Results 1 to 5 of 5

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

  1. #1
    Senior Member Skip's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    San Diego
    Posts
    4,170

    By EDWARD SIFUENTES: Latinos look to Obama's presidency




    REGION: Latinos look to Obama's presidency with hope
    The country's largest minority has long list of expectations



    By EDWARD SIFUENTES - Staff Writer
    Friday, January 16, 2009 7:59 PM PST ∞

    Barack Obama's historic presidency is being viewed by some in the Latino community with optimism and hope; others say they remain skeptical about whether the nation's first black president shares their aspirations.

    As a candidate, Obama heavily courted the Latino vote, in part by speaking at several large gatherings last summer, including the National Council of La Raza conference in San Diego.

    Obama struck all the right notes for Latinos during those speeches, promising to curtail the despised immigration raids. Now they will look for him to deliver on those promises.

    In North County, where anti-illegal immigrant sentiment is seen by some as spilling over into Latino hatred, some pointed to Obama's election as a beacon of hope that the rhetoric might soon subside.

    "I think (the Obama presidency) could represent a shift in the country, of hope for the future, of a government that is more intelligent and more analytical," said Bill Flores, an Escondido resident and former assistant sheriff who has been active with El Grupo, an umbrella group of civil rights organizations.

    Some Latinos say that immigration reform, including legalizing millions of illegal immigrants, may be the biggest litmus test for the Obama administration, aside from righting the country's economic outlook. But it is not the only one.

    Improved relations with Latin America, improving education, job creation, more access to health care, and safer communities are just some of the many things that Latinos say they want.

    "How he deals with these issues is going determine whether Latinos continue to support him," said Armando Navarro, a professor of ethnic studies at UC Riverside, who endorsed Obama during the campaign. "Support today, yes, but tomorrow there can be an erosion."

    Latinos are the largest minority group in the country, comprising 15 percent of the U.S. population. They helped Obama win in key battleground states such as New Mexico and Florida.

    In San Diego County, Latinos make up about a third of the population. In some North County cities, such as Escondido and San Marcos, they make up more than 40 percent of the population. Those numbers are predicted to continue to grow over the next several decades.

    As the country's first black president and the only nonwhite man elected to that position, Obama also has fueled expectations that other minority presidents could soon follow, including one of Latino descent.

    Raoul Lowery Contreras, a Republican political commentator and occasional freelance columnist for the North County Times, said that sentiment may be overblown.

    Latinos, he said, may benefit most from their own growing numbers and increasing influence, not the election of a black president.

    Will a Latino president follow?

    "Probably not in the immediate future," because the pool of potential Latino candidates is not that deep, Lowery Contreras said.

    One of the highest profile Latino politicians, and one of the most experienced, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, ran a failed bid for the Democratic presidential nomination last year.

    Obama nominated him to head the Department of Commerce, but Richardson withdrew soon after under pressure from a federal investigation into a state contract awarded to his political donors.

    Whether a Latino president follows, most Latinos agree that the election of a black president is a momentous occasion and a historic milestone for race relations.

    "This was a historical election," Navarro said. "There's no way to deny that there hasn't been any progress. If you would have asked me if a black man could be elected president 10 years ago, I would have said, 'no.' Two years ago, I would have said, 'no.'"

    The larger questions, Navarro and others said, are whether Obama can break away from the traditional positions presidents, Democrats and Republicans, have held toward Latinos and Latin America, including policies toward Cuba and Mexico.

    For nearly five decades, American presidents have upheld an embargo against communist Cuba that prohibits nearly all travel and commerce between the two countries.

    Obama said during the campaign that he would lift all restrictions on family travel and cash remittances to Cuba, but would not seek fully lifting the embargo until the island-nation shows "significant steps toward democracy."

    In a recent meeting, Obama told Mexico's president, Felipe Calderon, that he wants to "upgrade" the North American Free Trade Agreement, a treaty between the U.S., Mexico and Canada that reduces trade barriers.

    The treaty is unpopular among labor unions, but popular among Mexico's business elite. Calderon recently said that any attempt to renegotiate the agreement would create "not more markets and more trade, but fewer markets and less trade."

    Obama's stance on the agreement shows his lack of understanding of Latin American issues, and of Mexico in particular, Lowery Contreras said. Several prominent Latino commentators have pointed out that Obama has never traveled to Mexico or Latin America.

    "He is not a friend of Mexico. He's never even been to Tijuana," he said. "He knows nothing about them."

    Obama's allegiance to labor unions is stronger than his allegiance to Latinos, Lowery Contreras said. That is also why Obama may support legalizing illegal immigrants, but not a guest worker program, which would allow thousands of Mexicans to come legally into the country each year to compete with union workers, he said.

    If Obama were to oppose a guest worker program, that would be bad news for Angel Alvarado, a middle-aged man who stood on the Mexican side of the border on Friday looking at Imperial Beach on the other side.

    The man said he hoped Obama would make good on his promise of supporting comprehensive immigration reform, including a guest worker program, so that he could come to work legally in the U.S.

    "I hope he remembers what he said during his campaign," Alvarado said. "Someday, I would like to go, but legally, to work."

    Contact staff writer Edward Sifuentes at (760) 740-3511 or esifuentes@nctimes.com.

    NC TIMES

  2. #2
    noyoucannot's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Posts
    555
    This tribal and ethnocentric mindset does not bode well for the future of this nation IMO. A politician is supposed to represent ALL Americans, not just the interests of his/her particular ethnic/racial group.

  3. #3
    Senior Member ReggieMay's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    5,527
    Obama is/was my senator. His office has been unresponsive to my emails and phone calls. What makes illegals think they will fare any better?
    "A Nation of sheep will beget a government of Wolves" -Edward R. Murrow

    Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)

  4. #4
    Senior Member alamb's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    1,164
    latinos ARE NOT the largest minority group. Legal latinos, citizens and legal resident DO NOT make 15 % of the population. If you count the total number of illegal latinos then you do not have 15% of teh population, possibly only 11%! This is so crazy!

  5. #5
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Nebraska
    Posts
    2,892
    I love this comment underneath the story!

    Calling illegals undocumented workers is the same as calling a murderer an unkind human!

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •