📢 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 topic to highlight: Adjustments in the Uvalde police
An expert tells Axios Latino that, a year after the shooting at Uvalde's Robb Elementary School, Texas police are better equipped to deal with active attackers, having learned from the so-called "abject failure" of the May 2022 police response.
- But others are skeptical, insisting that not enough has been done to hold the police accountable.
Overview: Nearly 400 officers from local, state and federal agencies were part of the police response to the May 24, 2022, shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers.
- The officers who entered the school were there for more than an hour before shooting the attacker to death, sparking investigations into their actions and exhortations from the victims' families to clarify why they did not act.
Pete Blair, the executive director of the Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center (ALERRT), tells Axios reporter Keldy Ortiz that the organization has received more funding since Uvalde and that a new law to make it mandatory to take 16 hours of police training at the center will strengthen future actions.
- ALERRT has been providing courses on how to act in active shooting cases for 20 years to agents in Texas and other states. But before, it wasn't mandatory for all Texas officers to receive the training; some who responded to the attack in Uvalde had not had such training.
- "I think it's a very good step to make sure the police are competent to respond to these events," Blair says of making training mandatory for all officers. "I think with this we are in a better situation."
Photo illustration by Allie Carl/Axios. Photo: Brandon Bell, Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images
- The law, which takes effect Sept. 1, will also require all state officials to take the course again every two years.
Yes, but: Democratic lawmakers say most measures to hold police accountable have been ignored. For example, although the school district's police chief was fired, nearly all of the officers involved are still employed, according to a Washington Post investigation.
- Democrats also criticize that there was never room for discussion of accountability bills, such as one to require police officers to take out liability insurance with which victims would be compensated if it is determined that not enough was done to stop an attacker.
2. How to strengthen schools after Uvalde
Texas lawmakers are discussing measures they say will make schools safer this week marking one year since the Uvalde shooting. However, they have not debated proposals for greater control of the sale or carrying of weapons as requested by the relatives of the victims.
News boost: The measures under discussion would give school workers incentives to carry guns on campuses, require frequent school safety inspections and make mental health care training mandatory for teachers to give to students.
- These proposals respond to the fact that in Uvalde the attacker entered through a door that did not have a key. Funding would also be given to students who say they have to transfer to a school in another school district because their schools don't meet safety standards.
- The state Legislature has already sent one of its bills to Gov. Greg Abbott for approval. This is a measure to make it mandatory to install panic buttons in classrooms.
Photo illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios. Photos by Jordan Vonderhaar/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Overview: Republican lawmakers who control the legislature have reacted much like those in other states after a mass shooting, seeking to harden schools against potential gun attacks rather than addressing the possibility of an armed attack by restricting gun laws, writes Axios reporter Asher Price.
- They had already done the same after a school shooting in Houston in 2018, at Santa Fe High School, in which 10 people died.
- In 2019, the state Legislature created a $100 million grant program to fund school safety improvements.
3. Education leaders warn of the biggest student challenge
Raquel Martinez this year became the first Latina to be president-elect of the National Association of Secondary School Principals, a more than 100-year-old organization that also coordinates the National Honor Society of the United States. In an interview, he says the most pressing issue facing Latino students and educators is mental health.
Current situation: Young Americans who identify as multiracial or Hispanic had especially high levels of distress and suicidal ideation in 2021, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios
- Martinez is principal of a high school in Pasco, Washington, where 55% of the population is Hispanic. He says students at his school experience high levels of stress and that some are too depressed to leave their rooms.
- He adds that both teachers and families in the community are overwhelmed, and surveys show that many school administrators are thinking about changing careers because of stress.
- "This is something that has been happening since before COVID-19, but it has certainly been exacerbated since the pandemic, especially among our students," says Martinez. She says she notices it especially acute among Hispanic students at her school since they are usually, as Martinez herself is, children of immigrant workers and are learning English at the same time as their other subjects, which is overwhelming on top of other typical school concerns such as bullying or classes.
- "My hope is that as president of the association I can elevate the voices of principals like me and that we can also highlight what makes our students unique and unique so that we can have a positive impact on them," she says.
Between the lines: According to the CDC, one reason for the increase in mental health difficulties reported by young people is a lack of "school connection," which the health agency describes as being able to feel close to other students or supported by school administrators and teachers.
- The U.S. Surgeon General also issued a warning this week about social media use and its impact on children's mental health.
- Previous studies have found that teen and college-aged Latinos are less likely to receive treatment for mental health issues, possibly due to a cultural stigma around seeking care.
What to see: There are several startups that could help by developing wellness tools designed for people in schools and for Latinos.
- For example, Martinez says her school uses Hazel Health, a telehealth provider contracted by her school to give students free therapy.
- Sanarai is another option, an online mental health platform with Spanish-language therapists. And Flourish Labs has a program called peers.net in which students (including Latinos) are trained to give peer counseling.
4. A small victory for LGBTQ+ rights in Mexico
Mexico last week issued its first passports with a non-binary gender designation, something hailed as a victory for LGBTQ+ rights in the country by those who received the document.
News boost: Passports have an X instead of the M or F in the biological sex field of identification. They were awarded on May 17 on the same day to Ociel Baena in Mexico City and to Erik Olmos and Miguel Orozco at the consulate in Houston.
Ociel Baena in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on May 17, 2023Courtesy of Ociel Baena
- Baena tells Axios Latino that getting the document felt like a big step forward: "I think for our LGBTI+ population it's a historic achievement. For the non-binary population it is even more so because the passport is a globally recognized document."
- In March, Baena was also the first Mexican person to obtain his INE, or voter credential that serves as the most important ID document in the country, with a field that recognizes his non-binary identification.
Yes, but: Baena points out that being the first person to get those IDs shows how much remains to be done.
- "Few people have access to these documents," he says. For example, to get a birth certificate that recognizes gender identification in almost all Mexican states you have to file an amparo, which involves going before a judge to ask for it and is granted only on a case-by-case basis.
Overview: Acceptance of LGBTQ+ people and respect for their rights has been slowly increasing in Latin America.
- Mexico is now the fourth nation in the Americas (and 17th in the world) to issue passports with non-binary or gender-neutral options. Argentina did so in 2021, and Colombia and the United States followed last year.
- In the last year in Chile, the first equal marriages were also carried out and the rights of same-sex couples to adopt were recognized.
- But the region remains incredibly dangerous for LGBTQ+ people, who were victims of 377 homicides — more than one per day — in 2021, according to the latest available data from the Regional LGBT Violence Information Network coalition.
5. Summary of key news in Latin America and the Caribbean
1. The money laundering trial against Ricardo Martinelli, former Panamanian president, began this week. He was absent arguing that he was still recovering from surgery.
Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios
- Martinelli, who denies the charges, was extradited to Panama from the United States in mid-2018 to face money laundering and other espionage charges. The espionage trial closed in 2019 with his exoneration.
2. Brazil finalizes preparations to host a summit of South American leaders to be held next Tuesday. It was convened as part of the regional integration plans promoted by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
- Brazil's Foreign Ministry said Wednesday the intention is to find common ground among all South American leaders, regardless of their political leanings.
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
We congratulate Charlene Aguilera because she just graduated from George Washington University with a master's degree in International Affairs. Aguilera, 23, already works as a policy adviser on the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and is part of the team of Nanette Barragán, a Democratic representative from California.
Photo courtesy of Desiree Kennedy. Photo illustration by Axios Visuals
- Our readers who nominated her for space tell us that Aguilera hopes to one day work for the State Department analyzing policies to support U.S. diplomatic relations around the world.
- We already look forward to seeing what else you'll accomplish, Charlene.
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.
Do you want to read any of the previous editions?
One year on: How have gun laws changed after the Uvalde shooting?
What are Biden's plans to win back Latino voters?
How Latin American leaders bet on lithium, the so-called 'white gold'