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Nina Perales, vice president of litigation for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, recently spoke about the implications of the 2020 Census on redistricting for South Texas and the border region.Perales, who has litigated on behalf of Latino communities in two previous redistricting cycles, spoke at a board meeting of the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council.Perales said the loss of population in rural parts of Texas and the growth in its urban and suburban parts, as shown by Census 2020, was incredible.Perales said: “We have a new and very different picture of Texas than we had before, even a decade before. The population changes are quite stunning, in fact. There is widespread and consistent loss of population in rural areas in Texas and at the same time really extraordinary population gain in Texas in large cities and suburbs. I have never seen a pattern like this and this is my third round of redistricting with MALDEF.”Editor's Note: The attached podcast features Perales’ remarks at the LRGVDC meeting. To read the full story in the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service, click here.