By Diego Graglia, FI2W web editor

Latino political leaders have been touting the potential power of Latino voters for years. Though we knew that demographics would end up proving them right sooner or later, their discourse was starting to sound like they had hired The Boy Who Cried Wolf as a spokesman.

Then, 2008 happened.

The November presidential election became the quinceañera party where the Latino vote was introduced in the grand ballroom of American politics as a powerful voting bloc which can have an important role in deciding a nationwide election. (As we’ve already said before, there are many, extremely varied “Latino votes,” but we use the term here to simplify — though not oversimplify — matters.)

Both exit polls and post-Election Day surveys showed that Latino advocates’ turnout predictions had been fulfilled: over 10 million Latinos voted, as compared with 7.6 million in the 2004 presidential election and over 6 million in 2000. An America’s Voice poll [get the pdf here] claims Latinos were 9 percent of the electorate, “approximately 11 million voters.”

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By Pilar Marrero, La Opinión columnist and FI2W contributor

The last few weeks have proven again that for a “post racial” leader, elected for the content of his message -and regardless of the color of his skin- the racial and ethnic lines that subtly divide this country will surely affect the way Barack Obama governs after January 20th.

Even before taking office, the president-elect has had to confront –again- the thorny issue of his relationship with Latinos and Latino leadership. It was an issue that plagued his campaign, particularly during the primaries.

His appointments to the cabinet and to the ranks of White House “West Wing” advisors have been closely watched –and criticized- by Latino leaders. From the onset they were pushing a broad agenda, including Bill Richardson’s appointment as secretary of state.

The fact that Obama chose Hillary Clinton instead of Richardson – who supported him during the primary and had to withstand being called “Judas” by the Clinton campaign for doing it – set many tongues wagging about how the governor of New Mexico got the lesser appointment. The word “treason” was uttered by some political observers in private conversations.

The criticism began with the initial absence of Latinos among Obama’s first appointments: the economic team, the “kitchen cabinet” of close advisers that will surround him every day. There were several Latinos named to the transition team, but that was not seen as enough by some Hispanic leaders and commentators.

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Catholic leaders around the country continue to take the lead on legalization for undocumented immigrants.

We recently reported on the Bishop of Little Rock, Arkansas, Anthony B. Taylor asking Arkansas Catholics to welcome immigrants rather than reject them. Now, Minnesota’s Catholic leaders have declared Jan. 4 “Immigration Sunday,” and will use the occasion to transmit the same message to the state’s faithful.

“We, the Roman Catholic Bishops of Minnesota, want to share our hope for: newcomers journeying in search of greater opportunities for themselves and their families; communities enriched by the many contributions of newcomers; and advocates working for justice and reform,” the six bishops in the Minnesota Catholic Conference said in a statement released on Dec. 12, the Feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe, Mexico’s patron, and the second anniversary of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid on a meatpacking plant in Worthington, Minn.

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By Diego Graglia, FI2W web editor

In this year of political firsts, Malcolm Smith has secured his chance to become the first-ever African American politician to preside over the New York State Senate (he’s also the first Democrat in four decades).

But for this Smith had to earn the support of two Latino senators from The Bronx who seem to have strong-armed fellow Democrats into granting one of them, Pedro Espada Jr., the position of majority leader, before they would support Smith. (This is an unprecedented split, since tradition holds that the Senate president also serves as majority leader.)

“Latino Punch”: Espada on El Diario/La Prensa

The New York Times, which reported on the new power distribution, said the deal makes Espada, who has just returned to the State Senate, “arguably the most influential Hispanic elected official in New York.”

“It’s a moment of great pride for our community,” Espada told El Diario/La Prensa newspaper. “It’s the first time in this state that we celebrate a power sharing agreement. Smith will occupy the first position and I, the second, in legislative and state affairs.”

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By Diego Graglia, FI2W web editor

Support for Barack Obama in the presidential election among Hispanic voters may have been even higher than exit polls have indicated. According to a new poll released Thursday by ImpreMedia, the country’s largest Spanish-language newspaper chain, and the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), Obama’s margin over John McCain may have exceeded the 2-to-1 ratio indicated by earlier surveys.

Seventy-two percent of Latino voters chose the Democrat, said the poll, which surveyed 800 Latino registered voters between November 7 and 14 “in the 21 states with the largest Latino voter populations, and accounting for 93 percent of the Latino electorate,” according to NALEO’s press release.

That figure is higher than the 67 percent announced after Election Day — the difference, according to La Opinion‘s Pilar Marrero, lies in the fact that this survey included early and absentee voters who accounted for “forty percent of Latino voters.”

The poll also seems to confirm that turnout among Latinos was high: 92 percent of registered Latinos surveyed said they voted in this election. Arturo Vargas, Executive Director of the NALEO Educational Fund said in the press release,

The record turnout among Latinos solidifies this emerging electorate as an important voting bloc among U.S. voters. The survey also finds that naturalized immigrant voters and first time voters played a significant role in shaping the Latino vote.

However, the Democratic Party should heed the message of Latino voters in our survey: with their strong support of President-elect Obama and his party, come high expectations.

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By Diego Graglia, FI2W web editor

Latino opinion leaders are “generally positive” about President-elect Barack Obama, but they are dissatisfied with the responsiveness of his transition team and the Democratic Party to the Latino community, according to a new study by the National Institute for Latino Policy (NILP).

The National Latino Opinion Leaders Survey was conducted between Nov. 8 and 14. Over 900 Latinos in the U.S. and Puerto Rico — community leaders, activists, government officials, business people, and members of nonprofit organizations, religion, academia and the media — took part, according to the institute, which published a summary of the study on Monday through its electronic newsletter.

When asked “if the Obama team was adequately including Latinos in the transition process, 32 percent said ‘no’, 46 percent were not sure or didn’t know, and only 22 percent said ‘yes.’ 53 percent said that the Democratic Party was not being responsive to the needs of the Latino community, as opposed to 21 percent who said it was responsive.

While immigration was an issue that likely energized Latino voters who helped Obama win in key states, it doesn’t look like it’s going to be one of the top priorities for the Obama administration — and Latinos are aware of this. Eighty-four percent of those surveyed do not believe or are not sure that Obama will propose legislation for comprehensive immigration reform in his first 100 days. Only 13 percent think he will.

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