THE VOICE OF YOUNG LATINO AMERICANS, FROM SUB-CULTURAL DIVERSITY TO THE POLITICS OF SOLIDARITY AS A PEOPLE
By: Phil Colon (founder Voto Latino & www.votolatino.org)

Numbering well over 38 million, Latinos – the nation’s largest minority - present both an opportunity and a challenge to today’s political parties. This has never been more prominent than in this year’s Presidential race. Voters, pundits and party officials including politicians on both sides of the aisle say that New Mexico and Arizona could be potential swing states in November, as well as Ohio, Pennsylvania, Nevada and Florida – states with strong and growing Latino populations. In terms of pure numbers and percentages, the candidate that attracts 70% or more of the Latino vote nationwide will no doubt win the Presidency. Today’s presidential candidates’ attempt to deliver a message that will resonate and encourage this group to get out and vote demands a closer look at what drives this demographic both emotionally and politically.

Both Republicans and Democrats alike have made it clear that they plan to court Latino voters aggressively. By investing time and effort to build good will in the community, politicians will benefit from a long-term relationship with what constitutes as one of the most loyal demographics. However, winning over this voting group will not be easy. A disconcerting number of Latinos live in environments marked by multiple socio-economic, professional and educational challenges. Relevance, directness and respect will be key elements in building trust with these key voters, and thus setting the table to effectively address the important issues that face this group - healthcare, education, entrepreneurship, creating jobs and adopting an immigration policy that rewards the contribution of Hispanic workers to the economy with U.S. citizenship.

The days of candidates showing up at a Latino event and uttering a few badly pronounced words in Spanish in hopes of securing their votes are over. Latino voters have grown skeptical of the status quo approach. Furthermore, politicians need not speak Spanish in order to connect with “all” U.S. born Latinos. Although Latinos appreciate efforts made to speak the language: they are more interested in whether or not politicians are going to deliver on their promises. This group of bilingual or English dominant Hispanics, many of them 2nd generation Americans, should be considered the low hanging fruit for the political parties to target, however, no one party has taken any steps to capture this influential voting block that remains still well under represented and under served.

On immigration, many Latino voters are split as it relates to providing legal status to illegal immigrants for labor purposes. President Bush recently scored some points among Latinos when he proposed his immigration reform policy. However, once the initial hype was over; all did not share in that enthusiasm. In fact, it lead many in the Latino community to ask the question: Are these immigrants only important enough to work at slave wages to fatten the coffers of the nation’s largest corporations, but are not good enough to become U.S. citizens? The immigration Reform Act of 1986 certainly needs to be amended, but this approach hardly makes a dent in enacting real and positive change as it relates to immigration policy.

The issue of immigration is more than skin deep; it goes much further than jobs and money. Politicians must go beyond paying lip service and instead provide a genuine respect for the immigrant family, the role of parents in children’s education, and the commitment to help teachers work to help these children succeed. Indeed, our democracy must provide a new and more open space within the political arena in order to help facilitate the opportunity for these children to have a voice of their own in their future. The Nation’s discourse should pursue long-term strategies to improve the quality of life of these immigrant children by ensuring their health and nutrition, their safety, and their fair share of the educational resources and cultural wealth of this country.

This brings us to the issue of Latino solidarity. Hispanic voters are increasingly aware of their growing importance, but several I interviewed say politicians often mistakenly lump together all of the nation's Latinos, whom have varying views on a host of different issues. It is no secret that Latinos do not vote as a unified block; instead we vote on issues that affect us directly. Do Latinos on the East Coast care about issues affecting their brothers in California? Well that all depends on what person you ask.

It seems that the younger and/or more acculturated U.S. Latinos are more receptive to each others plight as compared to let’s say to their parents. At the end of the day we share – the struggle – in common, which is why we stand to gain far more collectively then we do operating in segregated political silos. Ultimately we are all in search of that ever-elusive American dream, and we must learn to put aside our differences and focus on the things that unite us. There is power in numbers. Let’s first concentrate on attaining a powerful voice. Then and only then will we be able to effect meaningful change for all of our people and address all of our concerns by holding our elected leaders accountable for their actions or in some cases, inaction.