📢
Axios Latino is the newsletter that summarizes every Tuesday and Thursday the key news for Latino communities in the hemisphere.
You can subscribe by clicking
here
.
1. Topic to highlight:
🗳️ The climate emergency is also an electoral concern
Climate change is one of the main concerns of Latino voters in the US ahead of the November midterm elections, according to an Ipsos survey for Axios and Noticias Telemundo.
Why It Matters
: Latinos have been the fastest-growing demographic group among the US electorate over the past four years, according to an analysis by the Pew Research Center.
By the numbers
: Climate change was the fourth-largest concern among Latinos in early October, after inflation, gun violence and migration, according to the survey.
Legislators should address this issue with the necessary urgency and intensity."
Irene Burga, greenlatinos researcher
25% of those surveyed said it was one of the most worrying issues, compared to 18% who said the same in June.
38% believe the Democratic Party is good on climate and energy issues, compared to 10% who said the same about the Republican Party.
About 24% think that neither of the two parties is good on that issue.
Overview
: Latinos are especially affected by the consequences of climate change, since they tend to live in areas with higher risk of heat waves, floods and air pollution.
Latino and black neighborhoods have higher rates of unsafe water, and studies have shown that those who live in those areas are more vulnerable to wildfires.
Flooding from Hurricane Ian in September in Florida.Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Hispanics are also more likely to work outdoors, in construction or agriculture, where they experience higher death rates from heat exposure than their non-Hispanic white peers.
Yes, but
: "Policy proposals to address the climate crisis often fall short of the disproportionate impact on Latino communities," argues a report released this month by the Latino Climate Justice Framework, a coalition of 22 Hispanic climate activism organizations. created a year ago.
The report says that could be remedied with regulations to boost zero-emission public buses or ensure there are shaded breaks for farmworkers;
and better data collection on how emissions affect Latino/Black/Indigenous/Asian communities.
In summary
: "Legislators should address this issue with the necessary urgency and intensity," Irene Burga Márquez, head of GreenLatinos' Climate Justice Program, told Axios Latino.
They must offer solutions with "tangible results for quality of life: better air and water quality, equitable access to nature, and public health and economic development," he said.
2. Putting the focus on the heart
A new medical coalition wants to improve Latino representation in heart health jobs and promote the treatment and diagnosis of cardiovascular problems in this community.
Why it matters
: Heart disease care tends to be worse for black and Latino patients, according to studies.
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
More than 56% of physicians in the US are non-Hispanic white, according to the American Association of Medical Colleges.
A significant portion of them have unconscious biases that may make them less likely to serve Black, Latino, Native American, or Asian patients well;
to insist on follow-ups or to make certain treatment decisions, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Deaths linked to heart disease and stroke increased in the United States at the start of the pandemic, and Hispanics were among the most affected groups.
Details
: The new National Hispanic-Latino Cardiovascular Collaboration (NHLCC) seeks to improve health care through mentoring medical students and dedicated research.
The group, made up of Hispanic surgeons, primary care physicians and academics, was formed by the American Heart Association and will launch on November 5.
In their own words
: The NHLCC also seeks to improve the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular diseases among the Hispanic community with specific campaigns, according to what its president, Dr. Carlos RodrĂguez, told Axios Latino.
They will also seek to ally themselves with related groups such as the National Hispanic Medical Association and the Association of Black Cardiologists.
3. Reinforcement against disinformation in Spanish
The Poynter Institute's MediaWise digital literacy project expands its battle against disinformation in Spanish.
We help you identify and combat fake news on the Internet
Jan. 19, 202205:14
Why It Matters
: Latinos in the US spend more time than others on social media and messaging apps where hoaxes easily go viral.
When those lies or half-truths are in Spanish they are less likely to be removed by moderators, according to a Nielsen report published last year.
Details
: MediaWise offers a 10-day WhatsApp course and YouTube video series in Spanish on how to spot misinformation or false information and what to do about it.
The project also offers Find Facts Fast, a free course via text message to debunk and uncover false information about next month's midterm elections.
Noticias Telemundo is a partner of the project in Spanish.
Beyond:
An analysis of the 2020 election by Latino research firm Equis, and reviewed by Axios Latino, found that YouTube played a significant role in convincing Latino voters to support former President Donald Trump.
Equis's Carlos Odio said many Spanish-language videos on YouTube purported to be analyzes of news from Latin America but were actually full of misinformation about the White House candidates.
4. Disputes in the oldest Latino civil organization in the US.
The oldest Latino civil rights organization in the United States has fired its executive director and removed six board members.
Details
: The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is facing its worst turmoil in 93 years of existence after a disputed internal election.
LULAC announced on Friday that it had terminated the remaining time on the contract of its executive director, Sindy Benavides, after her disagreements for months with the president, Domingo GarcĂa.
Benavides (left) and Garcia.Alex Wong/Getty Images
LULAC also announced that it had removed and charged five national board members for unspecified "violations of the organization's constitution."
The group also expelled another board member in a separate process.
Background
: LULAC was to hold an election this summer in Puerto Rico during its annual conference, but it was postponed following allegations that a pro-statehood Puerto Rican group was allegedly plotting to take control of the largely Mexican-American organization.
Pablo Martinez, one of the LULAC board members who was ousted over the weekend, told Axios Latino that the dispute will likely be resolved in court.
What's next
: LULAC is scheduled to hold a vote on its leadership at its 2023 convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but a court battle could postpone that.
5. Summary of key news in Latin America and the Caribbean
1. A coalition of indigenous groups, miners, and peasants
in Santa Cruz, a major agricultural export zone in Bolivia, declared an indefinite strike over the Bolivian government's delay in conducting a census.
Roadblocks around Santa Cruz, the Bolivian city with the largest populationAziar Raldez/AFP via Getty Images
The protesters, who have the backing of the governor, say they have not been properly counted in the past, and therefore the state has not received the funds they are owed mainly to alleviate the pandemic and inflation.
They want a census in 2023, but the government postponed it to the end of 2024 and there will be results until the following year.
2. More Nicaraguan regime figures face
US sanctions
:
The Treasury Department extended banking and financial penalties against the General Directorate of Mines of the Central American country and a presidential adviser.
In addition, the president, Joe Biden, signed an executive order that expands the power of the Treasury to sanction more sectors of the Nicaraguan economy to "demand that the Ortega regime responds for its constant attacks on freedom of expression."
The US sanctions are against the government of the president, Daniel Ortega, and the vice president/first lady, Rosario Murillo, which has increased the arrests of suspected opponents, including students, religious figures, and relatives of exiled opponents.
5. Flying to save
A woman in Guatemala has earned the nickname of
flying granny
for her dives and jumps as a futsal goalkeeper.
Details
: Alma Salazar, 57, plays with youngsters in an amateur league in El Tejar, in western Guatemala.
The 'flying granny' is a Guatemalan lady who shines by stopping goals in futsal
Aug. 29, 202201:39
"In the games is where I show what I still have, the strength," Salazar told Noticias Telemundo.
Salazar, whose day job is selling toys at a market, adds that he has developed ways to fall to avoid injury, and he will keep playing as long as he can.
Thanks for following Axios Latino!
We will be back on Thursday.
Want to read any of the previous editions?
Latinos are dissatisfied with both parties and their support in the elections is in danger, according to an exclusive survey
The truths about border crime in the US
Black and Latino communities unite in Los Angeles in the face of racist comments from council members
A project tells the stories of enslaved indigenous people: "Yes, there is an archive that remembers them"