THE LATINO VOTE, A SWING VOTE!

By Silvia Uribe

The booming Latino population in political swing states is giving headaches and creating new opportunities for both political parties as they go after the Latino vote. The Republican and Democrat tactics to win independent Latinos over, at this stage of the race, have to be well thought out.

Most definitively, the perspective of politicians who not only want, but need the Latino vote, has changed. The Latino vote has become, little by little, a precious commodity. Traditionally, Latinos in the U.S. have not been considered a political force. However, today things are different, and the Latino vote stands as a swing vote that might just decide who is elected President on November 4. Interestingly enough, the mainstream media is not talking about this fact.

But media or not, it is not surprising that Obama and McCain have made appearances and given speeches in the past few months at the League of United Latin American Citizens' conference in Washington, the National Council of La Raza, in San Diego, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, and LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens). McCain even showed up at the Basílica de Guadalupe in Mexico City in his quest to be more appealing to Latinos.

According to a research done by the Pew Hispanic Center, Latinos are the largest and fastest growing minority in the U.S. with 46 million, 15% of the total population.

Although many Latinos in the U.S. are not able to vote, either because they are not citizens or because they're not of age, this large minority will comprise about 9% of the eligible electorate nationwide, meaning that one in every nine voters will be of Latino origin in 2008.

This same study indicates that 57% of those registered to vote are Democrats or have an inclination for the Democrat party, and 23% align with the Republican Party. Polls report that Republicans are scoring points on traditional issues of faith and national security. But their generally anti-immigrant position is frustrating for many Latino voters, as one can imagine. As for the Democrats, Obama has used the theme of diversity to argue for immigration reform and economic policies aimed at the Latino working class. In general, the issues relevant to Latinos do not vary dramatically from the issues of non-Latino voters: the economy and jobs -undoubtedly top concerns - followed by education, immigration, health care, crime, and the war in Iraq.

Even though some polls give Obama an ample margin over McCain, something to take into consideration is the fact that polls often do not offer interviews in Spanish. I have been able to confirm this fact when pollsters call my number.

In nine states - New Mexico, California, Texas, Nevada, Arizona, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, Colorado and New York, the Hispanic share of the electorate is approximately 10% or greater, according to the New Democratic Network. In California the Latino vote represents 19% of those who are registered to vote.

It will be interesting to see whether Latino leaders will leverage this political weight to advance the Latino community and its causes, or if they will let the opportunity go.

Silvia Uribe is a freelance writer with a Latino perspective .

Who can be contacted at enconfianza@hotmail.com

Cross-posted at Edhat.com

Road To Nowhere

By Silvia Uribe

The story on what's happening with the U.S. economy is obviously more than what meets the eye. There are many things that we, as regular people, will never know about, and thus, we won't understand. However, one thing is very clear. The government has placed us all in a precarious situation and on a road to nowhere, just like the one that Sarah Palin is building in Gravina, Alaska.

All the financial institutions that hold both national and international interests are crumbling like overcooked cakes, and there's no way to cover the situation with any kind of sweet frosting. But our government still needs to hold the burned areas in place. Otherwise these will taint - even more - our relations with the rest of the world. It could be a complete debacle!

In order to do this, the government will have to bail out monstrous financial institutions with the unprecedented amount of $ 700,000,000,000 (did I put enough zeros?), which is a measure that, although I understand that doing nothing is not an option, it is still frightening to me.

You see, I've seen this kind of situation happening before in the Mexican economy. A corrupt government puts the country at risk, and pretends that nothing bad is happening (as Bush did up until a few weeks ago when he kept saying that we were in no financial recession, but in a "slow economy"). Then, I've seen the same government being forced to solve the problems it caused by acquiring financial responsibilities that, in the long run, brings the country to impossible debts, both private and public. Things then were very similar to what has been going on here: the real estate market went downhill; people were loosing their homes. Sounds familiar?

The FOBAPROA (Fondo Bancario de Protección al Ahorro or "Banking Fund for the Protection of Savings") was a controversial fund created in México in 1990 by Carlos Salinas de Gortari in an attempt to "resolve" liquidity problems of the banking system in Mexico. The Fobaproa was applied in 1994 during the economic crisis to protect Mexican banks from going bankrupt, and thus destroying the Mexican Economy. During that decade, the peso went through an unprecedented devaluation, interest rates went through the ceiling, the economy was stagnant, and the country suffered a masive descapitalization due to lack of trust in the financial system. Talk about a debacle!

By July, 1998 the Treasury (Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público) gave the green light for Congress to analyze the Fobaproa books to clarify fraud accusations made public against top rank individuals within the government, entrepreneurs, and bankers. With the Fobaproa, the population felt some relief with their debts, however the financial meltdown of the country was unquestionable, and its consequences unparallel. It was not until September of 1998 that President Ernesto Zedillo created a reform for the financial system. This reform included more efficient mechanisms for the overview of the credit activity, a new legal frame that would avoid new financial crises, support for small and medium debtors, and equity in the distribution of the rescue costs. It also included measures to avoid corruption.

Bush's administration is asking now for $700 billion, and the proposal places no restrictions on the administration other than requiring semiannual reports to Congress, granting the Treasury Secretary unprecedented power to buy and resell mortgage debt. I don't think so. Corruption is an illness that's usually caused by opportunity. It will be up to Congress to determine what kind of severance package Bush will have at the end of his term.

Also concerning, is that our presidential candidates keep campaigning as if nothing is happening. Shouldn't they be an intrinsic part of this decision making process, as opposed to be bickering at each other? Given the fact that one of them will - whether we like it or not - be the next President in a few months, isn't it in everyone's best interest that both of them take part in planning a solution to this mess. After all, one of them will have to run with this snowball in his hands, won't he? Oh, but wait. If the candidates would do this, they could be held accountable for their decisions. Sorry, I forgot that neither of them really wants that.

I'm no analyst, but I'm a person who doesn't forget history - one who has "been there, done that". And yes, I am just frightened by the negative consequences that can be foreseen.

Silvia Uribe is a freelance writer with a Latino perspective.

Cross-posted at Edhat.com

Goleta Versus Santa Barbara, By the Numbers

A Comparison of Census Counts Between the Two Cities

By Silvia Uribe

As I was snooping around on the Web, I found very interesting information regarding our beautiful city. Not that this information was a secret before-it comes from the 2000 Census, but as often happens with relevant information, we usually don't know it's out there and easy to find. So, although this information will be updated in a couple of more years with the 2010 Census, it's still something that residents of Goleta-and Santa Barbara-might be interested in knowing.

We all know that the job of the U.S. Census Bureau is to provide an accurate count of the people, their origin, age, income, religion, language, and other crucial facts. Governments need to know this information in order to plan and provide the services that the population needs. That's why this information is religiously collected every 10 years. What not everyone knows, however, is that the Census counts people either by city or by CDP ("Census Designated Place"). In the 2000 Census, Goleta was not yet an incorporated city, so was classified as a CDP along with other places in the South Coast, such as Gaviota, Isla Vista, Montecito, and Summerland.

Although numbers usually appear dull to me, when they relate to people, all of a sudden they fall in a different category: a "gossipy" one, and my mental machine starts working vigorously, producing endless questions that are politically correct and others that aren't. The latter questions I will keep to myself, but in providing these numbers, I'll posit a few of the questions and thoughts that seem to be appropriate. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts too.

Here are facts, and my thoughts, from the 2000 Census:

Population

Goleta: 55,204

Santa Barbara: 92,325

(These numbers make me think of the now infamous Bird Nest stadium at the Olympics in China. All Goletanos would be able to fit in there and almost half of the stadium would still be empty. Santa Barbarans, on the other hand, would fill its capacity and 1,325 would have to remain outside.)

Households

Goleta: 19,954, 30.6% with children under 18

Santa Barbara: 35,605, 24.3% with children under 18

Married Couples

Goleta: 55.1%

Santa Barbara: 39.8%

(Does not include same-sex marriages, which weren't legal in 2000.)

Female Heads of Household

Goleta: 8.7%

Santa Barbara: 9.5%

Non-Family Homes

Goleta: 32.5%

Santa Barbara: 46.8%

Individual Households

Goleta: 22.5%, with 8.8% being 65 and older

Santa Barbara: 32.9%, with 11.4% being 65 and older

(I'd bet that not many Latinos are included in this category. Traditionally, Latino elders live with an adult son or daughter and their family.)

Average Family Size

Goleta: 3.18

Santa Barbara: 3.17

Age Breakdown

Under 18:

Goleta: 23.1%

Santa Barbara: 19.8%

18 to 24:

Goleta: 9.5%

Santa Barbara: 13.8%

25 to 44:

Goleta: 28.6%

Santa Barbara: 32.3%

45 to 64:

Goleta: 24.2%

Santa Barbara: 20.4%

65 and up:

Goleta: 14.6%

Santa Barbara: 13.8%

Median age:

Goleta: 38 years

Santa Barbara: 35 years

(38 is also the median age of marathon runners!)

Racial Breakdown

White:

Goleta: 78.61%

Santa Barbara: 74.04%

Latino:

Goleta: 22.33%

Santa Barbara: 35.02%

Asian:

Goleta: 6.43%

Santa Barbara: 2.77%

(My observation is that, at least lately, people from many different Asian countries have been settling in Goleta.)

African American:

Goleta: 1.27%

Santa Barbara: 1.77%

Native American:

Goleta: 0.82%

Santa Barbara: 1.07%

Pacific Islander:

Goleta: 0.11%

Santa Barbara: 0.14%

Income Data

Median family income:

Goleta: $67,956

Santa Barbara: $57,880

Median male income:

Goleta: $44,770

Santa Barbara: $37,116

Median female income:

Goleta: $32,127

Santa Barbara: $31,911

Per capita income:

Goleta: $28,890

Santa Barbara: $26,466

Population below the poverty line (considered to be $10,400 for individuals):

Goleta: 6.7%

Santa Barbara: 13.4%

Families below poverty line (considered to be and under $18,000 for a family of three):

Goleta: 2.9%

Santa Barbara: 7.7%

Under 18 below the poverty line:

Goleta: 4.8%

Santa Barbara: 16.8%

65 and older below the poverty line:

Goleta: 4.4%

Santa Barbara: 7.4%

Questions

- What is surprising to you?

- Do these numbers reflect what you see or know about our communities?

- What affects these numbers?

- What are your predictions for the next census in 2010, based on these numbers?

In the meantime, enjoy life!

Silvia Uribe is a freelance writer with a Latina perspective.

Cross-posted at the Independent.com

A Linguistic Fiesta

By Silvia Uribe

September has been designated as the Hispanic Heritage Month. To answer a question that I'm usually asked, the difference between the terms Hispanic and Latino is quite simple. Hispanic is relative to those from the Hispano American countries, whereas the word Latino is relative to those countries whose languages have a common Latin origin, which includes some languages that are not Spanish. Being the social oriented linguist at heart that I am, I prefer the term Latino rather than Hispano because in acknowledging that we share language roots with other cultures it is easier to recognize other cultural traits that we also share, thus promoting both communication and understanding.

English and Spanish are Indo-European languages. English, of course, is a Germanic language, while Spanish is a Romance language. The Romance languages are Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, and Romanian. All these languages started as a combination of vernacular (vulgar) Latin with the local tongues. Spanish started making its way into English during The Renaissance, either directly or through French.

Some of the words that came to English via Spanish are from South or Central American Indian languages, like the word potato that derives from Haitian through Spanish. Many times, unless you're really into languages, it is very difficult to identify the Spanish origin of some English words. The French language was a linguistic middleman that channeled fresh vocabulary from other languages. The word canoe is a perfect example, since it is of Latin, French, Spanish, and ultimately Haitian etymology. In other cases, Spanish played the part of the "relay" language. The word cork, ultimately of Latin origin (through the Arabic word alqúrq), came to English via Old Spanish (alcorque).

Spanish cognates (fancy word to designate the same ancestral language), may not be as numerous as those of Latin or French origin, but they are just as varied, widespread, and influential. English would be less rich without words such as the ones that I used, (either direct from Spanish or through a relay language), in the following story written solely for our enjoyment of the English language, and the American culture that constantly adapt and evolve.

"My cousin Luis, the matador, turned off the tango and danced to salsa after the corrida de toros to celebrate that he was alive. He would've had a party with a piñata, but he thought he was too old for that. He has been acting like a desperado, but in this case, he was running away from dangerous situations.

First, it was the tornado that chased him when as he was at the plaza, with the mariachi, having a margarita, at a community barbecue. Then, there was the quite unexpected situation with the machete at the hacienda where he was going to be killed by the guerrilla comrades, while he was smoking a cigar in the patio. After that, a mosquito bit him, making him very ill. At the pueblo's fiesta he attended, he asked the señorita to serve him a menudo with tortillas, guacamole, and pinto beans. He also ordered chili, and chicken fajitas with habanero, and pimento, all grilled on mesquite; he declined the enchilada, the burrito, the tamale, and the tacos with salsa and cilantro, but it was too late. All that food plus the tequila with alfalfa juice became an exploding cannon in his bulged belly. He was put out of commission, hiding in his adobe cabana for a while.

When his amigos went to visit him, they played the guitar and, since it was cold and raining, they brought a poncho for him to wear. They also made hot cocoa to get warm, and they dipped their famous churros in it. All of them were covered with their own zarapes looking very macho like "El Dorado" caudillos. To promote a speedy recovery, they took him to the Caribbean, where they used burros with cinches for transportation. At the ocean, he slept on a hammock, enjoyed the vistas, fished for tuna, and slept siestas with his sombrero on his face to avoid sunburn. In one of the islands, he saw coyotes, alligators, a puma, and a jaguar, as well as canaries and condors. Luckily for Luis, he ended up paying nada of this expensive trip; it was gratis for him.

When they were back, inside his cabana alcove, on the mesa, next to the arroyo, he figured his luck was grande. His friends were not aficionados, but savvy on how to entertain, even though they spent too much time at the hotel cafeteria eating flan and smoking tobacco cigarettes. It didn't matter either that they were conquistadors of senoras and senoritas alike, although Luis didn't agree with such behavior.

Before his amigos left, he hugged them and told them "Gracias, mi casa es su casa, hata la vista and vayan con Dios"

(The previous text has 100 Spanish words or cognates…can you identify them?)

Silvia Uribe is a freelance writer with a Latino perspective.

Cross-posted at Edhat.com