The unequal damage of pollution: researchers take a daily photo per neighborhood to hold politicians accountable

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1. The topic to highlight: Latino GDP as a 'nation'

The economic output of Latinos in the United States reached 2.8 trillion dollars in 2020, which would be the fifth largest GDP in the world if it corresponded to an independent country.

Why It Matters

: A report released Thursday indicates that the purchasing power of Latinos grew in the pandemic, even though it disproportionately affected Hispanic communities.

• In addition, the increase in real gross domestic product (GDP) —that is, taking inflation into account— for Hispanics in the US was 3.1% between 2010 and 2020, a higher rate than the economic growth of the United Kingdom (0.6%) or Germany (1%) at the same time.

More details

: The study was done by the Latino Donor Collaborative, a non-profit organization that researches Latino issues.

• That economic output remained high is likely because the robust Latino workforce rebounded quickly, according to the report, despite a disproportionate rate of COVID-19 infections and deaths.

• Pay in historically low-paying jobs like the hospitality industry has also risen in recent years as employers have struggled to attract more workers.

  Many Latinos have those service jobs.

In their own words

: "Latinos have proven to be a tremendous source of resilience for the broader US economy, even in the face of a once-in-a-century global crisis like COVID-19," according to the report's authors.

2. In an interview: Rigoberta Menchú Tum

 Nobel Peace Prize winner and indigenous rights activist Rigoberta Menchú Tum says she sees signs of hope in her native Guatemala despite increased government repression.

Current Situation

: The government of Alejandro Giammattei has criminally charged or jailed two dozen prosecutors working on anti-corruption cases as well as NGOs and journalists whose coverage has exposed budget irregularities.

In his own words

: Despite that context, Menchú Tum is optimistic, he told Axios Latino last week during a digital innovation summit in Mexico City.

• For example, he celebrated the legal victory of Mayan Achí women who sued men who sexually abused them in 1982 as members of patrols linked to the Efraín Ríos Montt regime.

  Each of the men was sentenced to 30 years in prison this January.

• Guatemala "today is the cradle of many brave people," he said, referring to the women who promoted that case and the young indigenous people who he says are making a direct difference with greater involvement in technology and other fields.

• "I believe that life itself challenges us every day to continue laying foundations against impunity, violence, massacre and femicide," he added.

Recount

: Menchú Tum was born in 1959, a year before the civil war, in a remote community with a majority Mayan K'iche'.

Photo illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios / Photo: Horacio Villalobos/Corbis via Getty Images

• His father, mother, and younger brother were killed in the late 1970s and 1980s as part of a government counter-insurgency campaign targeting indigenous peoples and any "domestic subversive enemies."

• Menchú Tum was forced to flee to Mexico in 1981 for her activism.

  She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992.

[Read more of this interview]

3. A feeling of job exclusion

Only 25% of Latinos in the US feel completely included in their workplaces, according to a report by the consultancy Bain & Company.

Why it matters

: Latinos accounted for about 80% of the growth among all workers in the United States from 2010 to 2017, the fastest-growing demographic group.

• They will be almost one in three people of working age by 2050.

• The feelings of exclusion they express, such as being passed over for promotions or not being invited to crucial meetings, can spell trouble for private companies.

Details

: 70% of Latino workers say inclusion is a critical factor when evaluating potential employers, according to the study.

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

• Latino workers who don't feel included are almost twice as likely to quit their jobs.

• Nearly 45% of them are actively looking for new jobs, compared to about 25% who feel completely included, according to the Bain survey.

In their own words

: "Making employees feel fully included stimulates better individual and team performance; it also leads to better retention and recruiting results," wrote Naiara De León and Saber Sherrard.

• Their research further showed that Latinas highly value opportunities for growth and training.

4. Better track pollution damage

A team of researchers is using satellites to take pictures of pollution in neighborhoods and better understand how it affects major cities in the United States.

Why It Matters

: Air pollution disproportionately affects Latino, Black, Asian, and Native American communities, as well as low-income areas.

It can cause long-term illnesses, such as asthma.

Big Picture

: New research is still ongoing but has already found that Black, Asian and Latino communities in Los Angeles live with average pollution levels that are 38% higher than non-Hispanic white areas.

Smog in Los AngelesLuis Sinco/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

How it works

: The researchers use the satellites to track daily nitrogen dioxide by neighborhood in more than 50 cities, like taking a picture of pollution from space.

• With that they can make a map that identifies the demographics of places affected by

  smog

  and the biggest sources of pollution day by day.

  For example, they have found that emissions pollution decreases on weekends, when fewer people drive.

• Previous air pollution research has generally focused on how pollution moves over wide geographic areas and over longer periods of time.

We can see where more work is needed and community organizations can use them to hold officials accountable."

sally pusede, academic at the university of virginia

In her own words

: Sally Pusede, a professor at the University of Virginia, says daily monitoring can also study how pollution affects certain communities in conjunction with other hazardous factors, such as higher temperatures or stagnant air.

• Those factors "vary relative to social inequalities in ways that tell us what's going to happen with climate change."

• So far, the research suggests "that in the future, without interventions, inequalities will be worse," according to Pusede.

Between the Lines

: Latinos are increasingly organizing to push for stricter environmental regulations and policies.

• "With these observations, we can see where more work is needed and community organizations can use them to hold officials accountable, call them to action," says Pusede, who is leading the research with colleague Isabella Dressel.

5. Summary of key news in Latin America and the Caribbean

The Salvadoran astronaut who "doing what he likes" inspires Latinos to fight for their dreams

Aug. 31, 202201:48

 1.

became the first person of Salvadoran origin to travel to space this Wednesday.

• Rubio will spend six months working aboard the International Space Station on a NASA mission.

2.

, at the request of Governor Pedro Pierluisi, due to Fiona's damage.

Flooded street in Puerto RicoAFP via Getty Images

• This will mobilize more aid and funds to those affected by the cyclone.

• Most are still without electricity or running water.

3. Cuba will decide this Sunday

whether to adopt a new family code with measures for the first time on the right to same-sex marriage and surrogacy.

• Opponents reject the referendum, alleging that it would validate the regime.

Pachanga Thursday

Congratulations to Helen Torres, Executive Director of Hispanics Organized for Political Equality (HOPE), a California nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that she has chaired for 22 years.

Courtesy of Helen Torres

• HOPE trains and advocates for Latinas for leadership.

Thanks for following Axios Latino!

We will be back on Tuesday.

 Want to read any of the previous editions?

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Putting an accent on it (again): Latinos in the United States lost the accent mark in their names, and now they proudly claim it

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