Both parties presented their vision of what it means to be American

This past week, the Republican Party formally nominated President Trump. This culminated two weeks in which the two major parties in the country demonstrated their vision of what it means to be American.

We were glad to see that stories of Black, Latino, and immigrant individuals and families presented. Voters must look at both parties and see how what they presented at their conventions compares to the policies they put forth.

The conventions happened in the context of a coronavirus pandemic that has not been controlled in this country. Early in the pandemic nearly 70% of Latino voters said the administration had not done enough to curb the pandemic. We are disproportionately essential workers, working on the front lines against the COVID-19 pandemic, and many of us have no option to work from home.

Unfortunately there was not much talk at the Republican National Convention on what concrete steps the administration would take to bring health back to the nation. And breaking with tradition, the Republican Party did not present a new party platform. Instead they officially pressed ahead with their 2016 platform.

We are on record criticizing the Trump administration’s actual policies on health care, immigration, economic opportunity and education, as well as the type of rhetoric that is used to justify policies. Now that the conventions are over, we will be watching the debates to hopefully learn more about the actual policies each party will either continue or replace if in power. And we will continue to call on Latinos to exercise their rights as Americans to stay informed and participate in the process.

BOTH PARTIES MUST ENGAGE LATINO VOTERS

This year, there will be 32 million eligible Latino voters in our country. When our community is registered, we vote. For example, in the 2016 presidential election, 83% of registered Latino voters went to the polls. Latinos are already set to make the difference in battleground House races across the country. And yet, 60% of Latinos say that they have not been contacted by either the Democratic or Republican campaigns. This has to change.

Your vote and your voice matter. Learn more about UnidosUS’s efforts to register Latino voters and have our community count in the 2020 census at adelanteunidos.com.