Welcome to Axios Latino, a newsletter to tell you every Tuesday and Thursday the stories that have a special impact on the Latino communities in the United States and in Latin America. If you are interested in subscribing and receiving the newsletter in your email (
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We will always publish it in Spanish on Noticias Telemundo.
1 Topic: What Latinas Want
Latinas in the United States are more likely to plan to open their own businesses
and sign up for a higher education than non-Hispanics, despite the disproportionate burden of the pandemic Latinas have endured, according to a recent survey.
Why It Matters
: The survey indicates that Latinas can be a growth engine for the U.S. even though they have faced major setbacks related to COVID-19.
Before the pandemic, Latinos and Latinas were opening more small businesses than any other group in the country, and those businesses had been growing revenues at a faster rate than non-Hispanic white-owned businesses.
But Latina businesses run by women saw twice as many closures and more layoffs during the pandemic, according to research from Stanford University.
Important note
: Hispanic women in general have been particularly affected in terms of unemployment.
Many lost jobs they have not regained or quit their job or school to be caregivers in greater proportions than their peers in other demographic groups.
However, 20% of Latinas surveyed said they are still planning to open a business in the next few years, compared to 12% of non-Latinas in the new survey.
33% of Latinas between the ages of 18 and 34 said they plan to continue or return to their education, while 17% of non-Latinas in the same age group said the same.
Janie Isidoro owns My Corazón, a small business in Hanford, California Al Seib / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
News Momentum
: The most important thing for Latinas is to fight crime in the US, as the most recent FBI data shows that murders reached their biggest annual increase in 2020.
74% of women surveyed said reducing violent crime should be a priority issue in policy, and 73% said the same for domestic violence, the two most commonly reported responses among the group.
And 68% said gun-related violence should be among politicians' biggest concerns going forward.
Among the other top concerns for Hispanic women surveyed is improving access to health care and focusing on reducing racial and ethnic inequalities.
Between the lines
: Six out of ten Latinas said they would take advantage of the power of their vote in favor of male or female candidates who address issues against racism and discrimination;
to support an increase in the minimum wage, and to support initiatives to combat climate change.
The poll was conducted during July as a joint project between Telemundo, Latino Victory Foundation, and Hispanics Organized for Political Equality (HOPE).
2. Hispanic Heritage Month: A Chilean who protected us from viruses
The
hepatitis B
and C
found an enemy in biotechnology and medical researchers led or funded by a Chilean biochemist.
A Nobel Committee presentation in 2020, when the Medicine or Physiology prize was awarded to scientists who discovered hepatitis C. Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP via Getty Images
Why it matters
: The work done by, and the research promoted by, Pablo D. Valenzuela led to an innovative vaccine manufacturing technique and the identification of possible treatments against these two blood-borne viral diseases.
Every year 1.5 million people get hepatitis B or hepatitis C, according to the World Health Organization.
In various parts of the world, including the US, people can now be vaccinated safely and effectively against hepatitis B from childhood.
Details:
The Chilean, along with William Rutter and Edward Penhoet, co-founded the biotechnology company Chiron in 1981.
With Valenzuela as head of research and development, the Chiron scientists published in 1989 their discovery of the hepatitis C virus, which had puzzled doctors and researchers for years.
Last year, the research that named hepatitis C received the Nobel Prize in Medicine.
In 1986, Chiron achieved "
a milestone
"
and a "benchmark in medical biotechnology": the first recombinant vaccine, which was developed for hepatitis B. The scientific publication on the method bears Valenzuela's signature as the lead author.
Valenzuela's patented recombinant vaccine mechanism for hepatitis “clones” a virus so that the immune response can be triggered with particles that do not have the actual pathogen.
Until then, vaccines had been developed primarily with inactivated viruses, for which scientists sometimes required plasma from patients that was difficult to obtain.
In various parts of the world, including the US, people can now be vaccinated safely and effectively against hepatitis B from childhood.
A healthcare worker in Uganda prepares a dose of the hepatitis B vaccine in July 2021.Nicholas Kajoba / Xinhua / via Getty Images
More from Hispanic Heritage Month:
In the footsteps of crime, with credit to Argentina
In full color, thanks to Mexico
Peru feeds the world
3.
Reggaetón, reggaetón, and where are my people?
The complex history and current reality of the genre
that is now also on the rise in the US is unraveled, broken down and contextualized in the bilingual podcast
Loud
.
Ivy Queen (left) during a presentation with Bad Bunny in 2020. The artist is host of the podcast "Loud", produced by Spotify in partnership with Futuro Studios.Kevin Mazur / Getty Images / Getty Images
Details
: The podcast, hosted by the iconic Puerto Rican Ivy Queen, is designed for both beginners and experts, with a view to exploring the role and evolution of reggaetón beyond thinking only as music for perreo.
The intrigue
: Many reggaeton fans have long regarded Puerto Rico as the birthplace of the massively popular genre.
But
Loud
from the beginning clarifies how it was not like that.
Each of the podcast's 10 episodes explores a key moment in the development of the genre, with interviews with talents such as Nicky Jam and Maluma.
In his own words
:
"We wanted to make things clear about the origins of the genre and give credit where it was due, in our Afro-Latin roots."
Julio Pabón, Creative Producer Supervisor of Spotify.
Pabón added: "We hope to initiate conversations within the community about the fight against anti-black attitudes, about sexuality ... and about police surveillance in our societies."
4. Greater geographic dispersion and political power
The Hispanic or Latino population
in the US grew 23% over the last decade, but in some metropolitan areas the increase was three times higher.
The clearest points show in which cities the Latino population grew between 1.5 and 2 times more than at the national level.
In those of medium blue the Latino population grew between 2 and 3 times more than the national average.
In those of dark blue it grew more than 3 times more than the national average. Brookings data;
graphic by Thomas Oide / Axios
Why it matters
: That expansion could have major political repercussions ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.
Especially since the increase in the Latino population was not only concentrated in cities with a high Latino presence, such as Los Angeles, New York or Chicago, but also in cities in the interior of the country and the Midwest.
Yes, but
: The political weight of Latinos and other groups could be reduced depending on the redistricting struggles that unfold across the country.
The fight for the Latino vote: Democrats and Republicans invest millions in the 2022 elections
July 10, 202101: 56
5. Summary of key news from Latin America and the Caribbean
Mexican authorities are indicting 31 scientists for alleged organized crime offenses because they allegedly used public funds that were not theirs.
The academics were part of an advisory forum to advise the federal agency to promote science and technology, Conacyt.
Scientists deny the allegations.
Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero has twice asked judges for preliminary arrest warrants, seeking to confine the scientists to a high-security prison where El Chapo was once held.
Both requests have been denied by the courts.
Gertz Manero said they will present the folder for the third time.
It is a measure that some have described as absurd or as an attempt to lynch those who are not aligned with the current government.
On the other hand, it has been defended by critics of groups that can make discretionary use of public funds.
Hundreds of Haitian migrants hope to regularize their status and start a new life in Mexico
Sept.
27, 202101: 12
More than 2,800 Haitians who have been deported
to Port-au-Prince from Texas have landed in what the Associated Press news agency calls an "archipelago of islands controlled by criminal gangs nestled in a sea of despair."
Meanwhile, many Haitians who ended up back in Mexico after trying to seek asylum in the United States are being detained and taken by plane or bus to the south of the country, where some NGOs have been helping them.
6. Let there be light ... with water
Members of the Wayúu people, on the north coast of Colombia,
can now enjoy the benefits of having electricity with the help of wireless flashlights that work with an abundant resource: the sea.
This lamp that uses seawater as a battery offers an alternative for poor communities
Sept.
21, 202103: 09
Why it matters
: Having electricity allows the community to fish at night, as well as do their crafts or schoolwork after dark in their homes, where electrical services are not available.
The flashlights were delivered as part of a pilot program by a
Colombian
startup
, E-Dina, in partnership with NGOs.
There are plans to start selling the lamp worldwide in 2022.
How it works
: The lamp produces light through chemical reactions of the metals inside the device and the electrolytes in the salt water.
There are smaller models that last 48 hours before a recharge and larger ones that stay on for more than a month.
Also, when the water loses salinity after a few days, it can be reused for other purposes, such as cooking or irrigation.
Until Thursday, thanks for reading us.
Do you want to see any of the most recent previous editions?
Footprints of truth from Argentina
What Mexican ingenuity has given us
The secrets of the potato
Hispanics who will take us to Mars
What the Latin heart wants
Previously exposed to cancer