2016 Presidential Election, Both Parties Exclude Afro-Latino Voters In The Hispanic Vote

By Lechelle Barron

Univision Democratic Debate Moderators

When the moderators Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena Salinas of Univision, and Karen Tumulty of The Washington Post, asked Democratic Presidential Nominee Hillary Clinton, specific questions about the concerns of Hispanic voters in regards to immigration reform at the Univision Democratic Debate on March 9, the views of Afro-Hispanic voters were excluded in the debate.

“The lack of diversity among the moderators at the Univision Democratic Presidential Debate reflects the often narrow assumptions of Latin@s being perceived and visualized in a narrow depiction, by providing diversity on the moderating team, there could have been a greater reach of engaging more Latin@s of different backgrounds. It could have also diversified the types of questions that were presented to the candidates by providing intentional topics on diversity, essential for full representation in a democratic system,” said Casilla-Reynoso, Director of Operations and Administration for the AfroLatin@ Forum.

“If there was a representation of Latin@s of different phenotypes, then it could have debunked the narrative often reinforced in media of the typical White Hispanic representing the whole swath of diverse colors and perspectives within the Latin@ spectrum. It could have also provided a sense of different kinds of Latin@s seeing themselves in these positions of power by providing visibility beyond what is traditionally construed as the typical Latin@. There is an important need to have greater representation in these discussions that impact Latin@s in the United States and around the world. However, the general nature of approaching the Latin@ representation from a largely monolithic position often discredits the voices of the diverse Latin@ spectrum, and particularly of Afro-Latin@s in the United States, it is imperative that Latin@s be represented on the full scale of the different faces of Latin@s in the United States,” she adds.

Presidential Candidates

“No ideas of Donald Trump would fit any of the needs of the Afro-Latin@ community, I know the same could be said for Hillary Clinton. It is important for Afro-Latin@s to explicitly make known that immigration is one of the main problems that our community deals with and I think this point needs to be made to both parties, I think when the DP (Democratic Party) talks about immigration reform and stopping the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership), they are addressing issues that affect Afro-Latin@s here and people of African descent in Latin America. The progressive side of the party during Bernie Sanders’ campaign is aware of more issues, such as issues between the community and the police, lowering the price of prescription drugs, fair pay for women and increasing the minimum wage,” said Perea, Director of Programs and Communications for the AfroLatin@ Forum.

“There are other issues such as increased criminalization and increased policing that affect Afro-Latin@s, these are important points to show how black people are treated and that includes Afro-Latin@s so we have a more expansive view of blackness. Segmenting the problem by saying “we need to look at how African-Americans and police are interacting” or “we need to look at how Afro-Latin@s and immigration officers interact” fails to showcase a larger issue that is at stake, that of white supremacy and racism specifically the abuse of power by the authorities to defend the racist structure in this country. “I think that Spanish-Language media has failed to fully comprehend and represent the totality of the Latin@ experience. There are many issues that affect the Afro-Latin@ community and should be highlighted by the Spanish-Language media, but these issues are routinely ignored in Spanish-Language TV, I think that we have to address issues that include the Afro-Latin@ voice in both “camps”,” he added.

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