In the current presidential race there has been some questioning as to why Latino vote seems to be leaning towards Hillary Clinton.
The first questions I would ask regarding Hillary rallying the Latino vote more than Obama is whether she really gets the Latino vote. She seems to win the primaries where the vote is selected by machines while Obama seems to win the caucuses where people voice their opinion personally. Having seen the many flaws of the electoral system with overwhelming evidence of fraud in the last presidential elections we have to worry about this pattern. However, it is possible that the Latino vote be leaning towards Hillary Clinton, despite her not having a very good proposal for the Latin Americans.
Who is the natural latino candidate?
None. I want to set the record straight by saying that whoever supports Hillary or Obama it is based exclusively on personality and appearances because their agenda, position about issues, votes, and actions are undistinguishable. Coincidentally their actions and votes are also very much like those of Bush and McCain but at least they have different talking points. Let me further say for the record that a vote for any of the current candidates would be a vote against Latin Americans, both living in the US and abroad.
The immigration policies that all of them are proposing have everything to do with having second-class inhabitants that work a lot and collect small wages. All seems to be oriented to make sure that the corporations have the cheap labor needed to keep commodities inexpensive and ensure large profit. The policies of these candidates have nothing to do with granting them equal status and rights under the law and in the society. All that I hear from the candidates is the different ways in which the immigrants can eat the crumbs of the US society but nobody is talking about having them sit at the table.
Latin Americans living in their own country will also not benefit much from any of these candidates since they all are likely to continue the policies of domination, arm twisting, regime change, terrorism, sponsor subversion and other ways to deal with governments that do not kneel. For those governments that bow their heads, the future has for them simply more hunger, more sweat shops, invasion of their markets by subsidized produce, and treacherous loans with Structural Adjustment Programs that will make sure to enslave their citizens for decades to come. Nobody is talking about a system of trade that is truly fair with Latin American countries involving living wages, respect to human rights and environmental standards comparable to those that are applied in the US.
Let me put it in this way: If hundreds of thousands of US jobs that have been moved to Mexico were paying $7 or $8 and hours you could not build a fence tall enough to keep the immigrants in the US. In short, there is not any choice whatsoever for the Latino vote in the US elections.
Is it possible that the Latino vote indeed supports Hillary?
Having established that there is not any candidate that really favors the Latin American people, I will revise if there is something on the appearances that may be responsible for the apparent bias towards Hillary that we see in the Latino vote.
A Matriarchal society
One of the factors that may influence the Latino vote is gender. Most people in the US (here fore USites, to differentiate from those people born in this continent but outside of the US border) often are swayed by superficial machismo and fail to realize the importance of women, especially older women, in the Latino culture. To what extent this may be associated with the role of the Virgin Mary as protector and nurturer, I can only guess. It may have even more primitive roots, associated with the indigenous cultures in Latin America. But the fact is that women inside the Latino family have a very strong and important role, possibly stronger than women in the average US family.
Inside an extended family there is often an older woman that is very influential in keeping the family together, keeping an eye on those that need help. In fact, in the coup of 2002 in Venezuela, all the people were upset about losing Chavez. When the news got out that Chavez was in trouble, captive by his enemies, it was middle age and older women, the ones that started the take over of the streets, with a rather maternal instinct, to initiate the counter coup.
In this US race where all the decisions have to be made based on images, impressions and superficial likings more than issues and debate, Hillary’s role of an older woman, that takes care of health, children, and even protection against war, may be playing a role getting her more Latino votes than her policies would grant her.
Could it be racism?
Looking at racism in Latino America from the perspective of the USite, it might not be immediately obvious to the observer how prevalent racism is. Racism in Latin America is somewhat less violent and less extreme than in the US but it is just as present and just as influential. We have not had lynching, or beatings by the police in recent history but this does not mean that the there is no racism. And it is not reversed racism but “good old” anti-black (or anti-indigenous) racism just like the one the US. Again, there being no difference in their policies of both candidates, people are going by the appearances. It is possible that some Latinos would feel more comfortable with a white woman, (the Devil you know, if you will) than with a black man.
In the US society minorities have been placed to contend with each other for the crumbs that the white society throws at them. In many places the black and Latino communities have been placed against each other for jobs and status. It is possible that some Latinos may fear a black person to rise to power, even someone who has not taken the race card much, such as Obama.
Who are the Latino People?
Last but not least, let’s take a look at the demographic of the Latino population. A group of them are very wealthy Latinos that left their countries by the golden door and moved here. Many of them were upper class and upper middle class, highly educated, in their countries of origin. These are people that have been assimilated by the system. To a large extend they have merged with the interests and likings of the upper middle class. These people are not looking for any changes and do not pay a lot of attention to politics. The image and figure issues discussed above go a long way favoring her. Hillary is what superficially resembles least change, although, as I said, there is not any real difference in their positions and votes.
Another important sector, of course, are the immigrants that cross the border at the risk of their life, to work long hours for little money. Needless to say that the illegal immigrants and the permanent residents do not vote so they do not count in the elections. The ones that have obtained citizenship after long years working and abiding by the system are the ones that some how have been assimilated and want the system to stay as it has been. Again, these are people that will not vote for change. So the pitch for change that Obama offers does catch their attention. They may want to be able to bring some relatives or to legalize some loved ones that may be illegal and would welcome the plan that the candidates are proposing but not being any difference among them, it will not sway them either way.
How to get the Latino vote: change the rhetoric!
I cannot end this discussion without stating what I believe a candidate should do if he/she wanted to rally the Latino vote. All too often the politicians focus on the Latinos here, path to citizenships, etc which will certainly get them brownie points with some voters. This is all good and sound but there is no difference what-so-ever among all three candidates running now regarding their immigration policies.
The other way to appeal the Latino vote is in international politics. Traditionally hard talk against Cuba has been perceived as a good thing to get the Miami Cubans. This might have worked well in the past but in the last couple decades there is a growing sentiment that the embargo and attacks on Cuba are unfair. Even people that do not support Fidel or the revolution, all Latinos, almost without exception, see the embargo as an abuse of a big bully against a sister nation that needs to be ended.
Most USites fail to understand how fraternal the relationship among Latin American nations is. Ecuador and Colombia or Argentina and Uruguay, are not any more different than Texas and Oklahoma or Tennessee and Kentucky. Latin American countries do not see each other as different nations (save for some wealthy elites of each country). If a candidate wanted to get the Latino vote they would be well served to change the policies towards Latin America for one of cooperation and friendship and not one of exploitation, domination and intimidation. The hard talk against Cuba, and for extension to Venezuela, that once was helpful to get the Cubans from Miami, now only alienates voters. Furthermore, since the Miami Cubans are going to vote republican anyway, it would be silly for a Democrat to lose the Latino vote by echoing the old anti-Cuban rhetoric. This is an issue in which Obama’s first approach to international politics, of talking with everybody without pre conditions, could have paid off nicely. Unfortunately he backed away from them when the establishment attacked him.
Other articles by the same author
Rivas, J. A. 2008 Displacement Behavior and Stockholm Syndrome in the US "left": Why They Can't Get Their Heads Around the Bolivarian Revolution. The Axis of Logic. January http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/article_25848.shtml
Rivas, J. A., 2007, What is the path to Socialism Revolution or Evolution?: The Axis of Logic, July http://axisoflogic.com/cgi-bin/exec/view.pl?archive=157&num=24876
Rivas, J. A., 2007, Environmental Conservation and Socialism. A Conservationist Manifesto for the Venezuela's revolution: The Axis of Logic, July ttp://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/article_25003.shtml
Rivas, J. A., 2007, What is wrong with Pain Killers, NPR, the Democractic Party and Conservation Biologists?: The Axis of Logic, October http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/article_25333.shtml
Rivas, J. A. (2007). "The immigration problem: What problem? Whose problem?" The Axis of Logic August http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/article_25139.shtml .
Rivas, J. A., 2006, Understanding the minds of the neocons: Oil wars, attacks on the Venezuelan revolution and the corruption of US democracy: Vheadlines, July Available at http://www.williambowles.info/venezuela/2006/0706/mind_of_the_neocon.html
Rivas, J. A. 2005. Comparing Ecuador and Venezuela: Similar Opposition, Very Different Governments. Venezuelanalysis April available at http://www.anacondas.org/essays/lucio.htm
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