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Welcome. Axios Latino is the newsletter that summarizes the key news for Latino communities throughout the hemisphere every Tuesday and Thursday. You can subscribe by clicking
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1. The topic to highlight: The entrepreneurial spirit
Last year, immigrants started new businesses in the United States at a rate more than twice the rate of businesses opened by people born in the country, according to an analysis.
Why it matters:
This entrepreneurial spirit is an avenue to a better financial situation for many immigrants, especially those who are not yet citizens. In addition, they support the economic growth of the United States.
Despite this reality, in this election season ahead of the November vote there is a lot of anti-immigrant rhetoric, including claims by some candidates that people who migrate to the United States only drain the country's resources.
Data: Report "Indicator of Entrepreneurial Activity, 2023" by Robert Fairlie. Graphic: Axios Visuals
Up Close
: Latinos also have much higher rates of newly established business ownership than any other racial or ethnic group in the United States, according to University of California, Los Angeles economist Robert Fairlie's analysis of federal labor statistics and data from the census.
An average of 350 out of every 100,000 adults in the United States (or 0.35% of the adult population) created a new business each month in 2023, according to the data.
That figure was 0.6% for Latinos, or 600 Latinos out of every 100,000 who opened businesses each month last year.
While the figure was 0.34% for black entrepreneurs; 0.31% for Asian Americans, and 0.28% for non-Hispanic white Americans.
Immigrants had the highest rate: 0.67% created a new business each month last year. The data is not broken down by ancestry or race.
In their own words
: Many immigrants start businesses out of necessity, but the entrepreneurial spirit is also rooted in their identities, according to Gustavo Suarez, founder and executive director of Trez, a platform for managing payroll focused on Latino companies in the United States.
When immigrants come to the United States, they already have "some kind of mentality of wanting to improve their lives, of wanting something better, of wanting to make an impact," Suarez says.
2. A new Latinidad indicator in the Census
The US Census Bureau confirmed this Thursday that it will change how it asks the question about racial or ethnic identification, creating a category in which Hispanicity or Latinidad will be considered a race/ethnicity in the hope of better counting the diverse Latino communities.
Why it matters
: The change, which was announced as tentative last year before going through a public comment period, has been criticized by some who say it could cause confusion.
This is because Latinos can be of any race. Some specialists told Axios Latino last year that Afro-Latinos or Latinos of Asian descent may now be confused about which box to fill out, although in theory they will be able to select more than one.
But other specialists believe that it could help to even better identify the total numbers of Hispanics in the US, with important consequences given how that count is used to distribute budget or congressional seats.
To wit:
Currently, federal forms first ask if someone is Hispanic or Latino, followed by what their race is. Now the questions will be combined into one: “What is your race or ethnicity?”
The change will be implemented over 18 months to clarify to the public how to answer the question.
It is the first adjustment to the racial/ethnic component of the demographic statistical process since 1997, the Office of Management and Budget, which oversees the Census, said Thursday.
In a statement, the agency said that they received and reviewed more than 20,000 comments and that 94 public consultations were held in addition to three virtual forums.
The new category
also includes a newly created box for people specifically from the Middle East or North Africa. Such that those who answer will be able to say if they are a person:
indigenous to the americas or native of alaska
asian
black or African American
Hispanic or Latina
from the Middle East or North Africa
native of Hawaii or other Pacific Islander
white
The tip:
Under each box there will also be a space to provide more details.
For example, under the Hispanic or Latino identity box, you can specify whether you are of Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, or other ancestry.
In his own words:
Domingo Garcia, national president of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), says the change will be for the better by making it easier for more Latinos to self-identify as such in a single category.
García believes that the percentage of people who respond who are Hispanic or Latino could increase by up to 10 percentage points by 2030, "reflecting what is seen in school districts or in the payrolls of workers reported in many industries."
2. The weight of the Baltimore bridge tragedy
[Follow breaking coverage of this topic]
The situation exposes the key role that migrant workers play in the US labor market, as well as some of the risks they face in these types of jobs, according to immigrant advocacy groups.
Big picture:
The lives of these six individuals are a reminder of the often invisible care that immigrants provide to our cities and communities every day,” the group United We Dream said in a statement yesterday.
To wit
: The crew with Latino workers was operating during the night and early morning hours to fix potholes on Interstate 695, which includes the bridge crossing. They were unable to evacuate in time after a cargo ship collided with the structure and it began to wobble.
So far, the bodies of two of the six people who are presumed to have died in the collapse of the Francisco Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday morning have been recovered. All six are originally from Mexico and Central America.
The bodies recovered are those of Dorlian Castillo Cabrera, a 26-year-old Guatemalan, and Alejandro Hernández Fuentes, 35 years old and who was identified as Mexican by authorities.
Three of the other
known victims – who have not been found – are Miguel Luna, a 49-year-old Salvadoran; José López, 35-year-old Honduran; and Maynor Suazo, 38 and originally from western Honduras.
A seventh person, of Mexican descent, was also working on the bridge but was rescued and hospitalized after the collapse, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Wednesday.
In his own words
: “We want them to be found to repatriate my brother's body to Honduras [...] We hope that they will take action on the matter and not let the case be forgotten,” said Martín Suazo, brother of Maynor Suazo. , to Noticias Telemundo.
4. Minor leagues introduce more Hispanic identities
A record number of Minor League Baseball teams in the United States will join this year the so-called Copa de la Diversión, a series that seeks to attract the Hispanic public and in which the teams temporarily change their name and mascot to honor their characteristics. Latinas from their cities.
Current situation
: This will be the seventh season of the Copa de la Diversión. There will be 98 teams that in some of this year's games will use their Latin-inspired identities.
The Midland RockHounds team will be Midland Amigos for the Cup.Courtesy of Midland RockHounds.
Of those 98, five will compete in the cup for the first time. Three others changed their Latin name for this edition.
In total, 80% of the minor league teams now participate in the special cup.
Background
: In 2017, the Minor Leagues introduced the It's Fun to Be a Fan campaign, which saw four teams change their names to better reflect the area's Latino communities. For example, Las Vegas 51 became Las Vegas Reyes de Plata.
The program became the Copa de la Diversión the following year, with 33 teams participating.
Before the pandemic, games designated as part of the Cup attracted 20% more fans than other games, according to the league.
5. Summary of key news in Latin America and the Caribbean
1. In total 45 Ecuadorian mayors
have requested police protection in the last year, according to what the Association of Ecuadorian Municipalities informed Reuters.
The data was shared a week after the murder of Brigitte García, who at 27 years old was the youngest mayor of the South American nation. Garcia's death is under investigation.
Ecuador is in a declared internal conflict to combat criminal groups that have grown in recent years through associations with Mexican and Albanian cartels.
2. Venezuelan authorities
cut power to the Argentine embassy in Caracas on Monday, according to diplomats who said Buenos Aires will send more security forces to monitor the embassy.
Six members of the Venezuelan opposition — including Magalli Meda, the campaign director of opposition presidential candidate María Corina Machado — are receiving refuge in the diplomatic delegation. This is because the Venezuelan regime ordered their arrest for unproven accusations that they have conspired to supposedly "destabilize" the country.
Another Venezuelan dissident facing similar charges was kidnapped and murdered in Santiago, Chile last month.
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
Congratulations to author Ricardo José González-Rothi, who tells us that he has just received a very good review in his upcoming book, a memoir.
Courtesy photo. Background Illustration by Axios Visuals
The book is titled
The Mango Chronicle
, and will go on sale next month.
González-Rothi talks about growing up in Cuba in the 1950s and his subsequent experiences moving to the United States and being a child in an era disrupted by nuclear crises.
Thanks for reading us! We return on Tuesday.
And thanks to Carlos Cunha, Bruno García Gallo, and Alison Snyder for editing and helping proofread.
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?
Opening paths on the catwalks: Latinos who are giving something to talk about in fashion
They denounce the attempts of US candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to use nostalgia to seek the support of Latinos
Mexico City is running out of water and many are forced to ration it