Peninsula 360 Press [P360P]. Ethnic Media Services
Editor's note: Voters in the Latino community comprise an estimated 10% of U.S. citizens living abroad. Overseas, many actively support the Democratic Party, reports Katarina Machmer, who covers immigration issues in Europe for EMS.
Berlin. The same issues that could bring more Latino voters to the polls this November are mobilizing their overseas counterparts, say expatriate voters interviewed in Europe.
"We haven't noticed such voter registration activity in a long time," says David Coronado, an expatriate from the Texas Latino community who now lives in Madrid, Spain, where he is coordinator of social networking for Democrats Abroad (DA), the official arm of the Democratic Party for Americans living outside the United States. DA strives to provide expatriates with Democratic representation in the U.S. government and to elect Democratic candidates by mobilizing Americans abroad to vote.
Coronado says DA expects at least half a million votes from abroad in this election, most of them from Democrats.
"Political leaders send signals and are the ones who shape culture. Both the Latino community in the United States and in Europe receive the signal that they are not being valued," he explains.
Expatriates normally vote by mail or, depending on the state in which they are registered, they can vote by email or fax.
Latino voters are estimated to constitute more than 10% of U.S. citizens abroad, says Amerika Garcia Grewal, president of the DA Hispanic Caucus, which advocates for issues of concern to the global Hispanic community. The number of expatriates from the Latino community who can vote for the Democrats is unknown, but in Europe, many of them are leaning towards the Democratic Party and showing their support through their activism, even if they cannot vote.
Part of this situation is due to the fact that the Democrats Abroad are more organized than their counterparts, the Republicans Abroad. While the Democrats Abroad send delegates to the Democratic National Convention, the Republicans Abroad do not belong to the U.S. Republican Party, so they cannot participate in their national convention.
Also, Republicans Abroad, unlike Democrats Abroad, does not have a group of Hispanic people to help mobilize expatriates from the Latino community to vote or become activists.
In Spain, where many expatriates from the Latino community reside, Republicans Abroad have only one registration, while Democrats Abroad have four. Germany and other European countries do not have as many expatriates from the Latino community; however, they remain home to Hispanic Democratic voters and activists.
Onélica Andrade, who left California for Belgium in 2016, was one of seven delegates from the Latino community elected by Democrats Abroad to participate in this year's Democratic National Convention, which took place virtually. She says that members of the Latino community she has met through Democrats Abroad, where she holds a seat on the Hispanic political board, are actively trying to recruit American voters.
"Although we are few people in the Latino community, we are committed and we are loud. We may not encourage people from the Latino community to vote because there are not as many around us, but we encourage other Americans," says Andrade.
Immigrant rights activist Monsy Hernandez also believes in the ripple effect of political activism, saying, "I've noticed a difference in the people I've talked to, also in my American friends who have seen the work I do.
Hernandez has been fighting for the Latino community since he was 18 years old. Born in Mexico City, she lived undocumented in South Carolina for 15 years. Then, in 2017, due to the state's restrictive measures affecting dreamers and the immigrants, she deported to Germany with her husband, who had studied there before.
"My skills to survive and succeed were unattainable for me in South Carolina - and in the United States in general - once Trump took office," explains Hernandez. Because she was unable to obtain U.S. citizenship and therefore could not become an official member of the Democrats Abroad, she volunteered with the DA Hispanic Committee for two years as an unofficial member.
"Whether you live in Europe, the United States or somewhere in Latin America, we all belong to the Latino community," says Hernandez. "And we cannot allow our community to continue to struggle in a country that owes much of its wealth to our shoulders.
Onélica Andrade agrees, adding that the United States plays a fundamental role in international politics. "We have infants in detention centers, and the world is watching. We are normalizing criminal acts. This is absolutely wrong."
Daniel Garcia, an expatriate from California's Latino community, also sees immigration as one of the most important issues for the Latino community worldwide.
"What unites the Latino community globally is the experience of migration," says Garcia, editor-in-chief and social networking of Democrats Abroad in Alicante, Spain, and founder of the Nuestras Voces, Nuestro Futuro campaign, which targets younger expatriate voters. "In the United States, we need immigration reform, and I'm looking forward to fighting for it from Europe.
Working with David Coronado, Garcia creates ads for Why you should vote for social media. They tell the stories of expatriates who vote for Democrats from abroad to encourage others to vote.
In addition to immigration reform, affordable education and universal health care are at stake in the 2020 presidential election, not only for the Latino community worldwide but, as Coronado says, for "all those who are losing something. Universal health care in Spain is a totally new experience for him: "Not having to worry about how to pay for a doctor's visit gives me great peace of mind and makes me passionate about fighting for this cause.
Monsy Hernandez had a similar experience when he arrived in Germany. A doctor he visited could not believe that he could not get health insurance or medical care during the 15 years he lived in the United States. In her South Carolina neighborhood, a visit to the doctor was literally and financially out of her reach. The university was also inaccessible.
"Here in Germany I can take German lessons because they are affordable," says Hernandez. "It was inconceivable, but I shouldn't be disconcerted by this kind of situation." Instead, he encourages the Latino community abroad to continue fighting for fair wages and access to health care as well as higher education.
Onélica Andrade hopes these issues will unite Latino voters worldwide and elect Biden - the "right" candidate, she says - whose presidency will help secure needed reforms. But much remains to be done: After Biden's election, community members must redouble their efforts to hold political leaders accountable for their campaign promises and, just as importantly, listen to the concerns of minority communities.
