VOA慢速英语--拉丁裔选民会决定下一任美国总统吗?

Will Latino Vote Decide Next US President?

Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz says it has been a struggle to educate Latinos in the United States about their growing strength as voters.

“People…feel like their vote does not count and their vote does not matter,” she said.

Cepeda-Freytiz owns an eatery. She also is the only Latino on the six-member city council in Reading, Pennsylvania.

More than 50 years ago, a group of Puerto Ricans moved to Reading to work in agriculture. Since then, the city’s Latino population has grown 65 percent. They now outnumber Reading’s traditional base of white Protestants with German ancestry¹.

Cepeda-Freytiz was born in New York City of parents from the Dominican Republic. She told VOA that some of her non-Latino neighbors suspect she is not a U.S. citizen. They accused her of “buying her papers” after she was elected to the local government.

'Latino community is going to make a difference'

Suspicion from whites and indifference² from Latinos may explain why Reading has never had a Hispanic mayor.

Eddie Moran is vice³ president of the Reading school board. He wants to become the city’s first Hispanic mayor in elections later this year. He also is watching the U.S. presidential election campaign.

“I think next year…the Latino community is going to make a difference in this electoral campaign,” he said.

The 32 million Latinos registered to vote in the 2020 presidential election will make them the largest racial or ethnic⁴ voting bloc⁵ in the country. They just may decide if President Donald Trump⁶ is re-elected.

“For Democrats⁸, it’s critical that they hold on to the Latino vote, and for Republicans that they gain support among Latino voters,” said G. Terry Madonna. He directs the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin & Marshall College.

Seventy-three percent of Latinos nationwide plan to vote or think they may vote for the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee⁹ in 2020. That information comes from a recent study of likely voters by the television broadcaster Univision.

Some political observers say the most important areas to watch next year are parts of Texas along the Mexican border, Orange County in Florida and Las Vegas in Nevada. All these areas have many Hispanic voters.

The State of Pennsylvania

Then there is the eastern state of Pennsylvania, which has experienced a 28 percent increase in its Hispanic population over the past 10 years.

Pennsylvania chose Trump over Democrat⁷ Hillary Clinton in the 2016 elections. Pennsylvania, Texas, Florida and Nevada may influence the election results next year.

Many Latinos have moved to Reading, the once-wealthy, former industrial city , to join other Latinos. In 2011, The New York Times reported that Reading was the poorest city in the nation. The area’s Latino community has spread out along what is now known as the Route 222 Latino corridor. It makes up more than 50 percent of Pennsylvania’s Hispanic population.

Moran and Cepeda-Freytiz spent a recent weekend meeting with political supporters, talking to undecided voters. They marched in Reading’s first Puerto Rican parade and street festival.

Businesswoman Angel Figueroa was the first Puerto Rican elected to Reading’s city council in 2002. She organized the parade and festival. Figueroa points to Reading’s importance in the 2020 elections.

“With all of the hate and rhetoric¹⁰ that’s been going on,” Figueroa said. “I think it’s time that as a (group), that we send a message to both political parties.”

While some Hispanics blame Trump for divisive language, about 30 percent of Americans of Hispanic ancestry voted for him in 2016. He has many supporters in Reading, like Nancy Rodriguez and Junior Cruz-Morales.

“I support him because I’ve seen more opportunities for Latinos, and he’s been focusing more on the Latino community,” Rodriquez said.

Her husband, Cruz-Morales, agreed. “We voted for Donald Trump, and he’s doing a good job. I’m not sure if he’s going to get four more years, but if he does, we welcome that.”

Unemployment among Hispanics nationally is a low 4.2 percent. Trump has claimed credit for that number repeatedly at his political campaign events.

Trump won Pennsylvania in 2016 by less than 1 percent -- the narrowest margin¹¹ in a presidential election in the state in 176 years.

Hillary Clinton easily won Reading.

Many Democrats say they are sure that the city’s Latino voters will support their party’s nominee next year. Others are not so sure.

“Dissatisfaction with the…president will not be enough to get Latinos to vote,” said Grecia Lima. She is the political director for Community Change Action in Washington. She added that getting Latinos to vote will require one-on-one contacts with the candidates’ “trusted messengers.”

Her organization’s research shows that 69 percent of Latino voters believe Trump’s anti-immigrant comments influenced the recent shooting in El Paso, Texas. The gunmen supposedly targeted Hispanics at a Walmart store. Twenty-two people were killed.

Texas has the second highest number of Hispanics after California. Republican Party officials say their research shows a 20 percent increase in support for Trump since 2016.

“That means he has nearly 1 million new Hispanic supporters!” tweeted the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, Ronna McDaniel.

The Trump re-election campaign is trying to extend its appeal to other states with large Latino populations, including New Mexico. Trump lost New Mexico to Clinton in 2016 by more than 8 percent.

One thing is sure about Hispanic voters nationwide between now and November of 2020, noted¹² G. Terry Madonna.

“They’re going to be continually courted by the candidates,” he said.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

mayor – n. an official elected or appointed to act as head of a city or town

bloc – n. a combination of people or groups uniting together with a common purpose

festival – n. a celebration

rhetoric – n. language that is intended to influence people and that may not be honest or reasonable

opportunity – n. a chance or possibility

margin – n. a small amount or measure

messenger – n. someone who delivers a message or does other small jobs that involve going somewhere

court –v. to try to win over

1 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

2 indifference   

n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎

参考例句：

• I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

5 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

6 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

7 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

8 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

10 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

11 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。