Julian Castro - Mayor of San Antonio, TX

>> HINOJOSA: Has the first

Latino president of the United

States already been born?

Some say, "Yes."

As the youngest mayor of a Top

50 U.S. city, my guest today

symbolizes the emergence of a

new generation of Latinos in

American political life-- the

mayor of San Antonio, Texas,

Julian Castro.

I'm Maria Hinojosa, this is One

On One.

Mayor Julian Castro, welcome to

our program.

>> CASTRO: Thank you very much for

having me.

>> HINOJOSA: So your mom was a

big time political activist in

the 1960s and 1970s-- Chicana

activist.

Your brother is in state

government in Texas.

You're the youngest mayor... or

one of the youngest mayors in

the country, San Antonio, and

people are saying, "This family

has got a political future."

So is that kind of the way you

had it all planned out?

>> CASTRO: Oh, it's... well, that's the

way that it's working right now,

it seems, but not the way that

we planned out.

>> HINOJOSA: So you didn't even

think, like, when you were a kid

you were like, "I'm going to

become a politician like my

mom."

>> CASTRO: No.

You know what's interesting was

that because my mother was so

involved at that time in

different Mexican American

issues and women's issues, she

would drag us to political

rallies, to meetings, and for

somebody that's five, six,

seven, eight, nine, ten, those

things are not the funnest thing

to do in the world.

And so we actually... JoaquÌn

and I wanted to do anything but

go into politics.

>> HINOJOSA: Really?

>> CASTRO: Yeah.

My brother wanted to be a lawyer

and he is a lawyer today and I'm

a lawyer, and I really didn't

know what I wanted to do, but I

didn't want to do that because

it... you know, I just saw it as

boring.

It really wasn't until we got to

college and he and I both went

to Stanford, and we could see,

you know, what was special about

the community that we had come

from but also how much more

opportunity existed out there at

that time in the Bay Area.

And for me, thinking about

politics was thinking about,

well, how could you take the

best of what is out here, the

opportunity, the education

level, and combine that with

what's there in San Antonio--

the great cultural richness, the

history, the humility of the

community, and it's a

hardworking community?

So I would say that college was

really when I first got

interested in actually going

into politics.

>> HINOJOSA: So your mom kind of

was... was doing major politics

from the grassroots.

And actually, you know, many

times along the route, saying,

"Hey, listen, we can't even play

within the two party system.

We've got to create a third

party-- La Raza Unida party in

Texas.

And you're sitting here as a kid

saying, "Oh, mom, this is so

boring."

And then you end up essentially

becoming part of a major

political party-- the Democratic

Party.

People look at you.

You know it's been said, we

might as well just put out

there.

They're saying, "Look, Julian

Castro could end up as the first

Latino in the White House."

So put those things together.

You know, your mom's doing

radical stuff-- you know, third

party politics-- and you're

like, right in with the big

Democratic Party with... they

have high hopes for you.

>> CASTRO: Well, I think it's a measure

of how far the country has come

in those 30 to 40 years, and she

was active in the late 1960s and

early 1970s.

And when you look at... look

back at that experience, it's

not surprising that there would

have been a third party, because

neither party truly was serving,

I think, the interests of

Hispanics at that time in the

United States.

You had a drop-out rate of 70%

or something like that.

Just astronomical.

And the institutions of

significance in the country

truly did not afford the

American Dream to certain folks,

and it's a measure of how far

we've come that you have more

significant Latino political

empowerment, more progress in

business ownership just across

the board, that you could even

have folks talk about in the

relatively, you know,

foreseeable future, some sort of

Latino elected as president.

Now, I will say, I do not

believe that that's going to be

me, but I do believe that as

Jorge Ramos has said...

>> HINOJOSA: You don't believe

it's going to Jorge Ramos...

( laughing ) No!

>> CASTRO: ...that that person has been

born.

>> HINOJOSA: Yeah.

>> CASTRO: So it's in the foreseeable

future, and I think that's

just... that's the greatness of

the country and that's the

perseverance of folks like my

mother and many, many other

folks who have worked hard to

help bring the country along to

a point where it is possible for

this generation of Latinos to be

less burdened with having to

fight that fight.

>> HINOJOSA: Yeah, and you use

that word a lot.

You say that your generation of

Latinos are less burdened than,

you know, kind of, if you will,

the angry Chicano Rights

Movement of the 1960s and 1970s.

And yet, you look at our country

in the year 2011 in terms of

Latinos, and I was thinking,

"Well, really?

Are we less burdened?

I mean, you have a state that

right now is... many Latinos

feel is outwardly anti-Latino--

Arizona.

You have a sentiment... you

know, many analysts are looking

at this and saying, "There is an

anti-Latino sentiment in our

country."

So in fact, less burden?

Don't you feel like there is a

new generation of young Latinos

who are saying, "You know what?

This is our country and we

are... are angry that we're not

heard politically"?

>> CASTRO: I think that... that

particularly the actions in

Arizona and the mood, generally,

of the last 18 months, two

years, you know, has sort of

raised the specter of

anti-Latino sentiment in the

United States, but I wouldn't

say that it's to the same level

as the generations before.

You know, for instance, just at

a basic level, you know, in the

year 2010, it's possible to be a

doctor, an engineer, a lawyer,

and it was in theory possible

two generations ago but that

really didn't happen much.

It's possible now to go and

conduct commerce anywhere in the

United States as a Latino.

You're not going to be held back

from that.

So I do believe that this

younger generation has many

advantages that they should take

advantage of and get as well

educated as possible.

What worries me sometimes,

though, I will say, is that a

lot of the younger generation--

not only of Latinos but of

Americans-- I think doesn't have

a sufficient understanding of

the history of how we got here

or a respect for the

contributions that past

generations have made so that

they can have those

opportunities.

>> HINOJOSA: So for example,

what is it that you want us to

know when you say we don't

know our own history?

What don't we know that we need

to know?

>> CASTRO: Well, you know, I think

that... that for instance, in

Texas, there's a great example

of this in the State Board of

Education.

The State Board of Education has

taken a very ideological

approach to what appears in text

books.

You know, not teaching about

certain people, teaching about

other kinds of folks.

Taking a very hard line stance

on the content of text books as

a political agenda.

I think that's maybe the most

crystallized example of trying

to influence how a generation

learns about history.

But just on a much more mundane

level, a lot of times I fear

that, you know, a 16, 17,

18-year-old out there, they

think, "Well, I'm... I'm about

to graduate from high school or

I can go and get a job

wherever," or you know, they're

having fun with their friends or

playing video games or on the

Internet or text messaging and

everything's fine.

And that's good in the sense

that they see a sunny future for

themselves.

You want them to do that.

But at the same time, I don't

think that they look back enough

and understand the history of

the country and understand what

kind of sacrifices had to be

made for the gains that we have

in the United States today.

And the danger of that is that

then they're more likely to

allow us to fall back in the

future.

>> HINOJOSA: So what should I...

so what... so how do we do that?

I mean, if you're saying,

look... and frankly, as a

politician I think that it's

interesting that you're

commenting on the text book

issue out of Texas, because it

is highly political.

It seems that you, as a

politician, you don't run away

from controversy.

You are prepared to face it, but

you're very... the way you talk

about controversial issues is

different.

Is that because you're very

clear about how it is that you

want to talk about issues that

might be inflammatory for some,

and you're saying, "Look, as a

politician, I have to make an

effort to have you hear what I'm

saying, so I say it in a very

particular way"?

>> CASTRO: I believe that... I

fundamentally believe that if

you make a good argument and if

you're sincere about it and if

you're not inflammatory or

accusatory, that there's still

enough of a respect for one

another that in the United

States-- as sense of community--

that in the United States,

people will respond to that.

If we lose that as a country,

then I think we're going to lose

a lot of the greatness that has

defined us and the ability to

progress in such a beautiful

way; the way that the country

has over these last several

generations.

>> HINOJOSA: But if your mom was

kind of understanding politics

at a place where there were a

lot of divisions and she was

prepared, in essence, to dive

into controversy and to kind of

push the envelope, what... how

do you say... what do you say to

this younger generation that is

saying, "Mr. Mayor, we as young

Latinos or young activists see

problems on our horizon.

We have a Latino drop-out rate

that's not 75% but it's 50%, we

have, you know, crisis in

teenage pregnancy, we have, you

know, poverty."

What do you say to them when

they're saying, "It's important

for us to be angry and to be

putting... pushing the envelope

now in the year 2011"?

>> CASTRO: I say a couple of things.

First, that the best thing that

folks can do to alleviate those

challenges or those problems is

to invest in themselves and

their community and educating

themselves and voting.

You know, the issue for Latinos

a lot of times in these years,

is that, you know, we should

have a lot more influence in the

democratic process than we do,

but so many of our folks in the

community don't vote and that's

a real frustration and we have

to acknowledge that that power

in the United States is within

our hands.

>> HINOJOSA: Why do you think

they don't vote?

>> CASTRO: Well, I know that... I would

imagine it's folks are

discouraged, and I can see

rightly how they might be

discouraged economically, if

people are living from hand to

mouth, paycheck to paycheck, or

they're out of a job.

But as long as this country is

going to be the country that it

is, the best way to make

progress is to participate.

I also would say that I... I

don't... I do think that there

still is a place for folks to

rile people up in a civilized

way, in a productive way...

>> HINOJOSA: But that's what

democracy looks like...

>> CASTRO: Yeah, I'm not saying that

everybody has to be...

>> HINOJOSA: It's not going to

be pretty.

>> CASTRO: Sure, you know, not everybody

has to have a suit and tie on

and act like they're in a

boardroom.

I mean, in fact, the progress

that we've made has come because

you've had a spectrum of people

like... like my mother, like

Henry B. Gonz·lez in Congress at

that time, like folks who have

been pioneers in the boardrooms

of America.

And so you know, there is a

place for all of that, but as

long as, you know, it's marching

in the same direction.

>> HINOJOSA: There is a pretty

fascinating statistic that is

only, I think, now that the

Census is going to be, you know,

releasing more and more

information, every 60 seconds a

Latino turns 18 in the United

States of America.

That's... I mean, I always

repeat it so that people can try

and be like, "What?"

So every 60 seconds, a Latino

turns 18.

And so when you're talking about

voting power, that's what you're

looking at, right?

You're also, I mean, again,

being a politician, you're

thinking, "Look, if I can lock

in that generation that sees me

as a leader," just to vote, it

means something for you

politically, it means something

for our country, but that's... I

mean, talk about when you...

when you hear that statistic.

>> CASTRO: Oh, I mean, that statistic is

just indicative of the changing

demographic of America, and the

question really is are Latinos

going to be a great asset for

the United States or are they

essentially going to be an

albatross?

And I believe that they can be

the greatest asset for the

United States in this globally

competitive economy if those...

if that 18-year-old has

graduated from high school and

is going on to college, you

know, is voting, is being a

productive member of the

community.

We have a wonderful opportunity

to renew the spirit and the

entrepreneurialism of the United

States with this great Latino

growth, and it can help... this

growth can propel the United

States to dominance against

China and India in the 21st

century if it's harnessed and

if... their success is fostered.

>> HINOJOSA: So where's the

problem?

When you stand back and you look

at what's happened in our

country and you see that, you

know, at this point, you know,

entering the second decade of

the new millennium, you know,

that Latino youth, because

they're going to be so huge in

our country, should be... I

mean, all youth, but when you're

talking about demographics and

you're looking at those numbers,

that they should be most

supported in terms of getting

through school.

But you know that it's not quite

there.

The... I'm not sure if it's the

will, the political will, the

dollars.

So there's also... I mean,

you're seeing it as a very

positive, and I'm so happy that

you're an optimist.

>> CASTRO: ( laughing ) Well... and I do

see the growth in the Latino

community as very positive for

the United States, although in

some ways, it still is an open

question and it seems as though

you do have, in some instances,

this multi-generational reaching

but not getting there.

Folks who drop out from high

school, who may have a child

early, who just do not reach

their dreams and then, you know,

the cycle repeats itself.

We have a lot of that in... in

the Latino community, but also

throughout the United States

with young people, and so I

would say that it's a function

of poverty, of not believing

fundamentally that that kind of

American Dream is going to be

there for them, maybe.

And it's something that, as

policy makers, as mayors, as

school board members, as state

representatives, as members of

Congress and so forth, that we

have a role to play in making

better policy, but it's also an

individual issue.

You know, at some level, the

individual has to try and rise

above it as well.

>> HINOJOSA: And one of the

things that you're doing in San

Antonio which I think is really

interesting is that you're

actually trying to put the

political and the, you know,

personal together.

You have decided that as a

mayor, you want to take on the

issue of Latina teen pregnancy.

San Antonio has the highest

rate?

>> CASTRO: One of the highest rates,

yes.

>> HINOJOSA: One of the highest

rates of Latina teen pregnancy

and one of the higher rates...

highest rates of multiple

pregnancies for Latina

teenagers, if I'm not mistaken.

>> CASTRO: That's true.

>> HINOJOSA: Now, a mayor

inserting himself into that

issue-- why?

>> CASTRO: Because it's important for

the future well being of the

city.

>> HINOJOSA: And how do you

figure that you can tackle this

thing that has been, you know, a

problem?

How can a mayor... and I'm

always wondering, because I'm

saying, "Is Mayor Julian Castro

thinking that if he can create

policy that actually affects

something that is... can be

measured"... but Latina teen

pregnancy has been... it's a

huge problem.

So what's your plan?

>> CASTRO: Sure.

Well, first, we're still in the

middle of coming up with the

approach, but essentially, you

know, it has to do with a couple

of things: making sure that

folks have the right type of

resources and information about

how to avoid pregnancy, ensuring

that they have access to clinics

and the right types of adults

or, you know, medical personnel

that can help them make the

right decision if that's what

they choose, if that's what

their families choose before

they get pregnant.

You know, so that instead of

become active, sexually active,

they can choose a different

path.

>> HINOJOSA: Which is

interesting, because you know,

most parents, most families,

have a hard time talking about

sex, and you're basically saying

for Latino families, "Look,

y'all need to talk about this

stuff as a family."

>> CASTRO: Oh, absolutely.

>> HINOJOSA: "Let's not run away

from it."

>> CASTRO: Yeah, don't run away from it,

or if it's more helpful to have

a counselor or someone at a

clinic do that, then you know,

take that route.

But you have to empower both

young women and young men with

the information they need to,

you know, wait until after

they've gotten their education.

So that's an important issue,

because it's going to make a

profound difference if we can

continue to lower that number of

teen pregnancies; a profound

difference socially, but also

economically for the city, you

know?

If somebody has a child at the

age of 22, 23, instead of at 16

or 15, that child is more likely

to get educated themselves, to

graduate from high school,

graduate from college, and what

we're trying to create in San

Antonio, like every other

community, is this whole condre

of well educated young people

that can take on the jobs of the

21st century.

We're trying to enhance the

opportunity spectrum, and the

best way to do that is to make

sure that they graduate from

high school and graduate from

college.

>> HINOJOSA: So it's

interesting, Mayor Castro,

because you... again, people see

you as representing kind of a

new face of Latino politics in

the new millennium.

You are Catholic but you're

pro-choice, you have marched as

the Grand Marshall of the Gay

Parade... Gay Pride Parade in

San Antonio, you support NAFTA,

you... so how... I mean,

you're... talk a little bit

about... especially when you

have more Latino Republicans

actually gaining in the past

elections, how do you see this

as you kind of being the

progressive Latino, open-minded,

still Catholic but not a

Republican, but Republicans and

Latinos are doing well these

days?

>> CASTRO: They are, you know?

In the 2010 election cycle,

there were several high-profie

Latino Republicans who were

elected, and I don't see it

necessarily as a bad thing that

you have representation across

the political spectrum.

I do believe that the Democratic

Party is taking votes, and on

policy, is better on issues that

affect Latinos in the United

States.

But when decisions are being

made in either caucus in

Washington, it helps to have

folks who have a perspective

that relates to the Latino

community.

But for a politician, whether he

or she is a Republican or

Democrat, I think part of the

new politics of America

hopefully is that people are

not necessarily always so easily

categorized that you can't be

for free trade but also, you

know, support the idea that

there should be some base level

kind of protections for

employees in places; that you

can't be Catholic and be

pro-choice.

You know, we have done a very

good job in the United States of

trying to use heuristics or to

categorize people, and I think

what you see in some circles now

is people saying, "Look," you

know, "we live in a world that

is more complex than it ever has

been, so why would you expect

everything to just be black and

white in terms of the people

that serve you in public

office?"

That's an unreasonable

expectation.

>> HINOJOSA: There's a lot of

talk right now within the Latino

community around whether or not

there is a lack of Latino

leadership.

A very important Pew Hispanic

poll came out saying that, you

know, there is no Latino leader

out there.

Should there be?

Can there be?

Do we need a Latino leader now

more than ever, or is it better

to have many?

>> CASTRO: I think it's better to have

many folks who are leaders in

their own fields; folks who are

rising in politics, folks who

are rising in business.

In a way, the Latino community

is so diverse in and of itself

that I don't know if it's

realistic to think that you're

going to have one person that's

identified as the Latino leader,

and I don't believe that's a bad

thing.

There are many communities in

the United States that don't

necessarily have a single

leader.

So I wouldn't... I wouldn't

obsess about that.

I don't think that whether

there's a singular voice or

someone who's recognize as the

Latino leader, I don't believe

that's going to determine how

much progress is made in

politics or business or

education.

It would sometimes... sometimes,

you know, it feels like, "Well,

where do folks go?"

It might be helpful to have one

kind of dominant voice, but I

don't think it's a hindrance to

progress.

>> HINOJOSA: And you'd actually

like to see the younger Latinos

understand that they can be

leaders even if they're not big

leaders?

>> CASTRO: Yeah.

I think that what our young

people should understand is that

they can be leaders in their own

right in their own community,

you know, in their neighborhood,

in their church, in their

college, in their job, you know,

in their career, whatever it is.

That is more empowering, I

believe, than looking up to one

person as the Latino leader.

>> HINOJOSA: But it could be

helpful, couldn't it?

I mean, it could be, in fact,

very hopeful if you were able to

have a Latino leader who was,

you know, Mexican American but

was followed and supported by

Salvadorians, by Cubans, by

Dominicans.

In a moment when Latinos say

that they feel, in a sense,

kicked aside, wouldn't have...

wouldn't there... there be a

need for that person to actually

bring together these thoughts

and say, "Yes, I hear, I

represent, I will take your

voice"?

>> CASTRO: It can be helpful, but I

don't think it's necessary.

I think, for instance, over the

Dream Act, over the last few

months, you saw in different

places-- in Las Angeles, in San

Antonio, in New York-- folks who

were very active trying to push

the agenda of getting the Dream

Act passed.

And even though there wasn't a

single, you know, kind of person

identified as the leader, it was

college students and folks who,

you know, in there own right

were leaders.

So you can still have tremendous

progress without having a... a

kind of identified leader.

>> HINOJOSA: All right, so for

young kids who are watching and

who are, you know, saying, "Me?

Go to the polls?

Come on; another politician,"

you know, "no way."

You know, "I'm busy; I need a

job."

So what's your platform of hope

for them when they look at the

American Dream and they say, "I

have real questions about

whether or not there's going to

be that for me"?

What do you say to that?

>> CASTRO: Well, just to look at the

experience of their grandparents

and their parents.

Oftentimes, the story is that

with their grandparent's

generation, maybe they didn't

get everything that they wanted

to get in life.

Maybe they reached the American

Dream, but a lot of times they

didn't reach what we think of as

the typical or classical

American Dream, and then their

parents were more likely to have

done that or have gotten closer,

and that's the story of the

United States.

And it's incumbent upon this

generation to make an investment

in itself to stick it out and

graduate from high school and go

to college so that they can

reach the American Dream.

A lot of times, young people...

you know, I go into the high

schools and the middle schools,

and being 30 years old to them

seems like it's so far away, you

know, much less being 40 or 50.

And I tell them, first of all,

"The time's going to fly by; I

can guarantee you that."

But secondly, you know, "When

everything is said and done 20

years from now, the one thing

that nobody can take away from

you is your education, and if

you just stick it out three,

four more years," if they're a

freshman in high school, "that

is going to make the world of

difference to you."

And I hope that more of our

young people get that.

The more of them that graduate

from high school and then go on

to college, the more of them are

going to register to vote and

actually show up and do it.

So in a way, when you address

that issue of getting educated

and giving them a future, the

issue of voting-- not all the

time, but to a large extent, I

think-- starts to take care of

itself.

>> HINOJOSA: Well, we'll see how

it plays out.

Mayor Julian Castro, thanks for

joining us.

>> CASTRO: Thank you very much.

>> HINOJOSA: Continue the

conversation at

wgbh.org/oneonone.