« Asymmetric recommendation on California ballot propositions.John McCain's prisoner of war story »

Why won't Hispanics vote for Obama? Racism or cultural baggage?

02/04/08

Why won't Hispanics vote for Obama? Racism or cultural baggage?

clinton mexicans

On one of the morning shows, a commentator said that Hillary Clinton pollsters tell her that Hispanics prefer to vote for white candidates than black candidates. Let's look at the facts:

In Nevada, Clinton won whites, 52 percent to Obama's 34 percent. Obama won nearly 80% of the black vote. Despite being endorsed by a heavily Latino service union, Clinton received 66% of the Hispanic vote, besting Obama by 38 points (here, here, and here)

Therefore:

1. Hispanics prefer white candidates over black ones more than whites prefer whites over blacks.

3. Since Hillary and Obama have similar positions on immigration and, err, everything else, one may conclude that either Hispanics have more sympathy towards white women than black men- 38 points more- or that Hispanics have more antipathy towards blacks than whites- even more than whites have against blacks.

Is it fair to conclude that Hispanics are more racist against blacks than whites are against blacks?

If you'd have asked me before the Nevada race, I'd have predicted similar white and Hispanic voting patterns because although racism exists in Hispanic countries, Hispanics become less racist after arriving in the United States and absorbing the United States' more merit-driven values. That the children of Hispanic immigrants, whom I teach, being exposed longer, are much less racist. Since I was wrong, I'll offer this analysis and hope for the above at a later time (I'll deal with it more in-depth later):

In the racial hierarchy of Latin America, being white is considered the best of all possible things, indigenous (Indian or Native American) coming in a distant second and black rounding out third place. One can see this dynamic at play when watching Spanish-language television (El Alma no Tiene Color is a soap opera about a child ostracized for being part black- in 1997!) and, frankly, every other way you want. It's also important to note that most Latinos are of mixed heritage.

cast el alma no tiene color
The Mexican cast of El Alma no Tiene Color: Patricia Navidad, Laura Flores, Aracely Arámbula

The mixes vary, however. In Caribbean countries like Cuba and Puerto Rico, the mix is black and white (mulatto) whereas in Mexico and Central America, the mix is white and indigenous (meztizo). The Hispanic population, being mostly Mexican-American, has an even more anti-Black feeling than the above truth would suggest, then, since few of them ever encountered blacks in their native country.

Once in the United States, Hispanics and Blacks often occupy the same low-income communities and tensions exist there. I worked in a school divided 50-50 black and white, Gompers Middle School in Watts, and racial problems would bubble up occasionally (Arguments about music at the dances, ESL, etc.).

Finally, whites are more conscious of racial bias and more likely to think it's a bad thing (white guilt). Mexican and Central American Latinos, considered an "oppressed" class are never called on their racism by academia or the media and don't feel the need for self-reflection in this subject, much less guilt.

A point I want to stress is that I use the term "antipathy" and not "hatred" because it's important to distinguish between Nazi-style racial feelings accompanied by horrible action and just preference. In other words, wanting your daughter to marry another Mexican isn't the same as rounding up people of a certain race and killing them or refusing to sit next to them on the bus.

And, of course, I'm being super-general and somewhat academic. I only say this to explain the disparity, not to paint people as evil racists or anything.

Back to the race: Will Hispanic Democrats cross over to a McCain rather than vote for Obama? I'd say "no," but I've been wrong before.

**update** Super Tuesday results in California confirm the anti-black Hispanic voting pattern.

**update 2** This article shows that Texas voting patterns buttress my thesis that American-raised Hispanics are less racist.

**update 3**

Exit polls confirm that younger Latinos prefer Obama:

For Democrats, Latino voters in Texas make up 32 percent of the vote in that state and they were breaking 64 percent for Clinton to 35 percent for Barack Obama. Broken down, Obama captured younger Hispanics by double digits, while older Hispanics preferred Clinton 2 to 1, according to the polling.

Tags: , , , , , ,
By nguirado ( Email ), 06:25:43 pm, 692 words
PermalinkCategories: Campaign 2008 ::

66 comments

Comment from: George [Visitor] Email
GeorgeI found this piece quite interesting and some levels, I reluctantly agree. However, as an African-American raised in NYC, I have a somewhat unique perspective on the question of whether Hispanics will vote for Obama. Growing up in NYC, my exposure to the Hispanic culture began very early; the impact of which afforded me the opportunity to learn and become fluent in the Spanish lanugage. Through learning Spanish, I was also introduced to the latin culture. I have found for instance that Hispanics in NYC more often than not tend to relate more to African-Americans than whites,, and their voting patterns also more unifying with those of African-Americans. Having said that, my fiance is from El Salvador and many of our friends are from both Central and South America, and there does not seem to be this great division between Blacks and Hispanics as is usually played out in the media. In fact, I feel that the media tends to fuel the belief that the two cultures are more at odds with one another than they are unified. Certainly, the race to "Super Tuesday" will reveal many things about the two culture's ability to jointly support a candidate of color.
01/31/08 @ 11:05
Comment from: George [Visitor] Email
GeorgeI found this piece quite interesting and some levels, I reluctantly agree. However, as an African-American raised in NYC, I have a somewhat unique perspective on the question of whether Hispanics will vote for Obama. Growing up in NYC, my exposure to the Hispanic culture began very early; the impact of which afforded me the opportunity to learn and become fluent in the Spanish lanugage. Through learning Spanish, I was also introduced to the latin culture. I have found for instance that Hispanics in NYC more often than not tend to relate more to African-Americans than whites,, and their voting patterns also more unifying with those of African-Americans. Having said that, my fiance is from El Salvador and many of our friends are from both Central and South America, and there does not seem to be this great division between Blacks and Hispanics as is usually played out in the media. In fact, I feel that the media tends to fuel the belief that the two cultures are more at odds with one another than they are unified. Certainly, the race to "Super Tuesday" will reveal many things about the two culture's ability to jointly support a candidate of color.
01/31/08 @ 11:06
Comment from: Phyllis [Visitor] Email
PhyllisSo you are saying that Hispanics are just as or more racist than whites. If so, that is a shame. We are all in the same boat. Why use race to determine who you will vote for.

In most cases, cultures are used by white candidates to get votes. I haven't heard Hillary speak of Hispanics or Latinos until she got to Nevada. Hispanics do live in Iowa and NH and S.C.

Oh, but here numbers are small there, so she did not have to pay much attention to them.
01/31/08 @ 11:17
Comment from: nguirado [Member] Email
nguiradoThe younger generations are more Americanized and, therefore, less racist.
01/31/08 @ 16:16
Comment from: maria [Visitor]
mariaI am Hispanic: Mexican-American to be specific.
Honestly, in Latin American countries, race does not play such a big role as in the United States. That is something that American people do not understand. Over here, every single standardized test that students in K-12 take or any application that one fills out asks you to indicate your race [yes I know we are allowed to choose decline to state, but it's just an example.]

You will never be asked that question in any Mexican document or application.
In countries like Mexico, race doesn't matter in that sense. If you are darker than me, and I'm whiter, but we both speak Spanish and go to the same school, we can consider ourselves equal.
Yes, there is some sort of discrimination against certain groups of people, but it is waaaay less remarkable than in the U.S.
The minority group that is most commonly discriminated against is the indigenous group, and that's mainly because of language differences [A Mexican person who sees an indigenous person who speaks Nahuatl or Mixteco or Zapoteco reasons something like this: Oh, wait a minute, he/she doesn't even speak Spanish! Why should he be called Mexican like me? we're not equal]

So anyway... Brown and white Hispanics may identify themselves with Black Hispanics. However, we do not idenfify ourselves with African-Americans. Why?
Well, first of all. Just think about it. We are two different cultures, even though we are both minority groups, we do not even speak the same language. African-American people do not have to go through the language barrier issue that we go through. And that is one of the main reasons that although Hispanics already outnumbered the African American population in the U.S, they have not been assimilated into white neighborhoods, per say, as quickly as African Americans have. It's all about culture.

Anyway, it is true that Hispanics may have not voted for Obama in part because of the stereotypes. A lot of Hispanics are white, a lot of Hispanics are black, but no Hispanic is African-American.

Hey, blame it on the media!
02/06/08 @ 00:33
Comment from: ana [Visitor]
anaPlus, Hispanic women may sympathize with Hillary because of the whole cheating scandal between her husband and monica lewinsky in the 90s. In Hispanic countries, LOTS of Hispanic women from like the 1950-1970 generation have traditionally been cheated by their husbands, and also traditionally have not opted to divorce: for the good of their children. So hispanic women do identify with hillary somewhat in this way.
02/06/08 @ 00:43
Comment from: nguirado [Member] Email
nguiradoFirst, if Mexicans are less racist than whites, why are whites much more likely to vote for a black man than Mexicans? Do they feel closer to whites than whites themselves?
02/06/08 @ 01:00
Comment from: Ben [Visitor]
BenRacism is alive an well in Latin America and those negative attitudes regarding blacks in their own culture travels with Latinos as they come to the US and mingle with African Americans. For an insightful look at Latino racism, check out the series of 5 articles on the status of Afro-Latin Americans published recently by the Miami Herald http://www.miamiherald.com/multimedia/news/afrolatin/index.html

In my opinion, Hispanics who won't vote for Obama are very likely seeing through this cultural lense in addition to other issues. In the coverage I've seen, no one is addressing this and therefore the news slant is seen as only about competition for resources between African Americans and Latinos in poor communities as the reason for the antipathy of Latinos toward blacks. Obama has an up-hill battle in the fight against Latino racim vs. white American racism because Latin Americans really won't acknowledge their racism...for them its simply classism since they tend to see lower class status as associated with darker skin.
02/06/08 @ 09:04
Comment from: nguirado [Member] Email
nguiradoMaybe. That issue can be settled by looking at how male Hispanics voted.
02/06/08 @ 09:07
Comment from: Sara [Visitor]
SaraI think Mexicans and Blacks in America are fighting for the same jobs. If Blacks get a position as president first, they're group will be behind. They want it first. I think thats why Obama struggled with ALL the minority votes other than the Black vote. I think any minority candidate would experience the same downfall.

However, I think Blacks, like Whites are extremely Americanized. Skin color aside, the two are virtually the same. Culturewise... The changes in behavior, views, and language occur on the level of Class, Not Race.

Other minority groups have to mix in there a little bit more to understand.

02/06/08 @ 09:16
Comment from: Ben [Visitor]
BenIt is true to some degree that Mexicans and Blacks in America are fighting for the same jobs...though I think many African Americans would not take the jobs that many newly immigrated Mexicans would take because of the low status and pay. The exception to a huge degree is in the construction industry where there is a great deal of competition between Hispanic and Black males, with Black males seeing Hispanics (regardless of immigration status) as lowering wages and taking the blue-collar jobs for which they see themselves as most qualified.

02/06/08 @ 09:58
Lydia Woltz, East Point, GA for Obama35yr old Black Female - Wow, really interesting thoughts. I was born in NJ (6yrs); I grew up in San Diego (also 6yrs), and my 2nd family, where I spent many days & nights was Mexican. I'm now in Atlanta (since 84') and many/most of my real est. clients are Latino.

I thought the Nevada outcome happened b/c the Culinary Union didn't consult ENOUGH with their people b/f they announced the endorsement, which backfired resulting in the backlash against Obama. I didn't, however, really feel internally that racism played a big part.

I (naively) never thought that a caste system was all that popular within the Latino community; in such a noticeable way that you've described. Castes (light vs. dark) are pretty evident from time to time in the black community, but more of a fad/trend between us at different times, which is why we jokingly say "dark-skinned brothers, or light-skinned brothers are IN right now . . ." etc. But it's generally not at such a negative level as what you're describing in the Latino community.

I personally think that Latinos among MANY others accepted the misconception of Barack being less experienced then Hillary. But within the next week (with enough phone calling & campaigning) maybe Barack's true experience will become evident, and I think that will make a BIG difference. I'm still finding a lot of folks that aren't aware that he's actually been an appointed official 3yrs longer than Hillary.

Your blog is very interesting, Keep the same title for your future updates. Lydia, East Point, GA for Obama.
02/06/08 @ 15:10
Comment from: Jon [Visitor]
JonI reject this argument. This isn't a landslide constituency for Clinton. 66% for Clinton, 33% for Obama? And we're supposed to believe that Latinos are racist? And why are Asians coming out more for Clinton?

These race-charged questions that blanket the entire group with a charge of racism is offensive. I am mixed-race. I claim my Asian heritage. I supported Barack Obama with my time and money. My girlfriend is Mexican and her entire family caucused for Barack here in Nevada. My Japanese grandmother caucused for Barack. So now we are all racist because our respective racial groups broke a certain way?

Excuse me, but I do not agree. Racism still exists, but it is not the predominate force in our country. Not anymore. Thank God.
02/06/08 @ 15:43
Comment from: Hipster Sarah [Visitor]
Hipster SarahThe reason I am so passionate and enthusiastic about my Senator, Barack Obama is because I believe in my heart, mind and soul that he is the BEST candidate, presently, to bring the American people together, unify our country, work with Republicans, Democrats and Independents, as well as represent America to the rest of the world. It is time to turn the page in history and set a new tone in Washington, D.C. and the way our government plays a role in our lives.

Obama is the LONGEST elected official in the democratic primary, serving for 11 years in the state and federal senate. He believes that education is an investment in our future and is willing to make community colleges free for our citizens. Obama believes the government should impose fines on corporations that pollute greenhouse gases, then using that money to provide "green" or environmental friendly jobs to urban and rural communities. This plan is the best long-range plan to boost our nation's economy, create jobs and discover energy alternatives.

Obama also supports Veterans Housing, physical and mental health care for veterans. He believes in diplomacy, before quickly moving to war without all the facts. Obama was against the war in Iraq when it was unpopular. Obama is for the working and middle-class family. He will put $4,000 towards each college student's first year tuition. These are some of the MANY reasons I support Sen. Obama.

I was a long supporter of the Clintons and believe Hillary could do the job. But, what our country needs right now is a unifier, who can build relationships across party lines, without the baggage of the past, special interests groups, etc... Furthermore, I am shocked at the campaign of the Clintons. They are turning off voters.

HRC did NOT have top level security clearance as first lady in the white house. She could not sit in on national security meetings, nor did she get a daily intelligence report. She cannot claim that experience. Obama has THE best opportunity to beat a republican. The GOP is just waiting to pounce on HRC if she won the nomination.

We need new ideas, new faces, a fresh breath back into the DNC.

Let move forward and not take us back to an old era.

IT IS TIME TO TURN THE PAGE!!!
02/06/08 @ 16:36
Comment from: nguirado [Member] Email
nguiradoThank you for th kind words. I'm just theorizing. It could be for the reasons I've stated. The "caste" system is very real, but most Mexicans don't mind it.
02/06/08 @ 17:42
Comment from: Marcus [Visitor] Email
MarcusI am glad someone took the time to explore this issue. I am of mixed heritage my father is Cuban and my mother is African American and I am married to a Mexican woman. Yes Mexicans are very racist they just have no means to act on the racist views that they have. This country was built on the backs of minorites. Newly immagrated mexicans as well as the ones born here should understand the right to vote and work and every other right they take for granted some black person died so they could have these rights. CA Prop 187 was not that long ago but i guess they forgot? May 5 2007 LAPD beat a bunch of innocent Mexican people in McAuthur Park. As Blacks we are the only race that can relate to the issues that they have and we have, mexicans need to stop dreaming they are white because if a race riot broke out tommorow wether they are light dark or somewhere in between they are Mexican and the same for blacks, so at the end the day we need to help each other not seperate ourselves by race but unite by circumstance.
02/06/08 @ 19:46
Comment from: khadafi [Visitor] Email
khadafilets cut the sh**! its not all hispanics its stupid mexican wet backs!! thats who have the problem. and yes! it is the young brazzers, not just the old fu***** who damn near killed there self crossin a fu**** dessert, just to get here and get on welfare. i say f*** wet backs!!!
02/07/08 @ 06:04
Comment from: nguirado [Member] Email
nguiradoI edited your comment. If they're "wetbacks," they wouldn't be voting, would they?
02/07/08 @ 07:20
Comment from: robots from the future [Visitor]
robots from the futureThe main difference between whites and minorities is that whites are socialized to avoid saying racist things, but at the same time, they have racist thoughts (I will admit that my first instinct is not a pretty one - and I went to a mostly black high school). There is a test out of Harvard of image associations - the vast majority of people in America have negative associations with blacks.

While overt racism is obviously a bad response, we (whites) really haven't been able to deal with it. We KNOW our instincts are racist, but is overreacting in the opposite direction by electing a clearly under-qualified flyweight that has lowered the level of political discourse to something akin to the little engine that could really the appropriate response?

I think there are some other important reasons that have been ignored as well. Why do Hispanic voters not vote for Obama? Latin American family structures are more open to matriarchs than the American family. Latin American countries have had female presidents before. Perhaps the real issue is that whites are sexist (actually that is almost certainly the case for my mom - who incidentally is also kind of a racist, but prefers Obama to Clinton).

Moreover, Hillary Clinton has done work with the Hispanic community before. Bill appointed lots of Hispanics to public office - and those same people give the Clinton campaign connections and organizers in the Hispanic community. While Clinton and Obama have very similar platforms, Obama does not run on the issues and tends to sound bland platitudes. Clinton, on the other hand, has a campaign focused on bread and butter issues like healthcare, which is why she tends to appeal to working class voters (among them, many immigrants).

If you want redemption and self-actualization, like the pampered youth of America, Obama is a lock. If you actually have trouble getting food on the table, surely you can be forgiven for avoiding declarations of "yes we can".

khadafi, go watch Lou Dobbs or something. Immigrants, legal and illegal work a hell of a lot harder than you, commit less crime than Americans, and are model citizens. I wish we could deport YOU.
02/10/08 @ 04:03
Comment from: jason garcia [Visitor]
jason garciaThis is the real reason why a lot of Hispanics won't vote for him: Obama gives the impression of being one of those black snobs who mainly hangs out with white friends because they have money to offer him and he feels they give him prestige. He fully embraces the racist black voters who just want to see a black president, and tries to sound like Martin Luther King Jr. when he sells dreams to black folks and rakes in the white-guilt voters, then he sounds totally different when he talks to white folks interviewing him. It's easy to see by his snobbish attitude toward Hispanics now that he will try to turn them and other non-black minorities into second class citizens if he became president. He sells himself as a mythical flawless hero who came out of nowhere, and a lot of Hispanic voters simply ain't falling for it as easily as other naive folks.
02/10/08 @ 04:42

Leave a comment


Your email address will not be revealed on this site.

Your URL will be displayed.
(Line breaks become <br />)
(Name, email & website)
(Allow users to contact you through a message form (your email will not be revealed.)
1+1=
antispam test