Bashing Trump not enough for Democrats to win Latino vote, advocates warn

*This article warns against Democratic Party complacency with Latino voters, as if it were a new thing. The problem is that Latinos have historically been an afterthought and the anti-Trump surge could cause the DNC to check the Latino box as a comfortable given. The problem for the Dems is that Latino millennials aren’t buying the Hillary package wholesale. VL

---

By Luciana Lopez, Reuters

Latino groups have criticized the Democratic Party for relying too heavily on Republican Donald Trump’s inflammatory comments on illegal immigration to drive Hispanic voters to the polls, calling instead for the party to do more to address Latino concerns, according to meeting notes seen by Reuters.

“(W)e cannot rely on Trump as that will set us up for failure,” according to notes summarizing a meeting on May 2 between Democratic Party officials and representatives of several Hispanic advocacy groups.

“Our values… need to be uplifted,” they continued.

Read more NewsTaco stories on Facebook. >> 

Hispanics make up around 17 percent of the U.S. population, making them a critical voter group in what is expected to be a tight race between Trump and the Democratic nominee.

Democratic operatives have called Trump an ideal spur for getting out the Latino vote . . . READ MORE 

---

---

[Photo by Stephen Melkisethian/Flickr]

Suggested Reading

Chicano! The History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement is the most comprehensive account of the arduous struggle by Mexican Americans to secure and protect their civil rights. It is also a companion volume to the critically acclaimed, four-part documentary series of the same title. This volume is a testament to the Mexican American community’s hard-fought battle for social and legal equality as well as political and cultural identity.

Since the United States-Mexico War in 1846-1848, Mexican Americans have striven to achieve full rights as citizens. From peaceful resistance and violent demonstrations, when their rights were ignored or abused, to the establishment of support organizations to carry on the struggle and the formation of labor unions to provide a united voice, the movement grew in strength and numbers. However, it was during the 1960s and 1970s that the campaign exploded into a nationwide groundswell of Mexican Americans laying claim, once and for all, to their civil rights and asserting their cultural heritage. They took a name that had been used disparagingly against them for years—Chicano—and fashioned it into a battle cry, a term of pride, affirmation and struggle.

[cc_product sku=”978-1-55885-201-3″ display=”inline” quantity=”true” price=”true”]