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April 29, 2004

Latinos tout unity at policy conference

Jeremy Schwab

Organization and efficiency were the order of the day during the Statewide Latino Public Policy Conference at UMass Boston last week.

Event planners shuttled hundreds of guests between the JFK Museum and the UMass student center, oversaw workshops on topics ranging from immigration reform to economic development, hosted a luncheon where a panel of Latino elected officials discussed politics as guests dined on curry chicken and vegetarian wraps and moderated a head-to-head debate between the leaders of the state Democratic and Republican parties.

The discipline at the conference reflected what some say is increasing coordination and common purpose among Latino political, research and community groups in the Bay State.

“I feel we are becoming more organized,” said conference attendee Hilda Ramirez, a board member of the education advocacy group Iniciativa.

Iniciativa recently announced a research partnership with the Mauricio Gastón Institute at UMass. The goal is to leverage the Gastón’s research and advocacy strengths and Iniciativa’s grassroots connections in order to influence public policy.

“We’re advancing, educating ourselves, getting a bigger pulse on what the real issues are and slowly reaching positions of power in government and corporations,” said Ramirez.

Other conference attendees expressed similar confidence in the ability of the Latino community to affect positive change on issues, such as low student achievement and poverty, that continue to plague many Latinos.

María Alamo, program director at ¿Oíste?, the statewide Latino political group, outlined her group’s efforts to pressure the state Legislature to refrain from cutting Section 8 vouchers and restore Medicaid funding for dental care and eyeglasses.

“We are in touch with the needs of the community,” said Alamo. “It’s ¿Oíste?’s responsibility to present those needs to the Legislature.”

¿Oíste? plans a lobbying day at the State House for May 10, before the Senate produces its fiscal 2005 budget, another sign of targeted advocacy on behalf of the multi-national Latino community.

Latinos have been increasingly successful at electing representatives to city and state government in recent years. Last fall, Puerto Rican-born Felix Arroyo placed second for the four citywide Boston City Council seats. Roy Avellaneda now sits as president of the Chelsea City Council and first-term Sen. Jarret Barrios is the first Latino state senator.

But for some, the gains made by Latinos have not yet given the Latin American community political clout reflective of the community’s rapidly growing numbers.

“I think we are really good at in-your-face advocacy,” said ¿Oíste? Executive Director Giovanna Negretti. “But does that have a long-term effect? What happens after the picket? I think we are way behind where we need to be in lobbying and advocacy.”

Speakers at the various workshops detailed government policies which negatively impact Latinos, from the Bush administration’s under-funding of its No Child Left Behind Act to increased scrutiny of immigrants following September 11.

“After September 11, a whole set of rights has been lost,” said Brandeis graduate student Alexandra Piñeros during a workshop on immigration issues. “Very unfortunately, we do not know what Senator Kerry’s position is on immigration reform.”

In this election year, both Democrats and Republicans are vying for Latinos’ votes, particularly in swing states such as New Mexico and Arizona, where Latin Americans and their descendants live in large numbers.

The third annual conference, organized by the Gastón Institute and others, was the first to hold a head-to-head debate between Democratic and Republican leaders and the first to see a high-ranking national Democrat — Sen. Edward Kennedy — address the group.

Most Latinos vote Democratic, but their loyalty to that party could shift, some observers predict.

“Our partisanship is really shallow and it is important to be shallow because both Democrats and Republicans have done things in our communities that are great and not-so-great,” said Marcelo Gaete of the National Association of Elected and Appointed Latino officials, during a workshop on lobbying.

Gastón Director Andrés Torres agreed that the Latino vote is to some extent up for grabs.
“In a state like Massachusetts where the Republicans are trying to gain a foothold, they certainly are going to be interested in this voting block, which has a strong independent inclination,” said Torres. “With the [pro-] MCAS and [anti-] bilingual education stands of the Republicans, there is a tendency to vote Democrat. But with gay unions and abortion rights, there is not total unanimity among Latinos. The social conservative view is a factor among Latinos and Republicans are going after that.”

 

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