The midterm elections of November 2022 are over, and the anticipated “Red Wave” tsunami of wins by Republicans over Democrats in the U.S. Congress never materialized. Yet, the fight is far from over. Valuable lessons can and must be extracted and used both in the electoral arena, and in the battles in the streets such as occurred with the George Floyd protests. The elections also came amid this year’s massive mobilizations against the Supreme Court’s decision on Roe v. Wade, led by women both on the streets and at the electoral urns, and built upon the legacy of the Latina/Latino (also called “Latinx”) Mega marches for immigration reform, the protests over children in cages at the border, revulsion over separation of families, and deaths of asylum seekers in the deserts.
2022’s first lesson is that an overt and covert war is going on for control of the economy and the political machinery of the country by corporate and moneyed interests. To do this, democratic freedoms of everyday Americans are being curtailed and the thinking of a critical mass of the American people won over. Even before the swearing-in of President Biden, efforts reminiscent of the Jim Crow South to control state governments and suppress voting spread far and wide.
Another important development is how the composition of the Latinx electorate in Texas and Florida has been changed by the addition of wealthy Mexicans and entrepreneurs fleeing Mexico to avoid the crackdown on tax evasion and corruption in Mexico by Lopez Obrador, the current President. They come with sufficient funds to bypass hurdles that are insurmountable for less fortunate immigrants from their home countries. This is reminiscent of wealthy Cubans who fled the Cuban Revolution in the 1950’s, and who largely vote Republican.
Republicans Challenging “Abuelita’s Democrats”
It is in this light that we must view the Latino role in the electoral process. Traditionally, Latina/o participation in the electoral process is much less than their population share, due in part to immigration status, a feeling of being abandoned, and distrust. Nevertheless, Latina/o’s represent one in eight voters in this country and are one of the fastest-growing groups in the electorate. When they vote, they have historically voted Democrat, but this may no longer be guaranteed.
Due in part to the better-than-expected performance by Trump in the 2020 Presidential campaign among Latinx, particularly males in South Texas, money and resources were poured into 2022 midterm campaigns such as the “Triple Threat” of three Latinas in South Texas running as Republicans for Congress, bucking the traditional support of the Democratic Party in that heavily Latino region. When first promoted by Republican strategists, the Triple Threat was intended as the Republican counter to “the Squad’ in Congress, which includes Democrats such as AOC.
The ruling class is fostering a divisive “us vs. them” mentality that promotes conflict and division among Latinos, by capitalizing on the Democratic Party’s failure to deliver on its promises and its tendency to take the Latino vote for granted. This also relies on some Latinofamily and religious conservatism, their desire for the “American Dream”, and generational differences between established Latinos and recent immigrants. With a “family, God, and country” banner, Monica de la Cruz led a break from the Democratic Party in South Texas, stating that the Republican Party is not “her abuelita’s party” (English translation: grandmother’s), meaning Latinos would no longer vote Democrat by default.
Still, of the three Republican candidates from South Texas — all endorsed by Trump, only Monica de la Cruz won a seat on the McAllen 15rh Congressional District as the first Republican, let alone Latina woman, to hold that post. Mayra Flores, who had briefly held the 34th congressional District, and a former Ted Cruz aide Cassy Garcia lost, all despite much fanfare.
For most Americans, their economic concerns play a significant factor in their actions. Just as Rust Belt workers went against their union leadership in 2016 to vote against a Hillary Clinton when Trump promised to force industry to bring back jobs to America, in 2020 many South Texas Latinos supported Trump because they saw his calls for oil drilling, Border Patrol, and law enforcement as providing stable employment.
LATINX NEEDS OVERLAP WITH CLASS NEEDS
Wooing the Latino vote away from the Democratic Party is part of the divide and conquer strategy of the ruling class towards achieving its goal of remaking society and the economy in its interests. It is only one of many tools in its arsenal, including state voter suppression laws, gerrymandering, a proposed U.S. constitutional amendment, control of the Supreme Court, and the overturn of Roe. V. Wade. We have even witnessed the attempted forcible takeover of the United States Capitol by an angry mob that included white supremacists and neo-Nazis, but also a smattering of Blacks, Latinx, and Native Americans –all won over to the great lie that the 2020 elections were stolen.
The struggles of Latina/os for basic needs, human dignity, and rights at the border and in the interior overlap with the needs of the rest of the working class. The Uvalde, Texas school massacre placed safety of children and gun control squarely on the national agenda and shamed law enforcement. Latinos and Latinas are becoming involved in the political process to improve their neighborhoods and schools, whether by running for office and winning as in Utah, by supporting other progressive candidates, and by advocating for safe schools and neighborhoods and other basic needs, even if not eligible to vote. And the fact that over 40% of Latina women live in states impacted by abortion restrictions had much to do with their role in preventing a red wave of take overs in Congress in the midterm elections.
As Democrat leaders are being challenged, there is much that is not yet revealed about the failure of Republican elected officials Ted Cruz and Abbott to respond to the failed power grid in midwinter during the height of the Covid pandemic. This harmed everyone, but disproportionately the working poor. Increasingly Latinos are forging relations out of necessity with others who share their plight. Whether through pressuring the Democratic Party from the inside, by running for office or supporting Progressive candidates, many are concluding that sooner or later they will need their own political party—not abuelita’s Democratic party, but not Jim Crow’s Republican party either.
