A huge surge of support from the Latino community helped Donald Trump to victory in the US election. I could never envision myself voting for Donald Trump. But my aunt in New York, who became a citizen many years ago did just that: last week she cast a ballot for the Republican candidate. So why did she, and so many other Latinos, turn to Trump?
There has been an outpouring of racism and xenophobia from liberal circles aimed at the Latino community for choosing to back Trump. Jokes about mass deportation and accusations of how ignorant, uneducated or misogynist the community is for voting Republican are thriving.
But my aunt isn’t a stupid woman who doesn’t know what’s good for her: she is tough, clever and hard-working. Not every woman’s vote revolves around reproductive rights; not every Latino vote hinges on immigration. For her, it came down to the economy:
The economy was the priority for many people in the community. And definitely for me. After Covid, rent has gone up by a lot. Food prices are through the roof, too. People wanted a change to make life easier because it’s been awful to work so hard only to get the same pay cheque and notice that it just won’t cover everything you need to get by. I know people who absolutely hated Donald Trump, who could not stand that man, but they had to vote for him because the economic situation is unbearable.
The now president-elect has in the past described Latinos as ‘enemies’ of the US and ‘people that have lots of problems’. Just two weeks ago, a speaker at a Trump rally described Puerto Rico as a ‘floating island of garbage’. How could my aunt vote for a man who has been so disparaging about people like her? She explained:
Yes, he says nasty stuff about us. You get offended, of course. Nobody likes to have their culture, their nationality and their community insulted. But everything must be put on a balance. Yes, Donald Trump runs his mouth, but he was really good at steering the economy. In the last few years, there’s been very little money at the end of the month for savings or to send back home.
For many in the Latino community, immigration is not an individual choice as much as it is a family project. Remittances – money sent by relatives in wealthy countries to help family members in poorer countries – make up large chunks of the GDP of countries in the region, reaching an estimated $155 billion (£120 billion) in 2023. Not having enough money to send to their families could have been a deal breaker for many voters.
For me, the most startling fact is that Republicans saw a significant surge in New York’s most deprived areas compared to the 2020 election. In the Bronx, for example, they increased their vote share by 21 points. This borough has the highest poverty rate in New York and it is heavily populated by people of colour, including Dominican people like my aunt – until it became too expensive for her.
My aunt said:
The Bronx is the poorest of the poorest and people who live there used to believe in the Democrats. Many of my friends had to leave because New York has become unlivable; rent is extremely high and groceries cost more every day. The family we still have in the Bronx are only there because they bought those apartments 20 years ago, but nobody can afford to buy or rent anymore. Everything is too expensive. The Democrats had to convince people that they would speak to that reality but they didn’t. You know things are bad when Donald Trump is taking votes from the Democrats in the Bronx.
Some question whether Trump’s machismo played a part in wooing voters. But if the true reason behind Latino support for him was misogyny, then how come Latin America and the Caribbean have had over 14 female heads of state while the US has had none? The latest is Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum, who won with over 58 per cent of the vote against another female presidential candidate. South of the border, strong female leadership is commonplace.
How would my aunt respond to the liberal critics enraged at Latinas like her for voting for Trump? She explained:
I have always been a Democrat. Ever since I became a citizen, I have voted for them. This is the first time I voted Republican. But if the Democratic party does not meet voters’ expectations or offer us solutions, then unfortunately we need to seek change elsewhere. We’re not here to live out other people’s expectations of us: we are here to try to improve our lives, just like everyone else. People who talk about the Latino community like that don’t own us.
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