From the beginning of his first campaign for President Donald Trump introduced an anti-Latino agenda that continues to permeate his political life today. It can be said that his rise to the presidency in 2016 was accomplished, in part, on the backs of Latinos, especially the immigrant community he used as bait for at least a third of the country to become the MAGA racist core of the Republican Party.
It has been documented that those views and the violence or threat of violence to enforce them is creating doubt that American institutions can protect the democratic ideals of our founding principles. That was the approach the Blackshirts used to take Mussolini to the top in Italy and the storm troopers in Germany employed to have Hitler become the master of Europe.
Enough voters recognized the danger Trump posed to the country to deny him reelection in 2020. That however, did not detour him or his faithful followers from seeking to find ways to steal the election anyway and stay in power by projecting their own deeds into the ‘Big Lie’ narrative that accused the voting process and results as being unfair.
Another strategy that was implemented by members of the ‘Big Lie’ and 2020 election deniers was to run for con- gressional offices and positions that can affect the process of voting and the counting the ballots. The results appear to indicate that it has also been a failure mostly because there is a general feeling that this is just another attack on the integrity of our institutions by candidates out to do harm to our democracy.
The voting returns for the 2022 midterm elections are generally in and many agree that across the nation the Republican Party seriously underperformed because Trump made the election about himself and is not accepting the fact that he was the loser in the 2020 presidential contest and that he played a major role in efforts including violence to stay in office.
The danger Trump coalesced against democracy is far from over as one third of America has been heavily influenced by his autocratic commitment to governing. This is very much like the political demography that brought us the Civil War as out of little over 31 million that was the popula- tion of the United States in 1860, 23 million from 22 states went with the Union and 9 million went with the 11 states of the Confederacy which is close to the one third of the country that chose to rebel.
The Trump legacy includes taken advantage of a political division in the country caused by fear of predicted demographic changes that would see minorities together becoming a new majority. Media faces of White extremists generally on the right and Black racial activists prominent on the left lend visual credence to the divisive drama being played out in our nation.
Despite the political attacks and efforts to demonize immigrants, Latino representation in Congress continues to grow. The current projection is that some 42 Raza Republican and Democrats will be elected to the House.
Among them is Yadira Caraveo, a pediatrician and daughter of Mexican immigrants and the first Latina elected from Colorado who will represent the new 8th Congressional District. Also, 25-year old Maxwell Alejandro Frost, a Latino and first Generation Z Representative, was elected in Florida’s 10th District.
Part of the story includes the fact that our new Latino representatives are 20 years younger than their colleagues, with an average age of 38. They truly represent the future.
The views expressed by David Conde are not necessarily the views of la Voz bilingüe. Comments and responses may be directed to news@lavozcolorado.com.
