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Axios Latino is the newsletter that summarizes the key news for Latino communities throughout the hemisphere every Tuesday and Thursday.
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1. The topic to highlight: Fears of more hate crimes are growing
U.S. Latino activists and political leaders are concerned that increasingly harsh rhetoric about migrants — especially from candidates like Donald Trump and his supporters — will contribute to a further rise in hate crimes against people of Latino origin in the U.S.
Why it matters:
The alerts grow as the November elections approach, with campaigns in several states that demonize migrants while proposals for immigration policy and border security have stalled in the federal Congress, and when it is estimated that this year the Delays in immigration courts will mean that 8 million asylum seekers and other migrants seeking to stay in the United States remain in suspense.
Current situation:
Hate crimes against Latinos reached record levels in 2022, the most recent year for which national statistics are available and a time when conspiracy theories began to grow that speak of an alleged "replacement policy" promoted by white nationalists and far-right groups.
Reports of hate crimes against Latinos in the United States reached 738 in 2022, an increase 21% greater than two years earlier, according to FBI data.
The FBI plans to release figures for 2023 until the end of this year, but increases in these crimes have already been reported in several cities.
Context
: Among the rhetoric that worries activists are statements such as those of Trump, who in December said that migrants are "poisoning the blood" of the country, echoing a phrase that appears in the writings of Adolf Hitler.
Tribute to Javier Amir Rodríguez, victim of a racist armed attack in El Paso, Texas, in 2019Mario Tama/Getty Images
In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott (Republican) has said there is an alleged "invasion" in his state, and has installed barbed wire and buoys on Texas' land and sea border with Mexico.
Federal Representative Joaquín Castro
(D-Texas) announced that for this Thursday – when President Joe Biden will give his State of the Union report – he will attend the event in the company of a widow, whose Mexican husband was murdered in a case considered a hate crime.
Castro said the invitation to Priscilla Martínez de Forney, from Texas, is to draw attention to the case.
Rancher Aaron Martínez, the woman's husband, was murdered in May 2023 by a neighbor who had previously harassed the family.
Castro attributed the killing to "years of irresponsible rhetoric" by Abbott, Trump and other politicians, accusing them of "demonizing immigrants, promoting racist conspiracy theories about Latinos and inciting right-wing violence."
Between the lines:
Data from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino campus, show that since 2016 hate crimes against Latinos have increased in correlation with comments made by Trump or after news reports about Latino or migrant communities.
For example, hate crimes against Latinos skyrocketed by more than 50% in July 2018 compared to the previous month, when the Trump Administration's family separation policy was at its peak.
Beyond
: Along with Castro's invitation for Martínez de Forney to Biden's briefing tonight, Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) invited activist Tina Cordova.
Cordova has been fighting for years for reparations for Latino and indigenous residents of New Mexico who lived and live near where the first atomic test (nicknamed Trinity and part of the Manhattan Project directed by Robert Oppenheimer) was exploded.
Although there is a law to compensate those exposed to radiation in other nuclear tests, that legislation has never included the Trinity victims in New Mexico.
2. University dropout rates decrease
The percentage of Latino college students in the United States who said they considered dropping out in 2023 dropped significantly from the previous year, a new Gallup analysis shows.
Why it matters
: The reduction in possible dropout rates indicates that the situation is improving for Latino students in American universities, after some years in which enrollment of several racial and ethnic groups fell.
It should be noted that in the United States, Latino and black students have made great progress in obtaining bachelor's degrees, but non-Hispanic white students continue to have much higher numbers of people who can afford to graduate.
The data from the new analysis can help those who make public policies and are involved in education issues see why these disparities continue, says Courtney Brown, vice president for planning at the Lumina Foundation, a US organization focused on making The university is accessible to everyone.
[They distribute free resources to avoid school dropouts]
By the numbers:
About a thousand Hispanic students enrolled in US universities participated in the recent Gallup survey for the Lumina Foundation.
Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios
42% of these Latinos surveyed said they considered dropping out of college in 2023, compared to 52% who said the same in 2022.
40% of black participants said they considered dropping out in 2023. The figure was 31% among white students.
Gallup said it was not able to compile enough data to report on the status of polling for students of Asian descent or Alaska Native/Indigenous students.
Up close:
The majority of students who said they did consider dropping out of school indicated that it was due to issues of emotional stress due to classes or funding.
A quarter of Hispanic students who responded that they had considered dropping out also cited feeling like they didn't belong in the college environment they were in as a reason;
It was the demographic group surveyed with the highest figure in this area.
In their own words:
"We estimate that one in three students is at risk of leaving and perhaps never returning," says Stephanie Marken, executive director of educational research at Gallup.
Marken adds that while the rate of Hispanic and black students thinking about dropping out of college improved last year, the fact that it is much higher than that of white students "shows a red flag when thinking about ways to keep the achievements of those populations".
3. Diversity with success in Hollywood
Hollywood films released in theaters had the highest proportion ever of people of diverse demographics in front of and behind the cameras in 2023, according to a report from the University of California, Los Angeles campus.
News impulse
: The annual report on diversity in Hollywood is released days before the Oscar ceremony this Sunday, which will precisely reward the best of 2023.
In all acting categories there are diverse nominees, including Latinos such as Colman Domingo (for lead actor in
Rustin
) and America Ferrera (for supporting actress in
Barbie
).
There is also a Latin presence in categories such as best film —David Hinojosa, as one of the producers of
Vidas Pasadas
— and Rodrigo Prieto for the cinematography of
Asesinos de la luna.
By the numbers
: Artists of Latino or Latin American descent have long been underrepresented in Hollywood-produced films and television, despite being major contributors to box office revenue and major subscribers to streaming
services
.
The UCLA report highlights that in 2023, Latinos still had a smaller proportion of roles in front of and behind the cameras compared to their weight in the US population.
But there was progress: the protagonists of five of the 10 highest-grossing films worldwide were Latino;
There were four screenwriters of Latin descent behind some of the highest-grossing films, and also four Latin directors responsible for some of the 200 highest-grossing English-language films of 2023.
Big picture:
About a quarter (26.4%) of last year's top-grossing English-language Hollywood films featured casts where at least half of the actors were from diverse demographics.
It's the highest proportion of diverse casts since UCLA began documenting its annual report in 2011.
The proportion of theatrically released films whose scripts were written by people who were Latino, Black, Asian, or of Middle Eastern origin was 22.2%, and that by diverse directors was 22.9%, which are also the highest percentages recorded since UCLA records the information.
Between the lines:
The UCLA report also notes that audiences, both in the United States and internationally, identify with films that have diverse casts.
Nine of the 10 most viewed films worldwide had a cast where at least 30% of the actors and actresses came from demographically diverse communities.
4. Latin expansion of the Sundance Festival
The Sundance Institute and the Mexican cinema chain Cinépolis announced last week a new milestone: the Sundance Film Festival in CDMX.
General overview
: It is the first expansion of the well-known American festival into Latin American territory, as it already has satellite editions in London and Taipei.
The announcement of the expansion comes after several films with a Latin focus were successful at the festival, including
In the Summers
—which won the main prize, stars René Pérez Joglar (known as Residente) and was directed by Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio.
The films Sujo,
by Mexican filmmakers Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez, and the documentary Frida
also won awards
.
The current director of programming at the festival is Eugene Hernandez, of Mexican-American origin.
To look out for:
The inaugural Sundance Film Festival CDMX will take place April 25-28.
5. Summary of key news
1.
The presidential elections in Venezuela
will be this July 28, as announced this week by the National Electoral Council.
That leaves less time for campaigning than agreed last year by the opposition and Nicolás Maduro's regime, which had discussed holding the presidential and legislative vote towards the end of 2024.
It implies that the opposition candidate, María Corina Machado, will have little time to continue challenging a controversial disqualification that seeks to prevent her from running.
July 28 is the birthday of former President Hugo Chávez.
Maduro was one of Chávez's right-hand men before becoming president.
2.
The trial against
Juan Orlando Hernández
, president of Honduras between 2014 and 2022, is about to conclude;
He faces charges of engaging in drug trafficking while in power.
Hernández is accused in a United States federal court, the same one where his brother Tony was sentenced in 2021 on the same charges.
Hernández took the stand to testify this Wednesday, when the final arguments of the prosecution and the defense were also presented.
Now a jury must deliberate whether to find the former president guilty or not.
Pachanga Thursday
Every Thursday we publish our Pachanga to highlight reader achievements.
If you or someone you know has just celebrated an anniversary, adopted a pet, or had a job success and wants to celebrate, send an email with information and a photo to
axioslatino@axios.com
Photos by Rachel Manning Photography.
Background Illustration by Axios Visuals
Today we celebrate Christina Kelmon and Ann Dunning as they have made their skincare line, Vamigas, available for purchase at Target, Whole Foods, Nordstrom, and many other major retailers in the United States.
Dunning says Vamigas is the only Latina-owned skin care line aimed at Latina consumers that makes its products with naturally derived ingredients.
Thanks for reading us!
We return on Tuesday.
And thanks to Carlos Cunha, Eulimar Núñez and Alison Snyder for editing and helping review.
If you want to share your experiences with us or send us suggestions and comments, send an email to
axioslatino@axios.com
.
Do you want to read any of the previous editions?
Activists warn of the risk that the right to abortion runs in Latin America after the “setback” suffered in the United States
“It's been pretty popular”: Why Latino Protestants are embracing ideas of white Christian nationalism
How newly arrived migrants in the US contribute to reducing inflation
Groups seek to prevent artificial intelligence from being used to misinform about the US elections