- Written by Alejandra Guzman
- Published in Economic Development
Presidential ELECTIONS 2020
Presidential ELECTIONS 2020
Let’s all go out and vote!
By Alejandra Guzmán @aleguzman
Click aqui para español- > En estas elecciones Presidenciales... ¡Salgamos todos a votar!
This year has been an unprecedented one that has brought a change in virtually every area of our lives. COVID19 came to shake us and force us to rethink many of the processes we follow in our private, public, and professional life. It has affected us so much that we have talked very little about the presidential election coming up in November of this year.
In every election, we hear about the group that will have the “power” to influence who will be our next President. Earlier this year, the New York Times published an op/ed piece about the Latino vote. The article mentions that, as it was the case in 2016, if Democrats want a chance to beat Donald Trump, they will have to have the support of the Latino voters. In 2016, the percentage of Latinos who showed up to vote was low. More than half of the 27 million Latinos with the ability to vote stayed home.
Regardless of why this behavior occurred, we must highlight that if the Latino community wants to be represented, they must go out and vote. It is important to recognize the power Latinos have as a community. This year, for the first time in history, the Latino vote will represent 32 million people, the largest minority group with the ability to vote in the United States.
I would like to see a President who understands both the economic and social challenges that affect the Latino community. These include education, good jobs, and access to health insurance among other needs. It can be argued that everyone in the country is going through challenges in these same areas. However, the lens used to look at our community should be different. For example, many of our families speak English as a second language and in many cases, they are not bilingual. It is very common for public schools to lack staff with Spanish proficiency. Parents who do not master English have difficulty supporting their children, which causes an educational lag, among many other problems. This situation can snowball to bigger problems like barriers to entry into other educational and economic opportunities. In addition to this, many members of our community are still discriminated against, and others have a legal status that needs resolution. These conditions affect opportunities in all areas of their lives.
Let’s also consider that Latino businesses are essential to the success of the U.S. economy. There are more than 4.7 million Latino businesses in the country, and they contribute more than $700 billion per year. Despite these numbers, Latino businesses still have barriers to access capital that could allow them to scale their businesses. The U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce estimates that there is a $1.38 trillion gap. Although there are organizations dedicated to supporting the Latino community through their programs, partnerships, and lobbying, the Latino vote is needed to improve our community’s situation and to close these gaps.
The Latino community is a strong community that contributes to the U.S. economy in a meaningful way. If we want representation, we all must go out and vote this November.
