Hispanic Political Climates

There has been much debate over the pan-ethnic Hispanic identity in America due to the conflicting ideologies of different Latino sub-groups. However, recent news shows that the presidential election is actually helping the Latino community come together for a common cause. There are vast regional differences in thinking amongst Latino’s in the United States depending on where one lives. This is primarily due to the fact that different groups of Latino’s settle down and are more concentrated in different areas around the United States. The west coast for example, primarily California, is home to the largest Mexican population outside of Mexico. While the East coast Is primarily home to many Puerto Ricans, and Cubans. The differences in migration patterns is determined by where their country of origin is closest from. Due to these groups being primarily isolated on either side of the country they’re bound to develop different ideologies and attitudes towards politics.

These groups are not representative of the entire Latino population, but they do represent the reasons why some Latinos vote Democratic while others vote Republican. What many people don’t understand is that many of these people immigrated here to escape the fascist leftist governments of their home countries. This in turn translates into their American political party association. Everyone comes with baggage, and in this case entire populations come with their own. Each ethnic group is heavily affected by their countries individual and unique history.

The situation becomes very tricky when grouping all Hispanic people into a group because many people feel that they do not identify with an overarching term. Many feel as though they’re inheriting someone else’s problems, which is not ideal when they feel they have enough of their own. The pan ethnic identity of being a Latino is a much more political argument than it would appear to be on the surface. All these sub cultures have their own unique history which shapes and influences their ideologies and politics. The Latino community is discriminated towards as a whole but there is still much inequality and resentment towards others within our communities. In this case I’m referring to the special immigrant status awarded to Puerto Ricans. For many the mere thought that there could be two different types of citizenship is absurd. In a sense, many other undocumented peoples this unfair because they are basically just given something that many immigrating Latino’s have to fight for, and in some cases may never succeed. Why is it that a certain group of immigrant Latino’s gets priority over another? Despite this however, as I’ve mentioned before is due to Puerto Rico’s complicated history as a commonwealth of the United States, because in theory it is still a U.S. colony, and in many ways we still control their country primarily by keeping them in perpetual debt to the United States.

America is supposed to be the land of the free, but I think we’ve become exactly the opposite. When this country was founded it was a place for refugees, and immigrants who wanted to escape the struggles of their home countries. We as a country have become disengaged from the ideologies of our forefathers, and have closed off our hearts to helping people that are in need. To relate back to the Puerto Rican argument and the inequality that this presents, by law they are still not equal to a citizen born on American soil. They are not protected under the same laws, and it’s clear that the type of American citizenship granted by the Jones Act isn’t an American citizenship. Yet the majority of the Puerto Rican population has voted republican in the past. They have been supporting a system that is just oppressing them, but the older generations thought that the Republican Party aligned with their beliefs. They high value hard work and this community quickly learned that hard work was the only way out of poverty. They were true believers of the traditional “American Dream” and felt that the Republican Party represented just that. Subsequent generations of Puerto Ricans were registered republicans because that’s what your family was, and it was easy to just not question things.

Many Puerto Ricans now however, are starting to stand by their Mexican immigrants because they understand the struggle of what it’s like to be in a country that only expects the worst from you. The one good thing that has come from all the hate the Republican Party is spewing during this election is that it’s making the Latino community more empathetic towards each other’s problems, and is helping us really develop a sense of cultural unity and belonging. Now I’m not saying I agree with the current Democratic candidate, but for many the Democratic Party stands for a symbol of hope and acceptance. As a community I feel as though we are moving in the right direction, and that we are on the way of really obtaining adequate power in our country to put the Latino agenda on the map.