Despite the fact that Latinos are 16% of the American population and the largest ethnic minority in the country, they remain deeply underrepresented in elected offices. But more Latinos are running — and winning — local elections now more than ever before.
Is it backlash to the immigration policies of President Donald Trump’s administration? Julio Ricardo Varela, MS Now columnist and founder of The Latino Newsletter, said he thinks it has more to do with the increasing number of Latinos in the United States.
“We are growing in a lot of places outside of traditional areas like California, Texas, Florida,” Varela said. “If you’re going to be politically involved, you’re going to run locally, right? So I understand the Trump argument as being part of this, but I also think demographics are demographics.”
Varela mentioned recent historic wins include council seats in places like Lansing, Mich., and Des Moines, Iowa. And Lancaster, Penn., also elected its first Latino mayor this year: Jaime Arroyo.
Cristina Silva, managing editor of local news at the Boston Globe, said it’s not just geographic diversity — it’s also political diversity.
“It’s happening across party lines, though most of them are Democrats,” Silva said. “And I think it reflects that Latinos are the fastest-growing population in the United States. They are American citizens. They speak English. They’re part of our country, and they want to represent their communities and their issues like anyone else who runs for office.”
Meanwhile, some of Florida’s Cuban-American followers may be questioning their loyalty to President Trump as his administration appears to put the issue of a full regime change in Cuba on the back burner.
“After the Trump administration went into Venezuela, earlier this year, immediately there were Cubans and Cuban Americans saying, ‘What about us?’” Silva said. “These Cuban activists, these conservatives in South Florida, they want to see regime change. Trump has made serious references and jokes about going into Cuba, and Cuba has repeatedly said, ‘We don’t want you here. We have sovereignty. We have freedom.’ And even if the Trump administration does go into Cuba and forces new leadership like they’ve done in Venezuela and in Iran, what comes next for Cuba? What will be Cuba’s future?”
And locally, Varela said Puerto Ricans are saddened by the firing of former Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora. He was one of the handful of Latino managers in Major League Baseball, which is 30% Latino. With his exit, the MLB now has only three Latino managers for its 30 teams.
“We all believed him that he was giving hope and he was leading one of the top franchises in baseball history,” Varela said. “All of a sudden, he’s not here anymore. The Boricua-ness, the Puerto Rica-ness of the Boston Red Sox, seems to have disappeared overnight.”
All that, plus how the recent Supreme Court decision on redistricting will affect Latinos and the Puerto Rican winner of the Kentucky Derby on this week’s Latinx news roundtable!
Guests
- Julio Ricardo Varela, MS NOW columnist and the founder of The Latino Newsletter
- Cristina Silva, managing editor for local news at the Boston Globe
