SACROMENTO – A Republican lawmaker who was removed from the democratically-led Latin Legislative Caucus in California has taken the issue into his own hands.
Nine Latino GOP lawmakers have created a Hispanic Legislative Conference in California, defending priorities that diverge from those prioritized by liberal colleagues.
“My experience as a Latino is different from that of my immigrant grandmother,” said Sen. Suzette Martinez Barradales (R-Acton), a former Congressman who helped found the GOP Caucus. Ta. “The issues that the Latino community wants to focus on are being ignored by Sacramento.”
She said these changes have come for a long time.
The California Legislature has undergone a historic transformation, and now includes 44 Latino lawmakers, more than a third of all state legislators, and the group that includes the most Republicans to date. Included. This comes at the time of evolving voter interests and demographic changes. Republicans emphasize that the new caucus will focus on Latino priorities regarding education, public safety and affordability, and Democrats will focus on “monolithic” issues such as immigration and healthcare. .
Changing political landscapes in California came into view during the November elections.
Overall, 51% of Latino voters voted for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, while an estimated 54% of Latino men voted for Republican candidate Donald Trump. California voters also helped turn the two Democratic districts upside down by electing Republican Congressional member Jeff Gonzalez and Home Gardens’ Leticia Castillo to Latinos.
“I see this as a very healthy development for the Latino community,” said Mike Madrid, a Republican political consultant and Latino demographic expert, who has never been able to reach Latino voters. “No.” “I don’t think either party has monopolized the hearts and minds of the Latino community.”
The parties tend to harmonize along the cost of living and the economy, especially among blue-collar working-class Latinos. However, Madrid points out that Latino Republicans and Democrats disagree with policy issues related to abortion rights and immigration, or something “beyond the economy.” Among the issues Latinx voters care about are cost of living, housing costs, employment and the economy, according to a poll of 1,000 voters from the nonprofit Latin Community Foundation.
“We’re not monolithic,” Baradales, who formed the Republican Caucus with Congressional member Kate A. Sanchez (R-Trabuco Canyon), told the times.
Sen. Marie Alvarado Gill, a Democrat of Jackson, has become a Republican and said she felt “closed” to her Democratic counterpart. She also said the democratically-led Latinos Caucus would support “outdated solutions” to problems such as the problem of “putting Latinos under the monolithic umbrella of poor farm workers.” Ta.
“It’s not modern Latino,” she said.
California’s Latino population accounts for more than a third of the state’s eligible voters, according to a 2024 survey by the UCLA Institute for Latin Policy and Politics. Latinx Californians are the lowest paying for hourly jobs and lack high school diplomas compared to other major racial or ethnic groups, the study found.
California’s Institute of Public Policy has also discovered that Latinos are the fastest growing segment of the working class, with last year moving even further than their first election since 1994.
After the first Latino lawmakers were elected in 1962, the 35-member Latinos Caucus, historically led by the Democratic Party, has brought equal access to protection, immigration, and STEM in schools, regardless of legal status. It focuses on a wide range of policy priorities, including promoting programmes and promoting STEM programs in schools. Expand paid sick leave and housing to farm workers.
“Even in the Latin Caucus, you have moderates, progressives, everything in between,” says Miguel Santiago, a former Democratic congressional member and member of the Latin Caucus. “But one thing that has always brought us together throughout all the discussions is the unwavering support for the Latino community, especially those who have not yet been documented.”
Santiago is skeptical of the integrity of Hispanic legislative cooperatives representing Latinos interests, particularly in protecting undocumented people and their differences “unsorted.” “He said.
Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood), former council president, left behind legacy of progressive reforms, including giving farm workers overtime salaries and expanding the expansion of pediatric education, but the parties were also involved in the I agree that there should be a Latin caucus.
“We never realised why they wanted to be part of our caucus other than to interfere with us,” he said. “They’ll just scream, we’ll vote, they’ll lose.”
This is not the first time Republicans have been excluded from participating in the Latin Caucus. In 2014, Congressman Rocky Chavez was banned from participating, sparking debate among Latino policymakers about diversity of opinions and policy goals.
Madrid is a “sounding sign” of diversity within the community, and allows these differences without enforcing consensus on racial or cultural issues. He said he thinks it should. Latinos don’t see much of the world through the lens of their ethnicity, and he said, “That’s progress.”
The Republican-led Hispanic Legislative Caucus has nine members. It is registered as a nonprofit and political action committee, Valladares said, and will begin supporting incumbent reelection and targets for other seats.
The Caucus is eager to see official recognition from legislative leaders and approval of “equal” funding with the Democratic-led Latin Caucus. Legislative leaders as of Friday afternoon were unable to answer whether to approve the funds.
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