Latino communities are some of the hardest hit in the US by climate change, often bearing the brunt of disasters like wildfires and heat waves. And while the Democratic wing's climate message has made great strides in passing climate legislation, these victories have failed to communicate to voters, especially those of Hispanic origin.
This was stated by professors Michael Méndez and Sara Sadhwani in a report posted by Time, where they specify that it is precisely this miscommunication that could mean great importance, because although the recent elections were not the "red wave" that was predicted, it is likely that the Democrats will lose their majority in the House of Representatives, while the future of the Senate hangs in the balance, with competitive races still being counted in Nevada, Georgia and Arizona, where Latinos comprise a decisive margin of victory.
In this sense, the report specified that, throughout the country, the Democratic candidates focused on access to abortion, an important situation for the community, however, climate change was considered among the main issues for the midterm elections.
The majority of the Latino population in the US, from Mexican Americans and indigenous Guatemalans residing in mainland regions to Puerto Ricans and Afro-Cubans, live on the front lines of climate change and are often the most affected.
Developing winning campaign messages on climate change and the green economy can be challenging, because these issues are often seen as important primarily to college-educated white voters, even though environmental concerns are closely tied to issues like the economy, jobs and inflation, they highlighted.
And it is that, they point out, before disasters occur, social and structural inequalities have left many Latino neighborhoods across the country with an infrastructure in ruins.
The research finds that in cities like Miami and Houston, Latinos are more vulnerable to experiencing the effects of sea level rise and hurricane flooding than whites and Asians, while extreme heat also threatened workers. agricultural workers in the country, of whom nearly 85 percent are Latino.
Historically, they detail, heat is the leading cause of weather-related death in the country, especially among farm and outdoor workers, who are 20 times more likely to die from exposure to heat-related illnesses than civilian workers. Americans in general.
It should be noted that, according to research, Latinos born in the US as children of immigrants and Latino Catholics are receptive to Republican messages, which in this electoral cycle have emphasized pocket issues such as inflation and employment.
"Despite spending millions on advertising in Spanish, Democrats and even traditional environmental organizations do not emphasize these priorities when sending messages to Latino voters," they detail.
In that regard, they noted that a review of a recent $12 million ad campaign by the League of Conservation Voters aimed at promoting Democratic climate victories shows that few, if any, of the ads were targeted at Latinos in the swing states.
They noted that studies show that family values outweigh politics in American Latino beliefs about climate change.
“Effective climate change messaging would focus on how the issue tangibly and disproportionately affects Latino families and their well-being across generations and what Democrats are doing to help them. Noting in particular that, in large part due to poor air quality, Latino children are 40 percent more likely to die of asthma than other children, and climate change will only exacerbate this health condition."
"If party leaders and traditional environmental groups do not meaningfully engage with this rapidly growing group of voters, the future of climate action and the Democratic party will be in jeopardy," they said.
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