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February 21, 2004
Presidential
Politics En Español
By Domenico Maceri/HispanicVista.com
George
W. Bush speaks passable Español. He used
Spanish in the 2000 campaign and has
continued to do so since becoming
president. Now the Democratic
presidential candidates are following
suit. Most of them are using some Spanish
in their speeches and some have bilingual
web sites.
Must you speak Spanish to become
president of the US?
The simple answer is "no," but
as the Spanish-speaking population
continues to increase, it’s
certainly a smart idea to embrace the
language.
Showing awareness of the language means
that the candidate is interested in its
speakers. Language is an important part
of people and even if Latinos hearing the
message can understand English, using
some Spanish can have a positive effect.
According to a New York Times/CBS survey,
1/3 of Latinos would be more likely to
vote for a candidate who speaks Spanish.
Candidates
who speak Spanish can gain by
demonstrating their bilingual skills.
A recent Gallup poll found that a
majority of Americans support bilingual
education. That reflects a change
considering that in three states
bilingual education has been virtually
eliminated through the initiative
process.
However, attempts to eliminate bilingual
education in Colorado failed a few years
ago. Voters rejected an initiative out of
concern that Colorado’s children
should not be denied the opportunity to
become bilingual.
In all likelihood, Americans are becoming
more sensitive about languages and are
beginning to realize that bilingualism
can be a plus. Although English is the
world’s lingua franca, our ability
to survive as an economic and political
power depends to a certain extent on our
ability to understand those who speak
different languages.
So if a presidential candidate speaks
even a smattering of Spanish, it can be
beneficial since it suggests to Latinos
that their language is important and as a
result so are they. It also suggests that
the candidate is part of the listeners’
familia. At the same time, when the
leader of the country or those wishing to
become president speak more than one
language even if they are not fully
bilingual, they send a positive message
about the value of bilingualism.
In this respect, Democratic frontrunner
John Kerry has a definite edge. He speaks
Italian, French, and some Spanish.
Of course, politicians can easily be
accused of being interested in just
getting votes. Yet, using two languages
generates positive side effects.
To be sure, elections are determined not
by whether a candidate speaks Spanish or
not. Latinos, like all voters, cast
ballots because of issues and because of
how they feel about a candidate. George
W. Bush got only 35% of the Latino vote
in the 2000 presidential election in
spite of his passable Spanish. Al Gore
got 65% of the Latino vote not because of
his Spanish, which was significantly
worse, but rather because Latinos saw the
Democratic candidate as doing more for
them. Issues, not palabras,
eventually determine how people cast
their ballots.
Language, however, is itself an issue. So
when political leaders use Spanish in
their campaign, they distance themselves
from English-only extremists and give the
impression of being moderates and
inclusives.
George Bush has certainly used language
issues in this fashion. He has not
supported the elimination of bilingual
education. He also has not rescinded
former president Bill Clinton’s
Executive Order 13166, which requires
that any organization that receives
federal funding provide services in
languages other than English. An
English-only group even sued him because
of it.
In issues of language, Democrats don’t
have to show that they are moderates. In
general, Democrats support bilingual
education and bilingualism as well as
basic issues dear to Latinos. That is why
they usually receive the lion’s
share of the Latino vote.
George W. Bush began his presidency with
promises of dealing with
"substantive" Latino issues,
such as immigration. Almost three years
have gone by and no progress has been
made. If Bush and the GOP find solutions
to the immigration problem, they'll be
able to point to something substantive to
attract Latino votes. If not, they'll
have nothing but empty palabras to
show. Latinos will therefore keep voting
for Democrats by large numbers. With the
likelihood of a razor-thin election in
2004, Latinos could make the difference
as to who will occupy the White House in
2005.
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Domenico Maceri (dmaceri@hotmail.com),
PhD, UC Santa Barbara, a contributing
columnist to HispanicVista.com
(www.hispanicvista.com), teaches foreign
languages at Allan Hancock College in Santa
Maria, CA.
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