Latinos Weren't Fooled by Flip-flopping Rhetoric

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Politicians in the recent elections who thought they could reverse position on issues between the primary and general election without consequence were surprised by the pushback from Latino voters.
That was the message from Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF). He spoke of the effect of the Latino population on the recent election and the significance of the Latino opinion in the United States at MALDEF’s State of the Union in New York
He said in remarks reported by Voxxi, “It’s about the wisdom and discernment of Latino voters who would not be sawed, who would not be fooled by an unexplained and conveniently timed shift on a candidate’s position on the critical issue of immigration. The strategy seemed to be that you could say one thing in primary season and another in the general election and Latino voters would not notice or care.” He added, “The results proved that strategy to be disastrously wrong.”
Panelists at the MALDEF conference included former secretary of labor Hilda Solis, who emphasized the importance of equality and protection in the workplace. “Under Solis’ reign,” the article said, “the Department of Labor hired 300 wage and hour investigators—many of them bilingual—to specifically work with low-wage and vulnerable workers. Additionally, the Wage and Hour Division recouped more than $240 million for more than 300,000 low-wage workers last year.”
However, Solis noted that workers are often afraid to report mistreatment and abuse, out of fear that they will lose their jobs. Hector Sanchez, executive director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), was also one of the panelists who agreed with Solis’ stance on labor protection.
In closing remarks, Aracely Munoz Petrich, commissioner of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights and Responsibilities, challenged Latinos to educate others about immigration reform and the other issues the Latino community is facing.


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