Elvia Díaz
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 22, 2004 12:00 AM
The battle for Latino votes in the close race for the presidency is on.
A Democratic group is pledging to spend $5 million in Spanish-language television ads, and President Bush already has begun airing his own spots in Spanish in an unprecedented effort to reach the nation's estimated 8.5 million registered Latinos, including about 300,000 in Arizona, a key state in the election.
"Latinos want to hear from the candidates directly," said Ernesto Saldaña of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials in Los Angeles. "Spanish-language commercials are important because of the increasing number of recent citizens registering to vote. This voting bloc isn't necessarily fluent in English."
In 2000, Bush, then Democratic rival Al Gore and their respective political parties spent a combined $3.2 million in Spanish-language television advertising.
The new political commercials recently began airing in Arizona and other key states at Telemundo and Univision, the leading Latino television networks. A goal is to reach recent immigrant citizens who don't have deep roots with Democrats or Republicans, pundits said.
"If Democrats don't communicate with Latinos in their language, we're going to continue to lose their vote," said María Cardona, vice president of the Washington-based New Democrat Network, which is pledging the $5 million for the Spanish-language campaign.
The group is not officially affiliated with the Democratic Party or the presumptive nominee, Sen. John Kerry.
The Bush Spanish-language ad, which uses the World Trade Center wreckage as a backdrop, is a replica of his English version. It illustrates challenging moments of his presidency.
The New Democrat Network commercials, which are airing in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Albuquerque and Florida, make the case that only Democrats are in tune with Latino needs. One ad claims that Bush broke his promise to help disadvantaged children or English learners by falling billions of dollars short of his commitment to the No Child Left Behind Act.
Not impressed
Lydia Hernández, a Texas native who lives in Phoenix, isn't impressed with the pitches.
"I want to hear about issues that will directly impact my life," said Hernández, a member of the Mexican Institute for Mexicans abroad.
Though Hernández is a Democrat, she will consider supporting Bush. Her decision would be based on his job performance, not a Spanish-language commercial, she said.
"I would vote for Bush if he implements any immigration program before November," she said. "A lot of people died at the World Trade Center, but many are also dying crossing the border."
Mauricio Zuñiga Picazo, a 52-year-old west Phoenix resident who became a U.S. citizen last year, said he had no idea Bush hadn't kept his promise to help Latinos until he saw the Democratic commercial.
"It seems Bush isn't doing a good job," said Zuñiga Picazo, who's leaning toward Kerry. Danny Díaz, a spokesman for the Bush-Cheney re-election bid, rejects the claim that the president hasn't done enough for Latinos, saying he has improved the economy, worked to provide prescriptions drugs to seniors and reduced taxes.
The Spanish-language attacks on Bush only reflect the Democrats' inability to keep Latinos from supporting the president, said Bill Christiansen, executive director of the Arizona Republican Party.
"Their message isn't resonating with Latinos," Christiansen said. "We know they are desperate."
Officials from the Bush-Cheney campaign would not say how much they will spend in Spanish-language advertising or where exactly the ads are running. But those who follow Hispanic politics said Bush's goal is to obtain at least 40 percent of the Latino vote.
In 2000, Bush and the Republican National Committee spent $2.275 million in Spanish-language advertising. Bush took about a third of the estimated 5.9 million Latino votes. Gore and the Democratic National Committee spent $960,000. Gore obtained about 60 percent of the Latino vote.
Democratic contenders Kerry, Wesley Clark and Howard Dean spent a combined $178,079 on Spanish-language television ads in Arizona during the state's Feb. 3 primary. Though it's hard to determine how many of the estimated 300,000 registered Latinos in Arizona voted in this year's primary, many relied on the 30-second spots to make their choices, experts said.
"It's not a waste of money," said Lydia Guzman, state director of the Southwest Voter Project. "Many voters who are English-fluent only knew the candidates because of the Spanish-language television ads."
Reach the reporter elvia.diaz@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-8948.