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And the "Southern" Latino Agenda
Found in Newsletter
Written by National Institute for Latino
Posted on 2008-08-27





A few days ago, word started circulating that yet another Latino agenda was being released from ,to some, a surprising source, Azteca America. Titled "Agenda Latino: The State of Latinos 2008 --- Defining An Agenda for the Future," this is a preliminary 21-page report with a final and more detailed version to be released on September 23rd in Washington, DC. Azteca America is a television network with affiliates in 60 US markets that is controlled by Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego.

The distinctive recommendation of this report is its call for ". . . the future president to create a presidential advisory commission to advance an Agenda Latina. This commission should be comprised of national, state, and local leaders representing the Latino community. The commission should incorporate grassroots efforts and be productive." The full report will provide more detail based on research conducted by the University of Denver Latino Center for Community Engagement and Scholarship (DULCCES) headed by Dr. Debora M. Ortega, an associate professor of social work.

The interesting thing about this report is that it was underwritten by a Mexico-based conglomerate, Grupo Salinas, raising questions about whether a foreign-based corporation should be meddling in the internal affairs of the Latino community in the United States. However, they point out that they have worked with the following US-based Latino organizations in the development of this report: the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute; the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement; the National Council of La Raza; Voto Latino; NDN; the League of United Latin American Citizens; the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials; the Latino Issues Forum; the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project; and the Republican National Hispanic Assembly. In addition, through their Fundacion Azteca they are also collaborating with the Washington, DC-based VotoLatino outfit headed by Maria Teresa Petersen (who is best known as a regular commentator on Latino politics on MSNBC) on Movimiento Azteca, a nonpartisan voter registration campaign.

For further information on the "State of Latino 2008", contact: Daniel McCosh , Fundacion Azteca America, Tel: 011 52 55 1720 0059, Email: dmccosh@gruposalinas.com .