Disillusioned with Democrats on issues like economy and migration, more Latinos like Maria Salinas say they will vote for Donald Trump in the US presidential election - support that could prove crucial for him.
„Trump can change things a little bit,” said Salinas, who runs a stall at a flea market north of Las Vegas in Nevada, one of the swing states ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
„People in my family have been looking for a way to settle their situation for years and nothing, just promises and promises. (Democrats) give nice speeches, but nothing changes for us”, says the 56-year-old woman.
„This time I will vote for him to see if he can help us”, she adds.
In the maze of colorful stalls, many members of the Latino community blame Democrats for the rising cost of living and immigration policy.
While Latinos generally continue to vote Democratic, they have been gravitating toward Republicans in recent years.
In 2012, 71 percent of Hispanics voted Democratic and 27 percent voted Republican. In 2020, the share of Democratic voters in this group of voters fell to 66 percent, while Donald Trump secured 32 percent.
According to a recent sociological survey of “Unidos US“ 57 percent of Hispanics now favor Democrat Kamala Harris, compared to 34 percent for Trump.
This could have a big impact, especially in the state of Nevada, where this community makes up a fifth of the electorate and where the election looks set to be highly contested, as polls give Harris a lead of just half a percentage point.
„Very annoyed“
„I've never understood why people say Latinos should be Democrats,” says Javier Barajas, a Las Vegas restaurant owner.
„Democrats have never helped us,” adds the 60-year-old, who crossed the US-Mexico border in the 1970s.
He has already voted for Donald Trump once in 2020. However, he is only now saying that he is openly declaring himself a Republican.
„Now, yes, I say that because I am very annoyed with the Democrats [...]. It's a way of telling them: OK, that's enough. We don't agree with you, you should take us more seriously,” says the restaurateur.
For example, Javier Barajas praises former Republican President Ronald Reagan, who in 1986 authorized the legalization of several million immigrants. According to him, Donald Trump's promises of “mass deportations” will only affect “criminals“: “He will not go after the workers“, says Barajas.
He notes that he doesn't take the Republican candidate's anti-immigrant attacks personally, but says he has warned the former president, who visited his restaurant, as well as Joe Biden, that many Latinos are opposed to the rhetoric.
According to a poll by “New York Times/Siena College” since the beginning of this month, most Latin Americans are not alarmed when Donald Trump accuses migrants of being criminals and “poisoning the blood” of the country.
„An immigrant like us“
However, Kamala Harris' candidacy has reshuffled the cards and could help Democrats stop Trump's advance.
„Even though she is not Latin American, she is an immigrant like us. She has experienced the same forms of discrimination," says 62-year-old Reyna Velis.
The Democratic nominee “is a child of immigrant parents,” said 54-year-old Ricardo Fernandez, referring to the vice president's Indian and Jamaican parents.
According to this businessman, who emigrated from Mexico more than 40 years ago, the Democratic Party is “more responsive to our ideas and way of being,” but needs to do more to speak to Latinos.< /p>
He believes that support for the billionaire despite his fierce anti-immigration rhetoric is due to the fact that “many Latin Americans are not well informed”.
„It is very important that our community pays attention to what is going on here,”, says Fernandez and adds: „We are talking about a candidate who says he wants to help the middle class, and a candidate [.. .], whose plan is to benefit billionaires and millionaires“.
„And how many Latin Americans are millionaires in the US state?“, he asks a rhetorical question.
translation from French: Alexey Margoevski, BTA