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On 5/20/2010 11:36 AM, Mark Lause wrote: > So, too, the mobilization of black, Latino and young voters might have been > important, if there were coherent demands being placed on the party and > people they elected. The Latino community is quite clear about what it wants Obama to do. Watching a few days of ANY Spanish-language newscast produced in the U.S., whether aimed at a local, national or hemispheric audience, should be sufficient to illustrate that the sentiment for an immigration reform that normalizes the situation of the currently undocumented, and opposition to laws like SB-1070, is overwhelming in the community and that people are mobilizing around this issue. Even Latino politicians like Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Rep. Luis Gutiérrez and Sen. Robert Menéndez have given voice to the criticism of the Obama administration on this issue. It should be noted that Menéndez is of Cuban descent and Gutiérrez is Puerto Rican. Cuba and Puerto Rico are the two Latin American countries that don't have the immigration problems that Mexico and others have. As colonial subjects, Puerto Ricans are considered US citizens (imposed in 1917 to justify drafting them for WWI) and Cubans are automatically granted legal status (provided they come illegally) due to Washington policies to use immigration as a club against the Cuban Revolution. What's happened so far is far from being a rupture in the Democratic Party, but arguments like we should not protest around immigration reform because we need to give the administration time, or so we don't embarrass our "friend" Barack Obama or don't "provoke" the right-wingers aren't getting much traction, which is quite different from the situation a year ago or even last fall. Joaquín ________________________________________________ Send list submissions to: [email protected] Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
