Hispanic

Now that is official and Barack Obama has asked Joe Biden to join on him on the Democratic ticket, what is Biden’s position when it comes to the Hispanic issues? Biden has been in office since 1970 and has been the Senator for Delaware since 1972. Other than being a Roman Catholic, what else does Biden share in common with the Hispanic vote?

When it comes to the controversial topic of Abortion, Biden believes that the government’s role is to remain neutral. He does not believe that the U.S. should repeal Roe v. Wade. Negating women the option of undergoing the procedure is a position. He does not believe in using public funds for abortions. He accepts the Catholic Church view that life begins at conception. The majority of Hispanics with roots in the Catholic Church do not find abortions permissible. His position of allowing them to be performed but publicly against the surgery may not hurt his political view with this constituency.

It is always easier to scapegoat a minority group that can not defend itself. When it comes to illegal immigrants, they are all labeled as criminals or people that come to the U.S. in order to drain our society of its resources. The media plays along and highlights sensational stories that feed the fire and the cycle resumes. It is always comforting to know that there are stories out there that if shown to the masses, would change the way they thought about the issue.

Enter the Reader's Digest story about an illegal migrant worker turn brain surgeon for a prestigious institute:

"Shortly after, he decided to leave Mexico in search of better options. So on his arrival, Quiñones headed with his cousin for the San Joaquin Valley to work in the fields. "I picked tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, corn, grapes."

After a year, he had saved $8,000 -- almost all of his pay. "I ate what I was picking," he says. "I wore the same pair of jeans the whole year."

When Quiñones looked up from the dirt, the best job he could see was driving the big tractors. The drivers were skilled, and they supervised crews. He was told it took ten years of fieldwork to land such a promotion, but Quiñones was soon behind the wheel of sophisticated plows and ditchdiggers. He learned how to service the engines and qualified for a temporary work permit. "I had that hunger in my gut," he says.

He moved to Stockton and took a job in a rail yard so he could attend night school at San Joaquin Delta College, learning English. With his English improving, Quiñones switched to the night shift and began full-time studies in science and math. To make ends meet, he also tutored other students.

After graduating with an associate's degree in 1991, Quiñones was accepted to the University of California, Berkeley. He moved to a low-rent district in Oakland, getting by on a combination of scholarships, loans, a small grant and, as always, work. He became a teacher's assistant in three departments and also took a job at a men's clothing store.

Quiñones excelled in the competitive environment of Berkeley, getting straight A's in advanced classes, writing his honors thesis on the role of drug receptors in the brain and teaching calculus on the side -- not that he paid much attention to his standing. In the spring of 1993, his mentor, Hugo Mora, looked over his transcripts and told him he stood a good chance of getting into Harvard Medical School.

Harvard accepted him, and Quiñones moved East in the fall of 1994. "I'm sitting there, ten years after hopping the fence, and it hits me how fast I came up."

Quiñones says he understands why people might resent him for entering the country illegally. His only excuse is that he was a brash and desperate teenager. "The last thing I was thinking was that I was going to break the law," he says. Once he arrived, Quiñones says, the United States "opened its doors to me" -- a welcome, he adds, that would be unlikely today given the heated immigration debate. He offers no solution but suggests it will not come from higher walls. "As long as there is poverty in our neighboring countries, there will continue to be this influx."

This is a heartwarming story that reminds us that anything is possible here in the United States. Barack Obama touched on this point in a speech once and I agree with him. Dr. Quiñones adds his personal insight on his approach of entering this country. What most folks do not understand is that a lot of these individuals do not have the luxury of waiting to be accepted legally in order to enter this country. As long as the U.S. continues to promote despotic government in Latin America, the issue of poverty and illegal imiggration will continue to plague the Americans.

Note: Watch a video of Dr. Quiñones on Big Think.

A Federal judge has ruled that Texas has failed its students who are enrolled in bilingual education. This comes as no surprise to me as the Texas public education system is flawed in my opinion. Students no matter if they are enrolled in regular or bilingual classes are not receiving the best education that the state can provide. I do not blame the teachers. I blame the administrators who are pressured to provide "results" that they teach to the test. Students do not learn . . . they are taught how to memorize and apply their new skills on the TAKS test.

I speak English and Spanish fluently. I never once attended a bilingual classroom growing up. My parents believed that the best approach to learning English, since my native language is Spanish, was to be in English only classes. They spoke to me in Spanish at home so that I could practice and maintain a dual tongue. I am grateful that I became fluent in both languages and see it as an asset. Unfortunately, not many Hispanic parents took the same approach. They were sold on this idea that the state would provide  bilingual education but the state did not even know what they were doing. I am not against bilingual education. I think all U.S. students should speak a second language. Western Europe has figured out how to produce citizens that speak multiple languages, perhaps we could learn something.

I have a cousin that lives in Sweden. She speaks Swedish, English and Spanish. Her school curriculum is in Swedish and all students must learn English. Furthermore, Sweden has dictated that students must also learn their parents native language in school and time is allotted for a session each day. I foresee a future when this will be possible in the U.S. but only after nationalistic people realize that a society where people speak multiple languages is not a threat but an asset.

Folks that are against bilingual education claim that students should only speak English. The U.S. it seems is the only developed nation where teaching a second language in school is looked down upon. No one is requesting that school be taught in a language other than English but there are students that do not have any foundation in the English language. What do you do about the elephant in room now? Just because you close your eyes does not mean that the issue will disappear. The same individuals that complain about the people they have to deal with that do not speak English are the same folks that criticize the purpose of bilingual education. In their eyes, students should only learn English in school yet they do not provide a solution on how these students will magically learn the language if it is not taught to them. How can they complain about non-English speaking students when they do not support bilingual education. You can't eat your cake and eat it too. It is the states objective to educate and immerse those students as soon as possible into the general student population. Texas has been failing these students unfortunately. This is not just an issue about "bilingual" education but "education" as a whole. We provide sub-par education and produce sub-par citizens and complain about it. Until we realize the correlation we will understand why everything else does not seem to be working. Our education system is flawed . . . not just the bilingual part of it.

So, you want to market to Hispanics . . . politically speaking? Of course some of these methods will work in other marketing avenues but as a Politico, I want to remain in that realm for now.

The first step is to break down your target audience into a feasible  and practical group. The biggest mistake that many Ad agencies and Americans as a whole who have no relations with their market is that they jumble them as a whole. Think of it this way . . . are all Anglo Americans the same? Do they share the same beliefs or values? How about Americans of African descent? Do they all share the same cultural references and traditions? The answer is NO! Why would Hispanics be any different then?

Once you break your target audience into a reasonable group, you have to understand how they operate in society. Hispanics adverts do not transcend the number nationalities that make up Hispanics unless the ad illustrates a common goal for the entire group. For example, an ad promoting English-Speaking Classes is not restrained from traditional norms as one promoting a music album.

In the political world it becomes tricky. Many politicians make the mistake to assume that all Hispanics care about Immigration reform as their number one priority. Do not get me wrong . . . it is an important topic to Hispanics but it marginalizes the group. It uses the incorrect approach I have stated that does not work. Second generation Hispanic Americans do not prioritize these issues as much as first generation. So, what is a political campaign to do?

Easy! Break it down. Political campaigns have to embrace Hispanics . . . not just lump them together and assume they all want the same things. A candidate that realizes this, will make the most of targeting and benefiting from their vote. Hispanics political issues and priorities are as diverse as those of Anglos. Thus, it is the objective of the campaign to figure out how to gain their trust.

Hispanics as a whole are a more cynical constituency then traditional Americans. They come from corrupt countries where the government always seems to fail on its promises. They are more keen to the lies of politicians and can smell one from a mile away. These folks do not adhere to political promises and are discerning  of its government's role on issues.

This changes the way one would want to deliver a message. One thing one must understand though . . . once rapport has been built . . . Hispanics will be a loyal group to that Party or Candidate. Once this type of relationship has been established, it can be easy cruising for a candidate.

Another effective way to communicate to Hispanics is through their children. If their children are of voting age, one only needs to target them. First generation Hispanics but Hispanics as a whole trust their families perceptions/opinions on any product. If a Family member claims that X is bad then they all believe X is bad because they trust each other. This works the other way around as well. If X is good then they all believe X is good. This subgroups children have a little of both groups. Thus, when they decide that X is the way to go . . . the parents are not far behind because they have a relationship where they trust each other on such topics.

This list could go on and I have only briefly touched on one group. Hispanics come in different makes, sizes and shapes. Once you understand that a famous Mexican personality does not have rapport with Cubans or that Issues of Evangilical Hispanics are not the same of First Generation College Bound Americans- then one can create an effective marketing/political campaign. Remember not all Hispanics speak Spanish but all native Spanish speakers are Hispanic. I have the luxury of understanding the insight of both groups. As a fluent English/Spanish speaker, I understand what it takes to build rapport among the community. I understand how to rally Hispanics behind one common goal. More important though . . . I understand that they are all different people with different goals in mind. It is my job to figure out what their common bond is and show them that it is for that reason that they should unite.

The one thing I feel that political analyst and the media fail to measure correctly is the Hispanic vote. Many view this unique group through the traditional political looking glass and miscalculate their campaign approach.

In order to understand this though, one must have background knowledge of the Hispanic caucus. The label Hispanic is a label applied to people from Latin American countries. There in lies the problem. A group as massive and diverse as the Hispanic sector cannot be viewed this way. Other groups can afford this political approach such as the African-American or Christians. Think of it this way. Imagine categorizing all Religious groups under one umbrella and then applying a strategy that does not fit each group properly. You have a problem don’t you. Although the sub-groups may share inherit basic values there are distinct ones that may undermine their support for each other.

Hispanics are the same. This diverse group is categorized under this umbrella that dictates a cookie cutter strategy to all. The end result is failure. The agenda of Mexicans is not necessarily the ones that Cubans may have in mind. Folks from El Salvador may be opposed to legislation that Cubans may favor. The list can go on but one understands the concept.

Orlando Sanchez, a prominent Cuban-American politician, in the Houston area failed in his bid as Houston Mayor twice. In a city where Hispanics are the majority how did it fail to elect a Hispanic mayor? Easy . . . he was running in heavily dominated Mexican voter bloc. His first mistake was to run as a Republican and the last one was to run as a Cuban. The Mexican voting bloc understood that although Sanchez was Hispanic and that was the only characteristic they shared in common. Mexicans are traditionally Democrats and Sanchez did not represent them in any way so they negated his bid for mayor, twice.

What is the most effective approach to the Hispanic vote then? I tend to recommend a dynamic approach to the ever-changing social-political realm. A savvy candidate understands this illusion and approaches it as broad as the group is. Establishing a broad policy that is moderate is the best approach. This policy should also not be targeted to any niche group. Remember even though we are all Hispanic . . . we do not all share the same interests.