National Council of La Raza Says Parties Ignore Latinos

A national Latino group Monday criticized both major political parties for ignoring the Latino vote, contending that persons of Spanish heritage “are virtually invisible” in the Republican and Democratic presidential campaign organizations and on their platform committees.

The National Council of La Raza said in a report that neither President Bush nor his Democratic opponent, Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton, has addressed issues of special interest to Latinos or “has made more than one appearance at a major Hispanic conference or convention.”

The White House reacted immediately by calling a news briefing to report that Bush has filled about 280 positions with Latino appointees, more than any other Administration. About 120 of these positions, or 43%, have been filled with Latino women, the White House said.

“President Bush’s record on Hispanic appointments is second to none,” said White House aide Constance Horner. “His commitment is strong at every level of the government.”

A spokesman for the Clinton campaign said a Latino, Jose Villareal, is deputy campaign manager and a member of the governor’s senior campaign staff. Villareal plays an active role in discussions of strategy and issues, the aide said, adding that Clinton’s plans to improve the nation’s economy are intended to benefit Latinos as well as other groups.

La Raza is a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group that claims to be the largest constituency-based organization representing Latinos.

“Neither President Bush nor Gov. Clinton has even attempted to articulate a vision of how his Administration would respond to our community’s interests,” La Raza President Raul Yzaguirre said. “Any candidate that seeks our community’s votes must address our issues.”

The report said that “notwithstanding some improvements during the Bush Administration, Hispanics are still underrepresented among federal appointees, particularly among those with significant policy-making or funding authority.”

La Raza said Latinos represent more than 9% of the nation’s population. They made up 8% of the Democratic platform committee (2 of 26 persons) and less than 5% of the Republican platform panel (5 of 107), the organization said.

In addition, Latinos make up only 5% of the paid staff of the Clinton campaign and about 1% of the Bush reelection campaign staff, the report said. There is only one Latino member of the Clinton senior staff and none among the senior staff of the Bush campaign, it added.