grow.
Manny Lardizabal:It and you do. And and when you sit back look. We're we're youth pastors also, and you listen to to our youth, and they're smart. And they're around people that say, you know, there's I got friends that don't wanna work. All they did was sit back and figure out how to buck the system that's put into place.
Manny Lardizabal:As long as I don't make a couple of dollars above what, I qualify for this. Yeah. I get this free. I get this benefit. I get reduced this.
Manny Lardizabal:So you got a mindset of of of people out there that says, as long as I I meet the system or stay under, I receive benefits. What do you do for the people that actually work or create opportunities? Yeah. The benefits are not there. The system's backwards.
Abe Baldonado:Yeah. And the incentive isn't there for people to go to work and actually start a career because they're doing pretty well living off the government system. I we saw some data that showed that if you receive all the programs that are awarded to you based on poverty level, based on your circumstances in New Mexico, you're about a $70,000 employee. Like, why would you give that
Manny Lardizabal:up? Wow.
Abe Baldonado:And like you said, Manny, we all know people are gaming the system. They sell their food scams. We also hear of, you know, people on unemployment and those living off those jobs programs where it's like, I'm gonna apply to these jobs, but I'm not gonna show up for the interview and I'm gonna say, never got a callback so I can can. I'm showing that I'm trying to get a job. Right.
Abe Baldonado:Right. But I'm not showing up. Yeah. And there's no accountability. The government's not.
Abe Baldonado:Yeah. The Department of Workforce Solutions isn't calling and saying, hey, did you interview this person? Did you give them a job? And they're not doing that because I'm sure if they did, the company or the place of business would tell them, yeah, we reached out, but they never showed up for their interview.
Manny Lardizabal:And I can testify to that because we have a retail furniture business. And a lot of them come with their little sheet, and they'll tell you, all you have to do, just sign. I gotta meet so many signatures per day. Wow. They're not really looking for a job.
Manny Lardizabal:They're just looking for somebody to sign their sheet of paper Right. To meet the the requirement to receive the benefits. Yeah. The minimal requirement. The
Abe Baldonado:minimal requirement. You're trying.
Manny Lardizabal:Right. But we're not gonna ask. Yeah. And and it's funny because when you interview them, my son would even say, they're it seems like they don't they don't wanna answer the questions. They're answering them wrong on purpose.
Abe Baldonado:Mhmm.
Manny Lardizabal:So it's like they really don't want the job. Yeah. You know? Because they figured out the system.
Abe Baldonado:Right. And there's no incentive for them because the system is rewarding them far more Right. Than actually waking up every day and going and putting in the work. Yeah. And it's unfortunate because I I don't believe those are New Mexico values.
Abe Baldonado:They're they're certainly not New Mexican values. As I recall growing up as a kid, it it was important to learn the meaning of hard work. And, you know, even if you went to college and got a, you know, a white collar job and you're in office, great. But I remember my father and even my family, it was they wanted you to learn hard work. Right.
Abe Baldonado:So, you know, even if you went into an office, one day, if for some reason you lost that office job, whatever it may be, you have some sort of skills to go out and do some hard labor and you're used to it. And just the the feeling of earning your own money and not owing it back to anyone or relying on anyone. You know, we saw with the government shutdown that a government that feeds you can also starve you.
Manny Lardizabal:Absolutely right.
Abe Baldonado:And you know, there's a big outcry of people saying, you're starving people. Well, no. Government shouldn't have that power in the first place. Why did we let government control
Manny Lardizabal:Good point.
Abe Baldonado:How many people get fed
Manny Lardizabal:Yeah.
Abe Baldonado:And when they get fed or how they get fed. How many people get their paychecks or don't get their paychecks, you know? And that that kind of goes back to something that we we talked about before we started airing, but you said something very striking is that, you know, I'm not running to be a politician, I'm running to to govern, to to be in governance, that we need good governance and I I thought that was just something amazing to hear Yes. And refreshing because I don't think we hear that a lot these days.
Manny Lardizabal:Yeah. You you know, me being a minister, a pastor for over twenty one years, that's been one of the biggest questions on the campaign trail. What what made you get into politics? Mhmm. And and I always address it.
Manny Lardizabal:I said, look. And I'm not getting into politics. I'm getting into governance because there's a big difference. And when you understand the difference of it, politics will always try to sway you, pull you, convince you. When you understand governance and how it functions and you go in with the right mindset of how governance works, you can be successful not only for yourself but for the people you're gonna help govern.
Manny Lardizabal:I believe in self governance. I don't believe that the government should be bigger than than us ourselves. Yeah. We should have the freedom to self govern, and that's the mindset that I have. I have the mindset of being able to create opportunities for people just not to survive, but to actually succeed.
Manny Lardizabal:And and, again, you know, me being a minister, a pastor, politics actually got into my beliefs and my faith. That's what that's what happened.
Abe Baldonado:Yeah. The govern government crossed the line.
Manny Lardizabal:They crossed the line, and that's why I'm running because it's time to to stand up for what is right, righteousness, purity, holiness. Are we perfect? No. No. But the mindset of that, at the end of the day, who is sitting on those governmental seats, we can be great statements.
Manny Lardizabal:We can be great protesters, advocate, and all that. But at the end of the day, who's ever sitting on those seats has the final say of how it's gonna be run and conducted.
Abe Baldonado:Absolutely. And I believe there's a big disconnect in Santa Fe right now with legislators that we have in there that, you know, they're they're cashing checks that they're not writing, and they're not earning, and that's the big difference. When we get individuals like you who have had to make payroll, have started up businesses, have went through it. You understand the importance of a dollar. And unfortunately, I think Santa Fe says, hey, we're making all this money off our oil and gas industry.
Abe Baldonado:We're going to spend it, misuse it, and we're not going to see any return on investment, but we're going to tell you that you're getting all these great things like universal childcare that isn't free. Mhmm. But we're gonna tell you it's free and we want you to believe that, you know, government is taking care of you, but when in fact they're not. They're just milking the golden goose out in our Permian And San Juan Basins and not looking towards the future of, okay, what's what's gonna make our state sustainable but also prosperous at the same time? And I I thank God that we have the resource natural resources that we do, but just like the conversation I had, previously with, another podcast episode is, you know, we have much more natural resources than, say, Arizona.
Abe Baldonado:Mhmm. And they're doing really good right now.
Manny Lardizabal:Yes. They
Abe Baldonado:are. Their GDP is far bigger than New Mexico. I mean, their economy is booming, and they're the twin sisters separated at birth. The like, geographically, they're very similarly match New Mexico. Mhmm.
Abe Baldonado:But they're doing better than us, and we have some of the best natural resources in New Mexico. So it just shows that clearly in New Mexico, we have been wronged by government because why have we not seen the same type of growth? And and Manny, I love what you were saying earlier about teaching the folks coming out of prison and your workforce that's working in your businesses and also the business owners that are starting up businesses, teaching them about being investors and that personal finance mindset. Previously, when I worked for Think New Mexico, we worked diligently to get personal finance standards into our public schools so students can start learning about money. Yeah.
Abe Baldonado:And I I was shocked at what I was up against when we started pitching that idea because there were insider folks from the public education department and outside sources that, you know, just were pushing back on teaching kids personal finance. And I said and and the studies are there that when you teach kids about money at an early age
Manny Lardizabal:Yes.
Abe Baldonado:They tend to stay out of debt. They tend to also be able to get themselves out of poverty later on because they've learned about not taking out high interest credit cards, high interest loans Yeah. Predatory loans.
Manny Lardizabal:Come on.
Abe Baldonado:But you also talked about civics, about governance, and teaching New Mexicans about what good governance looks like. And unfortunately, today, I believe we see a lack of civics in our public schools. We we I see a lot of younger people who do not understand our republic and the foundation that it was established on. And, you know, they criticize capitalism. They criticize our republic and not realizing we're very privileged to say that when, in fact, we have one of the best systems ever developed by a country that is for the people by the people.
Abe Baldonado:I agree 100%. And that's ex you know, scripture says to train a child up on the way they should go.
Manny Lardizabal:Mhmm. And unfortunately, this our education system is not set up that way anymore. It's they're telling them, what to think, not how to think.
Abe Baldonado:I that is something I've said many times Yeah. And it's unfortunate. And, you know, I I also believe that we put the interest of adults ahead of children, and that's not good education. That's not good teaching. And also, what we've seen is that we have seen indoctrination.
Abe Baldonado:We we have seen that line stepped across of trying to remove the family unit of leave us your children. We'll teach them. You stay out of it. Don't worry about what we're teaching them. And that that to me is a dangerous line.
Abe Baldonado:And you talked about it earlier about government encroaching on you as a person in your family. And that's something that I go back to even today where younger generations, again, they're not being versed in personal finance. They're not being versed in civics, but also the understanding of the separation of church and state. No one really knows what that means that I've had conversations with, and I've had to clarify that it wasn't about the churches getting involved in government. It was government encroaching on the churches that that statement came from.
Abe Baldonado:Yes. And not many people understand that is that the churches were protecting themselves from a government becoming too big that would encroach on their religious beliefs because we believe in religious freedom in America, and that's the beauty of our country. And we're not gonna persecute you because of your religious beliefs.
Manny Lardizabal:Right.
Abe Baldonado:We are a Christian nation and that's our founding. And, you know, we're again though, if you practice another religion, you are safe to do so. Yeah. However, the founding of America is deep in Christianity.
Manny Lardizabal:Right. And you're absolutely right. You know, you stop and you think about the mindset of our younger generation. They I I've talked with some youth, and they said, oh, yeah. The the the separation of church and state, it's in the constitution.
Manny Lardizabal:All I said, it's not even it was a statement that was made. It's not written in the constitution.
Abe Baldonado:Right.
Manny Lardizabal:You know, it's it's it was a speech. It was something that that it's used today, and it's been twisted. It's been watered. It and so when you you're absolutely right. Our our youth aren't educated on on what's really right.
Manny Lardizabal:Yeah. You know? And and they go off of what's ever on Facebook, social media, and and it's unfortunate.
Abe Baldonado:Yeah. Many of them, you know, I I'm a former teacher. I was also a former charter school governance board member. The first class I ever inherited, as a twelfth grade class at a college preparatory school, that first class that I inherited, they were twelfth graders. Their average reading level was at a sixth grade level.
Abe Baldonado:Oh, wow. Wow. And we were telling them that you're college ready. And they in fact weren't. And there's a generation of kids that have been lost or have been misled or maybe just left behind.
Abe Baldonado:I I truly believe the COVID generation of students were far left behind. Mhmm. Yeah. Many of them lost personal connection skills. Just being able to have conversation, look someone in the eye, shake someone's hand, have dialogue in person and not text messaging or via Zoom.
Abe Baldonado:Right. You know, a lot was lost. And I and I truly believe that education is the civil rights issue of this generation.
Manny Lardizabal:Yes.
Abe Baldonado:Yes. And if we start taking education serious in New Mexico, I believe that could be lead to more prosperity because I also think we lose out on business ventures in New Mexico because of our education standing. Yes.
Manny Lardizabal:Totally agree. When you stop anything, we're ranked fiftieth. We're the it it's not even about how much money. They just approved another 6,000,000 this last session for education. So it's not it's not about the money.
Manny Lardizabal:It's the structure of the education system, the way it's structured, and how a child has to meet the system instead of the system meeting where the child's at. Yeah. See? And so you lose so many children that way. You know, I homeschooled my kids.
Manny Lardizabal:I've I've worked in Christian private schools. I've my brother's an educator, for thirty one years in in in the public schools. And and he there's I I have a plan of what I wanna do with where where the money follows the child instead of the child following the money and how it opens and expounds the opportunities for parents to have their parental rights to actually say school choice Mhmm. Where my child's gonna get educated, has a voice back. But not only that, it it, you know, I explained this to my brother and when I told him about what that opens up to because he told me his his teaching, classroom student to teacher ratio is 30 to one right now.
Manny Lardizabal:Wow.
Abe Baldonado:Imagine That's a lot of students.
Manny Lardizabal:That's a lot of students.
Abe Baldonado:And how do you keep up with your highest performing and your lowest performing? Right. Because chances are you have more lower performing that you're having to give a lot more time and attention to, and so then you start neglecting your middle of the road or higher performing students.
Manny Lardizabal:Right.
Abe Baldonado:Because you're trying to catch them up.
Manny Lardizabal:You're trying to catch them up. And then and and what he told me is between twelve to fifteen minutes of actual teaching, that's it. Wow. By the time everything gets done, roll and trying to get everything in order, that's that's what is coming out.
Abe Baldonado:And and how do we expect a a student to master the content for fifteen minutes of actual instruction? There's just no way.
Manny Lardizabal:There's no way.
Abe Baldonado:And it's an unfortunate position that we're putting our teachers in.
Manny Lardizabal:Yes. Yeah. See, because we got good grade educators. We got some We have amazing educators. We have they're amazing.
Manny Lardizabal:But when you stalk, think about how much money is actually going to administration, all the bureaucratic, you know, money that's instead of actually going for the student. When you look at the numbers, it's profound. It's it's crazy.
Abe Baldonado:Manny, I'll share a statistic with you just because I know this one off the top of my head. When I worked for Think New Mexico as their first ever education reform director, there was a study done for a decade, and this was back in 2021. I'm sure these numbers might be far worse now.
Manny Lardizabal:Mhmm.
Abe Baldonado:At the time, over the last decade up until 2021, 55% of expenditures in our public schools were grown in central office expenditures. That's your superintendents, your deputy superintendents. Can you guess what the percentage was to instruction and student support? How much was it? 19%.
Abe Baldonado:Oh my. That's all it grew. So 55% of expenditures in our public school system went towards central office administrators, probably better pay, very lucrative pay, hiring, you know, four or five deputy superintendents. I still don't know why that's necessary. All probably paid very well and just a fraction went to the actual classroom.
Abe Baldonado:And, you know, we we made significant efforts. It's still something that hasn't gotten passed. I know think New Mexico is still leading the the effort to to change that and hopefully with
Manny Lardizabal:Come on.
Abe Baldonado:You on the 4th Floor, maybe that's something we can do with the right governor. We can hold our schools accountable and say, hey, more of this money should be going to our classroom than our central office. And that's just the reality. I'll I'll provide the the proof for anyone who's watching that says this isn't true. There's no way.
Abe Baldonado:No. Look into it. Ask start checking your student's school and school district and questioning the numbers because we have to. We have to make sure that those dollars are actually going to those who they're intended for, and that's our students, that's our teachers, to make sure that they have the resources necessary to educate our children. Yeah.
Abe Baldonado:And also cut out the red tape as well. Let the teachers teach, put more investments into social services, our school psychiatrists, school our counselors. We know that a lot of students are dealing with things. You know, we know poverty is bad in New Mexico. Many of these students come from impoverished families, many of them even homeless, and many malnutrition.
Abe Baldonado:So let's address those issues because a kid who can't eat can't learn because they're just trying to think about where they're gonna get their next meal. And so but that's something that, you know, we can't put on the teacher. The teacher's job is to teach these students, prepare them for their future. But if we put the expectation on them that they need to be the school counselor, the school psychiatrist, the school social worker, that's just a lot to ask for for our teachers because they already have a big role as it is. But yeah.
Abe Baldonado:No. That's just it it is wild what what we're seeing in New Mexico and many. I I wanna transition. I wanna give you some time. You've traveled throughout New Mexico.
Abe Baldonado:You've been everywhere probably probably covered all four corners of the state by now. Just curious. What what are New Mexicans saying? Are are they are they tired? Are they ready for new leadership?
Abe Baldonado:What's keeping them up at night?
Manny Lardizabal:They're they are, you know, again, traveling through the whole state talking with people. There there is. Whether they're Republican, Democrat, Independent, whether registered voters or not, there's a a sense of tired of the way the same old same old. There there has to be a change of of not only in government, but in opportunities. Opportunities for the everyday citizen to be able to not only prosper, but to be able to set an environment for our younger generation to actually benefit where they're not looking to leave our state.
Manny Lardizabal:They're looking to remain because there's opportunities. Absolutely. And and that's that's what I'm hearing everywhere. It doesn't matter what part. You know, public safety is huge.
Manny Lardizabal:That's become the number one issue over the economy and the education. You know? What are we doing with our with our kids? You know, CYFD issues.
Abe Baldonado:Yeah. That's a big one that's just gonna help.
Manny Lardizabal:That that one's been huge here lately.
Abe Baldonado:Our kids aren't even safe in the government structure that is created to protect them.
Manny Lardizabal:Right? So much money and so much programs and all that and they're still the our youth is they don't feel safe. You know? And in ministry as a pastor, I get, I get people say, you know, I know I'm saved, but I don't feel safe.
Abe Baldonado:Yeah. You know? And Because there's an evil out there that still exists.
Manny Lardizabal:It still exists. And because the way the government had structured things, they don't feel safe in our state.
Abe Baldonado:And in our state, we've incentivized criminals. We feel sorry for the criminals instead of the victims.
Manny Lardizabal:Right? The system, that's the way it's set up. And and that has to change also. People don't feel safe. They they this revolving door issue.
Manny Lardizabal:Yeah. You know? One one person I talked to last week, I've seen the same guy four times coming to my neighborhood doing the same old same thing. What's going on? How come they don't lock these people up?
Manny Lardizabal:Yeah. You know? And and it's true. And it's not
Abe Baldonado:until someone gets hurt or there's a repeat offense. It's like, oh my god. Why was this guy let out? Well, that that's your judicial system for you. Let's start holding our judges accountable for their sentencing.
Abe Baldonado:And also, let's hold our legislature accountable. Let's create stronger laws that really come down on criminals. But also to your point Manny earlier, being a business owner, the fact that you had to shutter your doors because of crime and break ins because your insurance premiums went up, you know, we see Mayor Keller gaslighting everyone in Albuquerque saying, it's not bad. Homeless crime isn't that bad. And it's like, no.
Abe Baldonado:It's because people have just become desensitized to it. Albuquerque is just like, yeah. What's new?
Manny Lardizabal:Right. I mean, I and this is what I told somebody the other day. I said, you know, imagine my place being broken into four times, and they never came out and did a report. Yeah. Those are four instances that never got reported because they were saying, oh, the numbers have gone down.
Manny Lardizabal:Yeah. They've gone down. They said, you know why they've gone down? Because they don't come out and do a report. Yeah.
Abe Baldonado:Same for traffic accidents. You know, you get in traffic and it's like, hey. Get online. File police report.
Manny Lardizabal:Right.
Abe Baldonado:You know, we don't have the resources to send your way. Well, okay. Well, then what's happening? And and honestly, our our state hasn't done favors for our our law enforcement. I respect our law enforcement.
Abe Baldonado:I believe they're doing everything they can with what they have
Manny Lardizabal:The resource.
Abe Baldonado:At the time, and I know they're short staffed. And that's a problem that our government created. You know, we've people don't realize that when the Civil Rights Act was passed a few years ago, it stripped away qualified immunity on our law enforcement officers. And just nationally, the conversation on our law enforcement officers has been negative. We you know, when I was a kid, you aspired to be a police officer, a firefighter.
Abe Baldonado:That was they were heroes. Right? And now we see a a group of people calling them, you know, fasc fascists and criminals and, you know, they call they we have a legislator that said our law enforcement is like the KKK. Like, that is dangerous rhetoric. And what is it saying to younger folks about respecting law enforcement and understanding what they're there for to protect us and provide services for us?
Abe Baldonado:And what's the incentive now for younger folks to wanna be a police officer? Because it seems like it comes with more problems than it does the actual significant positive impact that you have as a a law enforcement officer. But I think many folks are saying, I don't wanna do
Manny Lardizabal:that because I'm gonna be just drugged through the mud for doing my job. Exactly. I got family. They're I my cousin's the sheriff in Grand County and to get deputies. Yeah.
Manny Lardizabal:You know, people were actually go to the academy. You see the numbers. All of a sudden, mayor Keller said, oh, yeah. We're having all these candidates, you know, all these. And it's like the numbers are not even where they're supposed to be.
Manny Lardizabal:Yeah. You know? And a lot and it's true. I remember growing up, I wanted to be that was my thing. I that's what I went to school for.
Manny Lardizabal:I went to for criminal justice. I wanted to be a police officer, you know, enforce the laws and and and create opportunities and now
Abe Baldonado:Protect your community.
Manny Lardizabal:Protect your community because you wanted to serve because you love the people in the community. Nowadays, people are like, is it worth even me putting my life on the line? I can go do drive through at Taco Bell for $14 an hour, you know Yeah. And be safer there than actually putting on a uniform and And having to make
Abe Baldonado:a judgment call when my life is on the line and then be treated as the criminal because
Manny Lardizabal:Yeah.
Abe Baldonado:I had to do what I had to do to protect not only myself, but my law enforcement partners, folks, you know, that are near the scene and again, bystanders. Right? And you make those split second decisions that now we see that law enforcement officers are being drugged through the mud for Yes.
Manny Lardizabal:Defending themselves. And then we're saying that they're the bad people. Right. And a lot of officers because of that, they'll say, you know what? Is it even worth it?
Manny Lardizabal:Yeah. You know? They step away. And it's not be it's it it starts at the at the top. Yeah.
Manny Lardizabal:When you're supported from with the government and they they say, hey. Look. We need to partner up with with the federal government. We need to enforce whether it's federal level, state level, city, county. We need to become one, have the same mindset.
Manny Lardizabal:Let's enforce. Let's let's, regulate. Let's do what is right for the citizens of not only for our state, but for our country.
Abe Baldonado:Absolutely. Manny, I wanna respect your time. So just, you know, what are you looking forward to in getting to that 4th Floor office and the Lieutenant Governor's Office? I'm not sure that I mentioned this to you offline. I had the privilege of working in that office.
Abe Baldonado:I was a policy director and legislative liaison for former lieutenant governor John Sanchez, and so got to see how that office works. I will tell you, it'll be a blessing for for you to to win that office. I think you will love it. A lot of people don't realize that the lieutenant governor serves as the state's ombudsman.
Manny Lardizabal:Yes.
Abe Baldonado:And so when you're committed to public service and helping people, it is the perfect office to do that because that is your sole role. And so I think a man, in the faith like you who's committed to helping people and growing people, I I just wanna tell you as someone who worked in that floor, there's a lot of meaningful and impactful work that'll come from it. And so I hope you're blessed enough to experience that because it it it really is great, especially when you hear from a constituent call back that you were able to help and they just say, thank you.
Manny Lardizabal:Yes. I I and I'm I'm I'm really excited. You know? When the Lord called me to do this over three years ago to actually run, it's a call. It's an assignment by by him.
Manny Lardizabal:And, yeah, on my campaign, there's people that said, you need to explain. Because I do. I explain. A lot of people don't know what a lieutenant governor actually does. Right.
Manny Lardizabal:They know what the governor does, but lieutenant governor. And when I tell him, you know, they're part of the executive branch because they're part of the the governor's cabinet
Abe Baldonado:Mhmm.
Manny Lardizabal:In the executive, but you're also the president and you preside over the senate floor, which has a lot of influence, and you consider an environment and an atmosphere to make sure that the senators understand the importance of what the constituents are looking for, what bills need to be actually pushed, what needs to be put aside. He has that authority to do that. He cannot make the the calendar and all that, but he can set a tone. Yeah. Alright?
Abe Baldonado:But And also the decorum, you know, usually the lieutenant governor sets the decorum in the senate. And the senate has actually been for almost two decades now has had the best decorum, you know, and that is all in regard to the previous lieutenant governors who have taken on that role. I'm glad you mentioned that because that is accurate.
Manny Lardizabal:It it is. And decorum is huge, and and, I tell people I do that in my businesses. I do that in ministry without because we we're part of of we travel my wife and I, we travel all through the through The United States. We're part of many different minis ministries. So when we have a meeting, we understand decorum.
Manny Lardizabal:We understand how many have to be present to actually consider it a a a meeting that can be recorded. All that happens in the chambers. I have the experience. I have the knowledge. I I know how that works.
Manny Lardizabal:But the number one for me, like you said, is being the obutsman to the
Abe Baldonado:citizens. Absolutely.
Manny Lardizabal:That is my passion. And when I speak throughout and a lot of people don't even know that. Yeah. That that's what actually the lieutenant governor does. Says, really?
Manny Lardizabal:I did not know that.
Abe Baldonado:Yeah. You call that office. If you have an issue in state government that you need to resolve, that's the office you call.
Manny Lardizabal:That's the office you call. But that's also the position of the lieutenant governor to be out there in the community Mhmm. Because he is actually the bridge between the citizens and the government. Absolutely. That's what he is, and that's my passion.
Abe Baldonado:It's very powerful. When you think about it, it's also something, you know, not to knock the governorship. I I I I love that position. I respect that position dearly. But when you when you say it like that, lieutenant governor sounds a lot cooler and it's like, hey.
Abe Baldonado:That that's actually the job right there. You wanna be the the middleman between you, the people, their government? That's the place to be.
Manny Lardizabal:I do because you're the voice. You're the you're you're you're the representation that can shift and change things because that's one thing, and I'll end with this. One thing that I'll hear from the people, they feel they've been silenced. Yeah. They haven't been heard.
Manny Lardizabal:It's they One lady told me the other day, I feel like my voice is just an echo through the hallways of Santa Fe. Mhmm. That's At the end of the day, that's how I feel when I go and I advocate or I speak for for a good cause.
Abe Baldonado:And that's a fair statement. I I believe that the idea of how government works has flipped, you know, it used to be that we were the bosses, the people. Yeah. And that they worked for us. And I think people now feel like Yes.
Abe Baldonado:They don't work for us. We work for them. You know? They do their own thing. And it's like, no.
Abe Baldonado:No. No. You elect them. You hold them accountable. They work for you.
Abe Baldonado:You can fire them every two years, four years Oh, come on. Sometimes six years. And so that accountability piece, you cannot lose that. The people have to remember just how important their vote is. That one person, one vote is powerful.
Manny Lardizabal:But you have to use this. And that's what I'm doing in the campaign. You gotta you can't quit. You gotta stand. You gotta fight.
Manny Lardizabal:You gotta go and vote. Absolutely. It's not just about being the loudest one that screams. It's about actually showing up to the polls.
Abe Baldonado:Showing up to the polls and asking the questions. Manny, what do you stand for? What are your policies? Come What do you care about? You know, though and I'm sure you're happy to answer those to any constituents that ask you, hey Manny, why are you running?
Abe Baldonado:Well, hey, let's let's sit down, let's have coffee, let me tell you why I'm running. And any good person running is is happy to do that and Yeah. And explain that. And also be a ear. Like, what's keeping you up at night?
Manny Lardizabal:Yes. Exactly. And that and that's what it's been, not only on the campaign, but being in ministry for over twenty one years. That's always been my my thing. Listening to people, see hearing their battles or struggles.
Manny Lardizabal:How can I help them overcome? How can I be an answer if I don't have the answer? How where do I find the answer for them? Absolutely. It's always been my passion.
Manny Lardizabal:That's why out of all the little things that you do as a lieutenant governor, the obutsman part is that's my heart, man. Yeah. Man, let's change our government. Let's let's I I see it. I feel it.
Manny Lardizabal:I taste it. I I'm excited about it. Absolutely. I hope I get the opportunity to be able to the next be the next lieutenant governor and partner up with somebody that has the same mindset in governor.
Abe Baldonado:That's a team effort.
Manny Lardizabal:It's a team effort. Absolutely. And that's what we're working for to towards right now. June is the primary. You know, early voting starts May 5.
Abe Baldonado:Yep. Right around the corner.
Manny Lardizabal:Right around the corner. And then June 2 is the final day. And so it's also about educating the people, letting them know, hey. Look. Early voting starts during this time frame.
Manny Lardizabal:It's time to get yourself familiar with the candidates who's because we do. We got a good pool of candidates in the Absolutely. Some good people.
Abe Baldonado:And honestly, as as conservative voters and and just voters in general, but this is where I've seen, on the Republican side is that we've struggled to get early voters out. And so how important that is to say, hey. Go early vote. It's okay. Like, it's not just for Democrats.
Manny Lardizabal:It's Yeah.
Abe Baldonado:You could do it too. Like, you should do it. Like, you know, don't wait till, you know, election day to go do it and you can't get in or something happens and you can't vote that day, it's easy. If you have a couple hours, just swing by your local voting center and Yeah. Go vote, get it over with, then you don't have to worry about staying in line on election day or maybe missing your chance to vote because you have to be somewhere or if there's an emergency.
Abe Baldonado:Manny, I just real quick, you know, I kinda wanna go down not too much of a rabbit hole. I know we're getting close to time here. But coming from the faith and from your ministries, I recently, over Easter weekend, received all my sacraments through the Catholic church.
Manny Lardizabal:So Yeah.
Abe Baldonado:It it was a a beautiful experience. However, we're seeing nationally, we're seeing people go back to the faith. And I'm just curious, are you seeing the same thing in your day to day work that you're doing through your ministries? Are you starting to see that folks are wanting to get back into that belief system and are looking for deeper knowledge and, you know, wanting more guidance and structure?
Manny Lardizabal:Yes. I'm seeing it in both. The people that are actually in the church already, actually rising up and realizing the importance of them being Christians and people of faith actually getting involved in government. Seeing that. You're seeing it through the state.
Manny Lardizabal:Yeah. You're seeing through The United States. You're having ministers actually running for government. You'll see it all over. You're
Abe Baldonado:Their line got crossed. Just like you. They're like, hey. You crossed
Manny Lardizabal:the line. It's been crossed. And so that's exciting. But then also people that are not of the faith Mhmm. That are recognizing the importance of somebody that actually is in the faith that they actually feels fear something greater than man.
Manny Lardizabal:And that's been a a huge thing with me that I tell people, look at. When I govern, it's I'm governing because I fear the Lord more than I fear men. Absolutely. And I'm here to serve him first before I serve men. And with that mindset, I know that I can govern well because the God I believe in, he's about the people that he created and how much he loves them.
Abe Baldonado:And and servant. Servant. Being a public servant.
Manny Lardizabal:That's it.
Abe Baldonado:Yep. Servant leadership. Well, amen, brother. I I don't think Amen. We could finish off better than that.
Abe Baldonado:Manny, if any of our audience wanna learn more about you and also learn about your ministries, not just you running for lieutenant governor, but also learning more about the work that you do through your ministries.
Manny Lardizabal:Amen.
Abe Baldonado:Where can they learn more? And we'll put provide a link for on our social media as well so that way folks can
Manny Lardizabal:learn more. As far as running for lieutenant governor, you can go to my website at at manny4nm.com. But ministry wise, I mean, again, you know, people know I'm running for Luke. My passion is is our ministries and serving the communities and stuff. Like I said earlier, we oversee transformation ministries international.
Manny Lardizabal:You can find us on Facebook and social media also under Manny and Grace. Manny and Grace. That's my wife's name.
Abe Baldonado:What a perfect name.
Manny Lardizabal:Oh my gosh. That that amazing grace things. And again, my wife travels with me in ministry and on the campaign everywhere, and it's just the grace that she carries and the grace that the Lord has put inside of us.
Abe Baldonado:Well, behind every great man is a great woman. Oh, man.
Manny Lardizabal:I'm I
Abe Baldonado:wanna echo that with my wife every day.
Manny Lardizabal:Yeah. He
Abe Baldonado:She is the best part of me. Absolutely.
Manny Lardizabal:Absolutely. And I think that's what's helped helped me on my campaign too. Because everybody says, man, your wife's always with you. And I said, yes.
Abe Baldonado:We're one. Yep. We're one.
Manny Lardizabal:We're one. So you get a That's commitment. Deal in this one. For lieutenant governor, you get get two. One that's at home.
Abe Baldonado:Get Manny and you get Grace.
Manny Lardizabal:You got Grace. Come on.
Abe Baldonado:Amen. Grace is gonna hold Manny accountable when he gets home.
Manny Lardizabal:Absolutely.
Abe Baldonado:Manny, God bless you. God bless your wife. God bless your family.
Manny Lardizabal:Thank you.
Abe Baldonado:We know running for office is no easy decision. There's a lot of sacrifice. And so as you journey on your campaign trail over the next couple of months, we here at The Chile Wire wish you all the best.
Manny Lardizabal:Thank you.
Abe Baldonado:God bless you all. And we'll we'll see what happens come June.
Manny Lardizabal:Hey, thank you, and God bless you and your ministry and what you do.
Abe Baldonado:Thank you, Manny. Well, y'all, that's it for this week. We'll see you next time on The Chile Wire.