📢 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. The theme to be highlighted: Churches with less segregation
The vast majority of U.S. parishioners belong to congregations where members are of the same race or ethnicity, according to a survey. But there is one exception: Hispanic Protestants.
Overview: The survey found that Hispanic Protestants, most of them evangelicals, reported that their churches are very diverse; a contrast to the average segregation of many temples of worship in the United States.
In numbers: The Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), a nonpartisan research group, found that:
- Nearly half of Hispanic Protestants (47%) say their churches are primarily Latino.
- But 26% of Latinos in Protestantism say they go to churches where the majority of members are non-Hispanic whites. 20% reported attending mostly multiracial congregations.
- By comparison, 80% of non-evangelical Protestants and 75% of evangelicals who are non-Hispanic whites say their churches are made up of equally white people.
- Among black Protestants, the vast majority (74%) say their churches are primarily attended by black parishioners.
A service at Word of Life Arizona Church in 2006.Jeff Topping/Getty Images
In his own words: Other data show that more Latinos in the U.S. who were Catholic have been converting to Protestantism. As that happens, they are likely to turn to megachurches with many more members and that are more diverse, Melissa Dickman, executive director of PRRI, tells Axios Latino.
- 58% of megachurches are multiracial, according to a 2020 report from the Hartford Religious Research Institute.
In context: For several centuries many congregations were segregated between those serving white people and those serving black people.
- Some of the white churches were even linked to pro-slavery movements, and several churches for black believers were formed in response. Figures like Martin Luther King Jr. came to lament those divisions; The leader in the struggle for civil rights even said in 1960 that one of the American tragedies "is that eleven o'clock on Sunday morning is one of the most segregated hours."
- Latino Protestant and evangelical churches are newer, so they don't have that track record.
Yes, but: Beyond the diversity in Protestant churches and temples, the greatest growth in religious beliefs in the United States is not having them: those who say they do not practice any religion, be agnostic or be atheist have increased.
- "The Catholic Church is losing members [in the U.S.], including Latinos. But it's more because Latinos, like other Americans, are disenrolling," Deckman said.
2. How Biden seeks to appeal to Latino voters
U.S. President Joe Biden is preparing to run for re-election in 2024 seeking to reverse the decimated support of Latinos for Democrats, Democratic officials tell Axios reporter Sophia Cai.
- To this end, the party is developing strategies that have already paid off to mobilize Hispanic voters in the 2022 midterm elections.
Why it matters: For Democrats, it is key to maintain the Hispanic support that the party has historically had, but that has been declining especially since the 2018 legislative elections. Latinos are the youngest and fastest-growing demographic in the U.S.; That makes them important voters now and in the future.
News boost: Biden's team indicated that one of its focuses will be on attracting Latino voters in late April, when it named Julie Chavez Rodriguez as campaign manager. She has been in charge of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and is the granddaughter of labor rights leader Cesar Chavez.
Illustration by: Shoshana Gordon/Axios. Photos by: Lawrence Jackson/Office of the President of the United States and Alex Wong/Getty Images
Up close: Democratic officials say they will focus especially on Latino populations in Arizona, Nevada and Pennsylvania, politically divided states where strong Latino turnout can make a difference, especially for the presidential race. Georgia and North Carolina will also be major targets.
- The Democratic National Committee plans to spend millions of dollars of campaign funds on bilingual ads narrated by people with different accents, a committee official said.
- Bootcamp-style trainings on how to campaign will also be organized with bilingual Democratic officials across the United States, and will work closely with Hispanic groups at the party's state headquarters and with electoral mobilization groups such as Latino Victory and Voto Latino.
- Biden's campaign will also collaborate with volunteer groups focused on specific communities, such as Cubans with Biden, Venezuelans with Biden, and Colombians with Biden.
3. What's next in Ecuador after the 'cross death'?
Specialists say that in these days political instability could deepen in reaction to the fact that President Guillermo Lasso dissolved the National Assembly on Wednesday when he faced a possible impeachment.
In short: Lasso was on trial for alleged embezzlement of public funds, which he denies committing. The president had suggested that he would resort to the constitutional tool nicknamed cross-death, created at the beginning of the twenty-first century and that allows presidents to call early elections (both legislative and presidential) in cases of crisis during the first three years of their mandate.
- Lasso made use of that power early Wednesday, when he argued that there was a strong "internal commotion" and a "desire for destabilization" that justified it. He said that in this way the Ecuadorian people will have "the power to decide their future in the next elections."
- Those elections must take place no later than August 20, the National Electoral Council decided Thursday. In them Lasso will also compete to complete his mandate, which would end in 2025.
What happens in Ecuador after President Guillermo Lasso's decision to dissolve Congress?
May 18, 202301:46
With Lasso's decision "There may even be a constitutional crisis," writes Sebastián Hurtado, president of Ecuadorian risk consultancy Prófitas, in Americas Quarterly magazine. There are pending requests for the Constitutional Court to review Lasso's decree.
- Although Hurtado adds that "over time, with the new elections, there may be a new balance."
- Will Freeman, a fellow for Latin America at the Council on Foreign Relations research group, points out that for many Ecuadorians the Assembly was even less popular than Lasso is. Therefore, "although his move is seen as something he really did just to stay in power despite what he argues, almost no one is saddened by the dissolution" of the legislature, Freeman tells Axios Latino.
- For example, Freeman said the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) has not called for demonstrations or marches this week even though it did hold mass protests against the Lasso government last year. Freeman said CONAIE may be able to "threaten marches" if it wants to rein in Lasso, who could govern by decree until the August election.
In his own words: "What we see in Ecuador is a new example of what has been happening throughout Latin America, with democracies being put under pressure," Brian Winter, a political researcher at the Council of the Americas (ASCOA), tells Axios Latino.
- "What follows is very unpredictable because Ecuador has never been through this before," he added.
4. A boost to Latino judges at the federal level
The U.S. Senate this week confirmed Brad Nelson Garcia as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the U.S. Circuit of Washington DC.
Garcia is the first Latino candidate confirmed for that influential court, where several cases have first passed and end up in the Supreme Court.
Overview: Garcia was nominated to the post as part of a push by the Joe Biden administration to appoint more Latino justices.
Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios
Details: Counting Garcia, 27 Hispanic justices have been confirmed to be federal judges during the Biden Administration, according to the White House.
- That figure is more than double the 12 Latino federal judges appointed and confirmed during the previous presidency of Donald Trump (2016-2020).
- There were 37 Latino federal judges confirmed during Barack Obama's two terms (2008-2016).
Notably: Later Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will review two more Latino nominations.
- They are Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez, nominated to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and Judge Ana de Alba to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
- Ramirez, if confirmed, will be the first Hispanic on that court. De Alba would be the fourth Hispanic in her circuit.
- "According to reports, with those two nominations, this administration has already appointed more Latinas to appellate courts than any other. That three such nominations already break a record is a shameful indication of the long road we still have to travel," Thomas A. Saenz, MALDEF's president and general counsel, said in a statement.
5. Summary of key news in Latin America and the Caribbean
1. Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro testified this week in a case against him about falsifying COVID-19 vaccination records, and denied knowing if there was false information in his card.
- The investigation is looking for those responsible for making unsanctioned adjustments to the country's health records late last year, shortly before Bolsonaro traveled to the United States to live temporarily in Florida.
- The former president repeatedly dismissed the medical evidence on immunizations, but back then in order to enter the U.S. it was a requirement to have the COVID vaccine.
'They will pay dearly': Bukele deploys thousands of officers to catch those who killed a policeman
May 18, 202300:20
2. More than 5,000 soldiers and 500 police surrounded a small town in El Salvador following the murder of a federal policeman, allegedly searching for the culprit.
- Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele declared a policy of raids and mass incarceration a year ago in the fight against gangs. It has arrested tens of thousands of suspects, despite warnings that innocent people are ending up in prison as well.
6. 🪅 Thursday of Pachanga
Every Thursday we publish our Pachanga to highlight readers' achievements. If you've just celebrated an anniversary, adopted a pet, or had a job success and want to celebrate, send mail and photo to axioslatino@axios.com
Congratulations to Vivian Nava-Schellinger. A friend of hers wrote to tell us that Nava recently started a new job as director of diversity, equity, inclusion and community impact at the SCAN Foundation.
Photo courtesy of Yesenia Chavez. Background illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios
- The SCAN Foundation is dedicated to helping older adults access health and other services.
- Nava was previously director of national and community partnerships at the National Council on Aging.
Thanks for reading! We returned on Tuesday.
If you want to share your experiences or send us suggestions and comments, send an email to axioslatino@axios.com.
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