Cisneros’ Fall a Sour Note in ’88 Politics

1988 was supposed to be an inspiring political year for this nation’s fast-growing Latino population. But it is turning out to be a year of disillusionment instead.

It’s bad enough that the two major presidential campaigns are doing little to bring out Latino voters or address the issues that concern them--beyond media events designed to show that Michael Dukakis speaks Spanish and George Bush has half-Latino grandchildren. Now Latinos must face a scandal that is bringing down the star of national Latino politics, Henry Cisneros, mayor of San Antonio, Tex.

That story began to unfold last week when the popular mayor confirmed persistent rumors that he had had an extramarital affair. Cisneros, who had already announced that he would not run for reelection next year and was withdrawing from public life, apologized to the people of San Antonio if his personal problems had embarrassed their city. But he pointed out that “human beings just aren’t made of plastic and wiring and metal. They are made of flesh and blood and feelings.”

Cisneros’ admission was dignified and courageous, especially considering the fact his image had been virtually untarnished since he first burst onto the national scene in 1981. But his downfall pains Latino activists who saw him as their first leader who could transcend ethnic politics and appeal to a cross section of Americans. Handsome and smart, Cisneros was the Latino who could run for President someday.

But sad as Cisneros’ situation is, I’m not sure it should worry the rest of us. And the same goes for the sterile campaigns being run by Bush and Dukakis. Both reflect realities of political life in this country that Latinos must learn and accept if they are ever to play a viable role in this nation’s decision-making process.

The obvious lesson is that political leaders are human, not heroes or saints, and prone to human frailties. The other is that national political campaigns these days are based less on issues than on images. That not only frustrates the average voter; even powerful institutions like the news media have a hard time breaking through the elaborate facades put up by campaign managers and media consultants.

Many Latinos still don’t understand this, witness the “demands” made by a coalition of Chicano groups called Impacto ’88 that called a press conference this week to complain that George Bush and Michael Dukakis are ignoring Latino issues. Impacto ’88 includes organizations that joined together last year (at the urging of Cisneros, among others) to draft a “Hispanic Agenda” to be presented to the presidential candidates. The document they came up with is a series of admirable, if generalized, concerns lumped together under the theme of “Hispanic family values.”

Impacto ’88 leaders are right when they complain that little has been heard about the “Hispanic Agenda.” Unfortunately, Cisneros is in no position now to be arguing on behalf of family values. So all that the Impacto ’88 leaders could do was demand a third debate between Dukakis and Bush where Latino issues could be discussed. These well-meaning activists should not hold their breath waiting for a reply from either candidate.

The attitude of Impacto ’88 leaders may be presumptuous, but it is not their fault alone. Ever since a brewery decided to promote its beer among Latino consumers by declaring the 1980s the “Decade of the Hispanic,” many Latino activists have accepted that fanciful notion as a given rather than a goal. We in the news media have fed this sense of self-importance. Pundits who normally dismiss the Mexican-American vote as too small to make a difference in a national contest have been saying that it could be a deciding factor in a close race between Dukakis and Bush. But if Bush’s wide lead in public opinion polls holds up on Election Day, how Latinos vote for President probably won’t make much difference. Then what?

I, for one, hope that Latinos apply themselves more to the gritty, day-to-day work of local politics rather than national campaigns. And instead of focusing on charismatic individuals like Cisneros, they should look to their own resources.

After all, Cisneros might never have become mayor of San Antonio if lots of unpublicized spade work had not be done by other Chicanos first--through the many voter-registration drives conducted by the Southwest Voter Registration and Education Project, and the grass-roots organizing done by Communities Organized for Public Service (COPS), which trained hundreds of Texas Chicanos in how local politics works. Both were so successful in San Antonio that they spread to California, spawning groups like the United Neighborhoods Organization of East Los Angeles.

These grass-roots efforts quietly focus on unglamorous local issues rather than national politics. But I have yet to learn of a more effective tool for stimulating political activity by the average person. At a time when Americans of all ethnic backgrounds feel frustrated by an inability to affect political decisions, the persistence of groups like COPS and UNO is proof that effective political leaders can be found in our own homes and neighborhoods, if we are willing to look for them there rather than on a pedestal somewhere.