Hispanic Vote Assessed at IOP

Hispanic politicians and political activists said last night at the Kennedy School of Government that Hispanic voters' influence on United States politics is growing.

Sponsored by the K-School's Institute of Politics and the Journal of Hispanic Policy, the speakers included Mayor Xavier Suarez of Miami; Maria A. Berriozabal, a city councilwoman from San Antonio, Texas; Dr. Harry Pachon, executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials; and Willie Velasquez, executive director of the Southwest Voter Registration and Education Project.

Frank del Olmo, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times and a Nieman Fellow this year, moderated the discussion.

Pachon said that if the presidential contest this year is a close one, Hispanics could gain more power by controlling swing votes in California, Texas, and Florida. But certain structural problems could prevent the community from fulfilling its possible role in the election, Pachon said.

The number of Hispanics in political office has doubled in the past 10 years, Pachon said. Yet voter registration remains a problem for a variety of reasons, he said, adding that 40 percent of all Hispanics are under legal voting age.

"We are the youngest age group in the country," he said.

In addition, one of every three Hispanics legally in the United States is a resident alien without a citizen's right to vote, Pachon said.

In addition to these problems, Velasquez, who has run many voter registration campaigns in the South-west, said he had conducted studies that found Texas voting districts to be "gerrymandered" to minimize the effect of the Hispanic vote.

"The first 66 counties we looked at were gerrymandered against Mexicans, and none were gerrymandered for Mexicans, see? Sixty-six to zero!" Velasquez exclaimed.

He said that Hispanic voters judge politicians by high standards and that this ability should be valued in the political system, not downplayed.

Berriozabal also said she took pride in the high standards of Hisapanic voters. Sheis the first woman Hispanic representative in SanAntonio, which is 55 percent Hispanic.

The councilwoman said she was primarilyconcerned with the importance of women,particularly Hispanic women, as leaders.

Berriozabal also expressed interest in housing,education and child care, and said she endorsedMassachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis forpresident, because she supported his positions onthese issues.

Suarez, the second-term mayor of Miami, saidthe next president must show some affinity withthe Hispanic community. He said that if thepresidential nominees turn out to be VicePresident George Bush and Rep. Richard Gephardt(D.-Mo.), Bush would do much better in the Hispaniccommunity.

Bush's son, who is fluent in Spanish, has beencampaigning heavily in the Southwest, Suarez said.He also said Dukakis' fluency in Spanish wouldhelp him in that region