For some time, a group of Democrats from El Barrio have been complaining about the treatment they receive from their party.
The group, which includes district leaders Yolanda Sánchez and Félix Rosado, are demanding a space within the party; space that includes more power on the issues concerning their community.
“We don’t have power,” said Rosado, an aspiring candidate to the state senate, “because the political structure has prevented us from having it.” Sánchez and Rosado, along with the director of ASPIRA (the ASPIRA Association Inc. is a national nonprofit organization devoted to the education and leadership development of Puerto Rican and other Latino youth), Héctor Gesualdo, the director of PRdream (Puerto Rican Dream), Judith Escalona, and consultant Alice Cardona, agreed that the Hispanic community does not receive their portion of governmental funds that are allocated to community organizations.
According to Rosado, the Democratic Party leadership ignores Latinos, “their most important electorate base in New York.” Gesualdo added that 51% of Latino students attend schools that have been graded as the worst in the city. The exclusion of Hispanic businesses in the development zones or “empowerment zones” that receive government funds to promote economic development was also cited by the activists as a reflection of the community’s lack of power.
According to Cardona, the issue of redrawing electoral districts, which caused a large controversy because it supposedly did not represent the real growth of the Hispanic community, is a reflection of the silencing of Latinos in decision-making.
The activists said they have requested a meeting with Terry McAuliffe, the party leader at the national level, in order to discuss the situation.
Other democrats, like Senator Olga Méndez, have opted to switch to the Republican Party as an answer to the alleged indifference of the Democrats.
However, at this time, the majority of Latinos continue to be Democrats, including this group of activists that hope to reform from within the functioning of the party of Bill Clinton.
In New York City there are five registered Democrats for every Republican. In spite of the fact that they represent an overwhelming majority, Democrats have not been able to win mayoral or gubernatorial elections in the city for more than eight years.
