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Este informe no está disponible en español. ASSOCIATED PRESS ONLINEHispanics Seek Political Powerby PAUL SHEPARDJuly 1, 2000 WASHINGTON (AP) - Seeking to turn Hispanic America's swift population gains into political power, Latino advocates are searching for rallying points that can unite their diverse citizenry. (Buscando transformar las ganancias de la población hispana de los Estados Unidos en poder político, los defensores del poder latino están buscando puntos de interés en común que unan a esta porción de la ciudadanía de variada composición.) "It's great to be America's fastest growing community, but that doesn't automatically translate to political clout," said Lisa Navarrete, spokeswoman for the National Council of La Raza, a national Hispanic advocacy group holding its annual convention this week in San Diego. Navarrete noted that while Latinos make up about 11 percent of the U.S. population, they comprised only 5 percent of the electorate in the last national election. Among reasons for the disparity: the relative youth of the nation's Hispanics and citizenship and naturalization problems. "That's why community-based organizations like ours have to organize to get our people to be citizens, then work twice as hard to get out the vote," Navarrete said. One way to achieve a united Latino front is for communities that make up America's Hispanic population to get involved in each others' causes, said Rick Dovalina, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens. For example, he said, Puerto Ricans cannot be the only ones to speak out against the U.S. Navy's bombing exercises on Vieques , a populated Puerto Rican atoll. An Atlantic Fleet training ground, exercises on Vieques had stopped in April 1999 after two 500-pound bombs were dropped off target, killed a civilian security guard and sparked protests laced with anti-U.S. sentiment. Under an agreement with the Puerto Rican government, the Navy resumed exercises last week, using dummy shells. Like the Puerto Ricans , Dovalina said, Mexican-Americans have to find help outside their community to protest the activities of armed Arizona ranchers who round up immigrants in the name of defending their property. "We have to work more with one another on issues that may affect only a segment of our community," said Dovalina, a Mexican-American. "At the same time, we have to identify issues that cut across all of our interests." With the presidential election looming, Latino voters have a chance to exert political muscle this year, in that the four biggest states in electoral votes - California, Florida, New York and Texas - have large Hispanic populations. "In a sense, the 5 percent of the electorate we make up is magnified because of where we live," Navarrete said. With the San Diego conference's theme "Shaping a Greater America for the 21st Century," La Raza will hear from both major presidential contenders, Vice President Al Gore and Texas Gov. George W. Bush. Last week, both candidates, seeking inroads with the Hispanic voting bloc, also addressed the annual convention of the League of United Latin American Citizens in Washington. Recent national polls show Gore leads Bush by between 16 and 22 points among Hispanics. But Bush is showing more strength than other GOP presidential candidates in the past decade and is running about even with Gore in the South, based largely on Republican sentiments of Cuban-Americans in Florida and the Texas governor's appeal to Mexican-Americans in his home state. "Hispanic Americans are becoming a political force to be reckoned with," said La Raza President Raul Yzaguirre. "Increasing naturalization, voter registration and voter participation by Latinos has made our community a critical political force, and both major parties are taking notice." One topic that could unify Latinos is addressing their problems in education. Persistent poor educational performance continues to hold back Hispanics, who will overtake blacks as America's largest minority group around the middle of the decade. About 30 percent of Latinos drop out of school, compared with 8 percent of white and 13 percent of black students. Only 21 percent of Hispanics were enrolled in preschool educational programs compared to 40 percent of whites and 41 percent of blacks. "We may have different countries of origin," Dovalina said, "but at times, the hurdles we have to cross are the same."
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