The Elian Saga Exposes Deep Differences Among Latinos in the U.S.

Across the country, the polls are clear: Cuban Americans wanted to keep Elian Gonzalez with his great-uncle in Miami, while most Latinos and Americans as a whole overwhelmingly supported Atty. Gen. Janet Reno’s decision to reunite the 6-year-old with his father in Washington. But too many people confuse Cuban American views on the Elian Gonzalez issue (and U.S.-Cuba relations) with that of U.S. Latinos as a whole.

Family is sacred to Latinos, and the notion of distant relatives staking equal claim to that of Elian’s father was seen as absurd. Equally offensive was the spectacle of the Miami relatives’ brinkmanship with the Justice Department and seeming flouting of the law. Latinos see themselves as law-abiding and rejected the Miami relatives’ disdain for the Clinton administration.

The Miami attitude toward the administration is a point of disagreement and tension among Latinos. Cuban Americans are heavily Republican (80%) and generally oppose the administration. But as a whole, Latinos are about 60% Democratic and support President Clinton. Moreover, the Miami exiles’ “attitude” toward the administration raised a broader public relations problem. Not a few Latino leaders commented privately that Cuban Americans were sending an unspoken message that said, “We’re for the rule of law until it compels us to do something we don’t want to do.” Or worse, a notion that the Miami exile community is above the law. That’s obviously not the image that serves Latino interests. We all remember the not-so-distant days of immigrant bashing, including Proposition 187 in California.

Which leads us to ask why our Miami brethren would dare think they could play this game with the most powerful law enforcement officer in the world. Mexicans and Puerto Ricans, who together represent more than 80% of U.S. Latinos, would never dare play such a game. That’s because we have a long history of exclusion and discrimination; both communities come from home countries conquered and all or partly annexed by the United States. Latino immigrants of Mexican, Central American and Dominican origin especially know what its like to be stepped on by the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

But the Elian affair has exposed deep differences among U.S. Latinos on foreign policy in general and Cuba in particular. Most Cuban Americans support an aggressive, Cold War approach. Most other Latinos are for normalizing relations with Cuba. A poll conducted last summer by the William C. Velasquez Institute showed Latinos in California and Texas in favor of renewing diplomatic relations with Cuba by 2-to-1 margins.

And because of Cuban Americans’ historic support for Cold War policies against Cuba, they have been rewarded with special treatment unheard of among immigrants and refugees from other impoverished or oppressive Latin American countries. The Cuban Adjustment Act, for example, rewards each new Cuban arrival with immediate legal status, a work permit, government financial aid and the right to naturalize one year after arrival.

In addition, Cuban Americans staff numerous federal programs such as TV Marti and Radio Marti designed to destabilize the government of Cuba. Until recently, U.S. law enforcement agencies looked the other way while Miami exile groups conducted paramilitary training activities and financed terrorist activities in Cuba.

So it’s no wonder that Elian’s great-uncle, Lazaro Gonzalez, and his handlers thought they could act with impunity in Miami. The Cuban American exile leadership has done that for 40 years.

This should not, however, be construed as unconditional Latino support for the dawn raid on Lazaro Gonzalez’s house to extract Elian. Latinos are just as concerned as are other Americans by Janet Reno’s heavy-handed use of force. But we have no illusions about who caused this situation. And we are pleased that Elian is where he belongs, with his father.