Latinas are thriving in the United States, although they still face economic obstacles

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1. The theme to highlight: One step forward, but...

Latina women in the United States are surpassing men

in college enrollment when they have made other progress.

But they still face wage disparities and barriers to economic prosperity, according to an Axios Latino analysis done to mark US Women's History Month.

In numbers

: Latinas are still paid about 57 cents for every dollar paid to non-Hispanic white men, even as they have a record presence in the working economically active population, according to an analysis of US Census data. USA made by UnidosUS.

• The analysis estimates that the median salary for Latinas is $30.55 per year, compared to the median salary of $57.00 for non-Hispanic white men.

• Nearly 30% of Latina-headed households live below the poverty level, according to the Census Bureau.

The stark differences

are partly because Latinas tend to take on more caregiving duties, says Silvia R. González, research director for climate, environmental justice and health projects at UCLA's Latino Policy and Politics Institute.

• Since the pandemic began, Latinas have dropped out of the workforce at a higher rate than any other demographic group.

  González says that was motivated by caregiving responsibilities and because the types of work Latinas most commonly do (like retail and food service) saw huge job losses.

• "We still haven't recovered: we need resources to ensure that Latinas can fully participate in our economy," says González.

  That includes better access to child care and transportation, she adds.

The Progress

: About 35% of US Latinas between the ages of 18 and 24 were enrolled in at least a part-time college by 2021. In contrast, the figure was 28% for Latinos of the same age. age, according to an analysis by the Pew Research Center.

• As of last year, more than 14% of Hispanic women had a bachelor's degree compared to 12% of Hispanic men, according to Census data.

• Latinas have also made significant strides in gaining elected office, according to the Center for American Women and Politics.

Bottom line

: "Before the pandemic, Latinas were already struggling with everyday life, and the pandemic made that situation much worse," says Xochitl Oseguera, vice president of MomsRising/ MamásConPoder, an organization that advocates for Latinas who are mothers.

• Oseguera says it will take generations to undo the setbacks the pandemic inflicted on Latina workers.

• But she is hopeful: Oseguera points out that more Latinas are starting businesses and organizing for their rights, especially the younger generation.

• "That is going to mean a big change in the general future of this country," says Oseguera. 

2. A Mexican fighter makes history

Alexa Grasso stunned the MMA (mixed martial arts) world this weekend by beating Valentina Shevchenko of Kyrgyzstan, who was considered the favorite, to win the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship organization) flyweight championship.

Mexican fighter Alexa Grasso triumphs in the UFC

March 6, 202300:16

Big picture

: Grasso's win made her the first Mexican UFC women's champion and illustrates how popular MMA has grown throughout the Americas.

• More MMA gyms are opening up around Mexico.

  In addition, gyms of the type in the US, such as the Jackson Wink MMA Academy in Albuquerque, New Mexico, are attracting Mexican fighters to train.

• UFC men's flyweight champion Brandon Moreno and interim featherweight champion Yair Rodriguez are also Mexican and both won championships this year.

• Brazilian women have also long dominated the sport.

Details

: Shevchenko, one of the most dominant UFC female fighters of all time, seemed to be out in front in a close contest until Grasso used a fourth-round choke to force the champion to submit.

• An emotional Grasso, who is from Guadalajara, raised her hands in victory while on the canvas, until a trainer lifted her up.

• "Please hit me so I know I'm not dreaming," Grasso said in an English-language interview right after his win. "I've been dreaming of this moment for so long."

3. Former Argentine prosecutor on the lessons of 1985

A prosecutor in a groundbreaking Argentine criminal case that now forms the plot of an Oscar-nominated film says the trial is an example of how justice should be thought of around the world today.

[Read the full interview with Luis Moreno Ocampo here]

News impulse

:

, which competes this Sunday for best international film at the Academy Awards, portrays the trial against the leaders of the military juntas who detained, tortured and disappeared at least 30,000 people during the dictatorship from 1976 to 1983 .

• The film has already won a Golden Globe, as well as the Goya award for best Ibero-American film.

In his own words

: "Argentina in 1985 is like democracy in the world in 2023. That's what it seems to me. It talks about power and law and justice, current debates this year, and that's why it reaches the whole world", says Luis Moreno Ocampo, who was the assistant prosecutor in the so-called Trial of the Juntas.

• For Moreno Ocampo, those calls for justice, no matter how powerful the people sitting in the dock may be, still resonate today in cases such as police brutality in the US.

Luis Moreno Ocampo Photography: Natasha Campos/Getty Images for GreenSlate.

Photo illustration by: Annelise Capossela/Axios

Overview

: The Trial of the Juntas in Argentina resulted in life sentences for two of the best known leaders, Jorge Rafael Videla and Emilio Massera, and imprisonment for other military commanders.

• Trials against other officials are still ongoing, after being put on hold by so-called "impunity" laws in force between the 1990s and 2006. Last year, 58 perpetrators were convicted of crimes ranging from sexual torture to so-called flights of death, where suspected rebels were drugged and thrown from planes.

• Authorities and families also continue to search for the forcibly disappeared and identify children and grandchildren, who were separated from women who gave birth while in detention and then illegally adopted by military families.

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

1. Peruvian President Dina Boluarte testified

Tuesday for a national investigation into whether she should be held responsible for the deaths of more than 60 people in recent anti-government protests.

Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios

• The demonstrators ask that Boluarte, who replaced the vacated president Pedro Castillo, call for immediate elections.

• Boluarte has defended the response to the protests, saying only at one point that he apologized "if" his government "made a mistake in finding peace and calm."

2. The process of the new constitutional convention in Chile

kicked off on the accelerator this Monday with the swearing in of 24 experts appointed by Congress who will make a first draft.

• In May, 50 other constitutional representatives will be elected by popular vote to finalize the text.

• An earlier attempt to change the current constitution, which was drafted during a dictatorship in 1980, failed in a referendum last year. 

5. 🏊🏼‍♀️ Olympic dreams

Daniella Ramírez, an Afro-Latina who comes from a long line of professional artistic swimmers, hopes to compete in next year's Summer Olympics.

Details

: Ramírez, 21, is part of the US synchronized swimming team.

He will compete this month at the Artistic Swimming World Cup in Canada.

Our Black Heritage: Daniella Ramírez brings her Caribbean roots to synchronized swimming in the US.

Feb 28, 202302:53

• His mother competed worldwide as an artistic swimmer for Venezuela and his grandmother also practiced the sport.

  Her father competed as a diver for the South American nation.

• Ramírez says his family instilled in him a sense of wonder about the sport, which requires holding your breath for long periods of time while performing synchronized steps underwater.

In her own words

: "In this sport nobody looks like me," she tells Telemundo News, noting that she is usually the only Afro-Latina in the pool.

She says that has motivated her more, whether it's training for a possible Olympic career or being called up for scenes shot underwater in the movie

Thanks for reading us!

We return on Thursday.

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