WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.520 --> 00:00:03.600 We are all different in our own manners. Right, Mexican 2 00:00:03.640 --> 00:00:06.160 Americans are going to be so much more different than 3 00:00:06.680 --> 00:00:10.600 Cuban Americans. And that's something that the media, I think 4 00:00:10.720 --> 00:00:12.680 still quite doesn't understand. 5 00:00:17.160 --> 00:00:20.760 From Futro Media and PRX, it's Latino USA. I'm Maria 6 00:00:20.800 --> 00:00:25.400 ino Coosa. Today, episode two of our new series Ombre 7 00:00:25.840 --> 00:00:29.480 Understanding Latino Men, we sit down with two young Latino 8 00:00:29.560 --> 00:00:42.279 voters with very similar backgrounds but opposite political views. Dear listener. 9 00:00:42.960 --> 00:00:46.400 Last month we launched a new series it's called Ombre 10 00:00:46.920 --> 00:00:52.040 Understanding Latino Men, and we did this after seeing conversations 11 00:00:52.120 --> 00:00:56.200 happening about Latino men who essentially shifted right in the 12 00:00:56.280 --> 00:01:00.280 last presidential election, but without having a lot of leatso 13 00:01:00.320 --> 00:01:04.880 men participating in those conversations. We hear at Latino USA 14 00:01:05.000 --> 00:01:08.680 want to understand what motivated Latino men to vote more 15 00:01:08.720 --> 00:01:12.240 Republican this time around. We also want to understand what 16 00:01:12.360 --> 00:01:19.040 informed the Latino men who stayed with the Democratic Party. Today, 17 00:01:19.360 --> 00:01:23.840 we're going to hear from two Ombris Latinos, Alejandro Flores 18 00:01:24.040 --> 00:01:29.560 and Alexis Uskanga. They're both Mexican American, both from Texas, 19 00:01:29.600 --> 00:01:35.039 and both from similar socioeconomic backgrounds. Alexis is twenty one 20 00:01:35.120 --> 00:01:38.840 years old from Harlingen, Texas. He's a student at the 21 00:01:38.920 --> 00:01:42.280 University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and he's also a 22 00:01:42.319 --> 00:01:45.720 first time voter, and he chose to vote for Donald Trump. 23 00:01:46.040 --> 00:01:47.000 Thank you for having me. 24 00:01:47.480 --> 00:01:50.600 Alejandro is thirty one years old from Dallas and he 25 00:01:50.640 --> 00:01:54.040 works in it In twenty twenty four, as he's done 26 00:01:54.080 --> 00:01:57.680 since he was old enough to vote, Alejandro voted blue, 27 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:00.920 this time for presidential candidate Kamala Harris. 28 00:02:01.400 --> 00:02:02.559 Thank you for having me. As all. 29 00:02:04.160 --> 00:02:07.520 So, as we have said multiple times on this show, 30 00:02:07.840 --> 00:02:12.560 Latinos are not a monolith, and within the Latino community 31 00:02:12.600 --> 00:02:16.679 there are complexities. For example, Mexican Americans still lean more 32 00:02:16.760 --> 00:02:20.639 left than all other Latino groups. But even among this 33 00:02:20.760 --> 00:02:25.080 democratic stronghold group, Republicans did make wins in this election. 34 00:02:25.600 --> 00:02:27.360 So we're going to unpack all of this in our 35 00:02:27.400 --> 00:02:32.280 conversation of ombre understanding Latino man. Let's get to it. 36 00:02:33.560 --> 00:02:36.120 So we're going to start with you, Alexis. Just tell 37 00:02:36.200 --> 00:02:38.120 us a little bit about yourself, where you grew up 38 00:02:38.120 --> 00:02:39.519 and how you identify politically. 39 00:02:40.120 --> 00:02:42.800 Yeah, of course, my name is Alexiskanga. I am from 40 00:02:42.880 --> 00:02:45.840 Harlan and Texas down here in the Rio Grand Valley, 41 00:02:45.919 --> 00:02:49.320 the border of the United States and Mexico. I've grown 42 00:02:49.440 --> 00:02:52.880 up here in a very Hispanic household. When I was Ledo, 43 00:02:52.919 --> 00:02:55.359 I used to sell ta malees door to door, used 44 00:02:55.400 --> 00:02:57.160 to help my parents out. 45 00:02:57.360 --> 00:03:02.800 Okay, that's adorable, that's just the door. And Alexis, just 46 00:03:02.840 --> 00:03:05.440 so we're clear, you ended up voting for the first 47 00:03:05.480 --> 00:03:09.239 time in this election and you voted for Donald Trump. 48 00:03:09.560 --> 00:03:10.160 Yes, I did. 49 00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:13.440 And Alejandro, tell us a little bit about yourself. 50 00:03:14.040 --> 00:03:15.920 I grew up in the city of Dallas. 51 00:03:17.160 --> 00:03:22.760 I've been politically active since the first Obama administration. My family, well, 52 00:03:23.919 --> 00:03:26.120 we didn't really embrace much of our culture, being a 53 00:03:26.120 --> 00:03:29.040 family of immigrants where we tried to assimilate. We spoke 54 00:03:29.080 --> 00:03:32.520 Spanish very little, only with like a few members of 55 00:03:32.520 --> 00:03:35.080 our family, but at the house we spoke English. But 56 00:03:35.120 --> 00:03:38.080 we still observed some of the traditions, mostly the religious stuff. 57 00:03:38.120 --> 00:03:42.440 But I feel like I've recently taken the opportunity to 58 00:03:42.480 --> 00:03:44.800 get to know my carriatgage more after having it. 59 00:03:45.200 --> 00:03:47.200 I have to feel like it's been surpassed for a 60 00:03:47.280 --> 00:03:47.840 long time. 61 00:03:48.520 --> 00:03:53.400 And Alejandro, you voted for Kamala Harris in twenty twenty four. 62 00:03:54.120 --> 00:03:56.560 So now let's get into the politics of it. Can 63 00:03:56.600 --> 00:04:00.920 you just tell me about a moment in your life 64 00:04:00.920 --> 00:04:04.720 that you remember that kind of shaped your political beliefs. 65 00:04:05.120 --> 00:04:08.000 Yeah, I guess I could talk him back to I 66 00:04:08.040 --> 00:04:10.640 think it was two thousand and five, two thousand and 67 00:04:10.640 --> 00:04:15.640 six when I first noticed a pro immigration protest against 68 00:04:15.680 --> 00:04:18.960 the Bush administration. It was the first time I had 69 00:04:19.000 --> 00:04:25.440 heard of any outspoken reaction that was widespread from people 70 00:04:25.680 --> 00:04:28.239 of my culture because we felt like we were being 71 00:04:28.320 --> 00:04:31.560 attacked for who we are, or for trying to make 72 00:04:31.560 --> 00:04:34.839 a difference in our lives and just making our works 73 00:04:34.839 --> 00:04:37.600 a certain making sure that people understood that we were here, 74 00:04:37.920 --> 00:04:43.279 we're not criminals, despite having allegedly broken any laws that 75 00:04:43.320 --> 00:04:45.640 pertain to people looking for safety and migrating to a 76 00:04:45.640 --> 00:04:51.240 place where there was opportunity and shelter and economic prosperity. 77 00:04:52.200 --> 00:04:58.839 That is so interesting because that was a real moment 78 00:04:58.880 --> 00:05:02.560 in American history. It's two thousand and six. It was 79 00:05:03.360 --> 00:05:08.799 a pro immigration moment in the United States where demonstrations 80 00:05:09.240 --> 00:05:15.400 happened across the country. So, can you tell us about 81 00:05:15.400 --> 00:05:19.560 a moment Alexis that you remember that kind of shaped 82 00:05:19.800 --> 00:05:23.400 you politically as a Latino man. In Texas well. There's 83 00:05:23.440 --> 00:05:24.520 been several times. 84 00:05:24.839 --> 00:05:28.520 I would say, of course, President Trump's first appearance as 85 00:05:28.560 --> 00:05:32.200 a political candidate was something that really shaped my political 86 00:05:32.240 --> 00:05:34.520 beliefs because at the very first time, I used to 87 00:05:34.520 --> 00:05:35.400 be very against him. 88 00:05:35.640 --> 00:05:37.880 I didn't like the way he spoke about immigrants. 89 00:05:38.120 --> 00:05:42.080 The moment that I would say that I switched was 90 00:05:42.360 --> 00:05:46.080 when I disagreed with a friend he was very pro Trump. 91 00:05:46.480 --> 00:05:47.400 I just didn't. 92 00:05:47.120 --> 00:05:50.760 Understand why he would like such a person, right, So 93 00:05:50.839 --> 00:05:53.599 I just began to be curious, and I watched my 94 00:05:53.640 --> 00:05:57.680 first Trump rally on YouTube, and that was a real 95 00:05:57.720 --> 00:06:00.560 game changer for me. And now I'm saying, the hell 96 00:06:00.640 --> 00:06:02.200 with it, I'm doing it myself. 97 00:06:02.400 --> 00:06:06.000 We're gonna do it. Okay, We're going to do it. 98 00:06:06.400 --> 00:06:06.960 I love you. 99 00:06:07.160 --> 00:06:10.400 So that's really interesting. You were like, I can't stand Trump. 100 00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:13.280 I don't understand why this Latino friend of mine is 101 00:06:13.320 --> 00:06:15.840 going to vote for him. But you said, but let 102 00:06:15.839 --> 00:06:18.159 me go check out one of his rallies. And so 103 00:06:18.240 --> 00:06:22.080 what happened when you watched that pro Trump rally for 104 00:06:22.120 --> 00:06:22.720 the first time. 105 00:06:23.360 --> 00:06:24.520 I was very surprised. 106 00:06:24.640 --> 00:06:27.360 Right, of course, I've always been led to believe that 107 00:06:27.440 --> 00:06:32.320 Trump is a racist, that he's very misogynistic, so I 108 00:06:32.480 --> 00:06:36.520 really wanted to look into it myself. So watching the rally, 109 00:06:36.600 --> 00:06:39.160 of course, he has his own rhetoric. He's a showman. 110 00:06:39.920 --> 00:06:42.480 He tries to keep the people entertained. And I think 111 00:06:42.520 --> 00:06:45.680 there was one specific part. I can't remember exactly what 112 00:06:45.720 --> 00:06:48.839 he said, but I just remember how I agreed with 113 00:06:48.880 --> 00:06:52.240 a lot of stuff he said. But the following day 114 00:06:52.360 --> 00:06:56.840 I watched the news and I saw how the message 115 00:06:57.080 --> 00:07:00.200 was just twisted right. I was like, I heard what 116 00:07:00.279 --> 00:07:04.520 he said directly myself, and I think that's what, slowly 117 00:07:04.600 --> 00:07:08.320 but surely made me like Trump more So. 118 00:07:08.480 --> 00:07:12.760 I want to really understand, very specifically how your Mexican 119 00:07:12.800 --> 00:07:16.680 culture and growing up as a Mexican American Latino boy 120 00:07:16.720 --> 00:07:21.080 and then becoming a man, how that shaped your political leanings. 121 00:07:21.200 --> 00:07:23.960 And we're going to start with you, Alejandro. Do you 122 00:07:24.040 --> 00:07:29.080 remember something when you were growing up that you experienced, 123 00:07:29.280 --> 00:07:32.720 whether home, school, work, then you were like, oh, this 124 00:07:32.800 --> 00:07:36.480 is what a Latino man is. Is there a moment 125 00:07:36.560 --> 00:07:38.080 or a story that you can share. 126 00:07:38.640 --> 00:07:41.120 The concept of a Latino man was mostly shaped by 127 00:07:41.120 --> 00:07:45.720 my father's He worked construction, He didn't really show emotions, 128 00:07:45.800 --> 00:07:48.800 didn't really speak his mind, except for whenever people asked 129 00:07:48.840 --> 00:07:52.080 for it. He was a big man who moved around 130 00:07:52.080 --> 00:07:55.720 heavy stuff, used tools, and it was kind of shocked 131 00:07:55.760 --> 00:07:57.720 for me when I realized not everyone's dad was like that. 132 00:07:58.720 --> 00:08:01.160 In middle school, I realized that, oh no, it's other 133 00:08:01.240 --> 00:08:06.520 Latino fathers or businessmen or entrepreneurs or lawyers. So that 134 00:08:06.600 --> 00:08:08.840 kind of through event in my whole belief of like, 135 00:08:08.880 --> 00:08:15.520 oh no, it's they're not just this strong, silent archetype 136 00:08:15.680 --> 00:08:19.080 that are protectors. I mean, in a way, they're our protectors, 137 00:08:19.120 --> 00:08:22.400 but that's not something that I now know isn't indemic 138 00:08:22.480 --> 00:08:23.600 to being a Latino man. 139 00:08:24.200 --> 00:08:27.160 Alexis, what about you, Like, is there a moment of 140 00:08:27.280 --> 00:08:30.160 person a thing where you were like, yeah, that's that's 141 00:08:30.200 --> 00:08:32.400 like a great moment of Latino manhood. 142 00:08:33.000 --> 00:08:36.000 I would also agree that was just like my dad. 143 00:08:36.320 --> 00:08:40.040 He's also keeps a lot to himself. He's very hardworking, 144 00:08:40.200 --> 00:08:44.120 very dedicated. Growing up, I just watched him as he 145 00:08:44.240 --> 00:08:48.240 built his car dealership business, seeing him work and seeing 146 00:08:48.280 --> 00:08:51.640 him do a lot of mechanic work and sell and 147 00:08:51.920 --> 00:08:55.960 start little by little going up the ranks. Right, That's 148 00:08:56.000 --> 00:08:59.280 something that really inspired me because he would always teach 149 00:08:59.320 --> 00:09:03.679 us lessons about work hard for everything you want in life. 150 00:09:04.320 --> 00:09:07.199 I would see that my friends their parents would always 151 00:09:07.400 --> 00:09:09.640 get them everything, but it was not like that for 152 00:09:09.760 --> 00:09:12.480 me and my siblings. If we wanted a new phone, 153 00:09:12.480 --> 00:09:13.920 we'd have to work for it. If we wanted a 154 00:09:13.960 --> 00:09:15.680 new backpack, we'd have to work for it. If we 155 00:09:15.720 --> 00:09:17.640 want a new clothes, we'd have to work for it. 156 00:09:17.960 --> 00:09:27.520 That's so Mexican, look it is. Yeah, yeah, okay, So Alejandro, 157 00:09:27.880 --> 00:09:31.000 what were the issues that were most kind of personal 158 00:09:31.040 --> 00:09:35.760 to you that made you decide I'm gonna vote for 159 00:09:35.840 --> 00:09:36.760 Kamala Harris. 160 00:09:37.040 --> 00:09:39.640 Since I first started voting at age nineteen, I've always 161 00:09:39.720 --> 00:09:43.880 voted Democratic. So it was mostly the fact that she 162 00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:46.800 was part of the party i've supported since I've had 163 00:09:46.800 --> 00:09:49.680 a political voice, but the fact that she was also 164 00:09:49.960 --> 00:09:53.160 a daughter of immigrants like myself, I'd really identified with that. 165 00:09:53.440 --> 00:09:56.480 Can you tell me your top three issues that we're like, 166 00:09:56.559 --> 00:09:57.920 this is where I'm going to vote blue. 167 00:09:58.280 --> 00:10:00.160 So, first of all, healthcare. 168 00:10:00.520 --> 00:10:05.880 During the last few months of the Biden administration, they 169 00:10:05.920 --> 00:10:09.080 had a huge push for making prescription drugs it more 170 00:10:09.120 --> 00:10:14.840 affordable for people, and that's aligned to my needs as 171 00:10:14.880 --> 00:10:18.319 a perk news hard a hearing, and as someone who 172 00:10:18.320 --> 00:10:20.360 grew up with not a lot of healthcare guys. Our 173 00:10:20.440 --> 00:10:23.960 parents didn't really have access to that, so therefore I 174 00:10:24.040 --> 00:10:26.400 wasn't giving much access to it either. But as far 175 00:10:26.520 --> 00:10:30.960 as the Democratic Party's stance on immigration, that kind of 176 00:10:31.000 --> 00:10:34.040 goes back to the Obama years with the DOCTA program. 177 00:10:34.400 --> 00:10:36.280 A couple of folks in my family went through that roouter. 178 00:10:36.400 --> 00:10:41.280 Now they're educators or they work for university, and they're 179 00:10:41.320 --> 00:10:43.840 able to help shape the minds of an next generation 180 00:10:44.200 --> 00:10:49.040 because they cannot work and have that opportunity and workers' rights, 181 00:10:49.040 --> 00:10:52.520 stipility to work, the ability to have a safety net 182 00:10:52.559 --> 00:10:54.959 for folks who have fallen on hard times. I mean, 183 00:10:55.160 --> 00:10:57.600 I've lived through that with parents who were ineligible to 184 00:10:57.640 --> 00:10:59.520 reap any of those benefits. But I was still in 185 00:10:59.559 --> 00:11:02.120 supportive of having that for folks who needed it anyway, 186 00:11:02.440 --> 00:11:04.720 because if they could get it, then eventually we could too. 187 00:11:05.240 --> 00:11:08.360 Alexis same question. So what were the specific issues that 188 00:11:08.440 --> 00:11:11.520 motivated you to vote for Trump and why did you 189 00:11:11.600 --> 00:11:14.240 believe that he would be the better option. 190 00:11:15.280 --> 00:11:18.200 Yeah. So one of the main issues has been for 191 00:11:18.320 --> 00:11:22.120 me and my family the economy. Ever since twenty twenty one, 192 00:11:22.280 --> 00:11:25.760 once Biden took office, it just we saw everything rise 193 00:11:25.800 --> 00:11:30.200 in price from gasoline, groceries and everything. It just made 194 00:11:30.200 --> 00:11:34.040 it harder, especially for my dad who's a small business owner. 195 00:11:34.360 --> 00:11:37.040 He could not hire as many people as he wanted 196 00:11:37.040 --> 00:11:40.920 to as he had before, and he also had to 197 00:11:41.040 --> 00:11:45.560 focus on other things other than selling cars because making 198 00:11:45.600 --> 00:11:48.520 money was just harder. He did feel the struggle, and 199 00:11:48.559 --> 00:11:51.959 then I did see the change, not only within our 200 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:54.840 own household, but within the community. There were so many 201 00:11:54.920 --> 00:11:59.720 people that were impacted, especially living here in such a 202 00:11:59.840 --> 00:12:04.640 life o socioeconomic region. That's one of the main reasons 203 00:12:04.720 --> 00:12:09.800 why I especially my family, who voted Democrat here and there, 204 00:12:09.840 --> 00:12:13.839 but they weren't really interested and they didn't like Republicans beforehand, 205 00:12:13.840 --> 00:12:16.920 but now they just felt the need to, so it's 206 00:12:16.960 --> 00:12:21.280 the economy. Immigration is another one. We were personally impacted 207 00:12:21.440 --> 00:12:26.240 because we tried to bring my grandpa from Mexico over 208 00:12:26.280 --> 00:12:32.360 here legally, and unfortunately, due to mass migration due to 209 00:12:32.880 --> 00:12:38.000 the broken border policies, the waytime went from months to 210 00:12:38.240 --> 00:12:41.719 years and it wasn't enough for him to hold out, 211 00:12:41.880 --> 00:12:45.480 so unfortunately he passed away to Mexico. And it was 212 00:12:45.480 --> 00:12:47.800 a really hard time for us because we saw how 213 00:12:48.320 --> 00:12:53.840 so many people came illegally and we tried to bring 214 00:12:54.040 --> 00:12:58.079 my own grandpa here legally and it just wasn't possible. 215 00:13:04.400 --> 00:13:06.920 Coming up on Latino USA, we get into how the 216 00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:10.400 issue of immigration played a role in both Alexis and 217 00:13:10.520 --> 00:13:35.480 Alejandro's vote. That's when Ombre continues stay with us, Matevayas, Hey, 218 00:13:35.800 --> 00:13:39.760 we're back with Ombre understanding Latino men. We're speaking with 219 00:13:39.840 --> 00:13:44.280 two voters, Alexis us Ganga and Alejandro Flores. Both of 220 00:13:44.320 --> 00:13:47.199 them are Mexican American, both of them grew up in Texas. 221 00:13:47.559 --> 00:13:50.880 But in twenty twenty four, Alexis voted for Donald Trump 222 00:13:51.120 --> 00:13:54.800 Wallejandro voted for Kamala Harris. We're chanting with them to 223 00:13:54.880 --> 00:14:00.400 understand what informed their votes. All right, So right after 224 00:14:00.640 --> 00:14:06.440 the election, there was a lot of talk talking about 225 00:14:07.040 --> 00:14:10.800 how Latino men voted for Donald Trump in higher numbers 226 00:14:10.800 --> 00:14:15.520 compared to in twenty twenty And obviously, I'm going to 227 00:14:15.600 --> 00:14:17.920 state what we all know, right, Latinos and latin As, 228 00:14:17.960 --> 00:14:20.840 we're not a monolith. For example, a majority of Mexican 229 00:14:20.880 --> 00:14:27.040 Americans still continue to vote heavily Democrat. Cubans overwhelmingly have 230 00:14:27.280 --> 00:14:31.320 historically voted Republican, So we understand that when we're talking 231 00:14:31.360 --> 00:14:35.880 about Latino men, there's a lot of nuance, but among 232 00:14:36.400 --> 00:14:40.520 Mexican Americans, one of the most democratic Latino groups in 233 00:14:40.520 --> 00:14:44.520 the United States, there was a shift right, notably in Texas, 234 00:14:44.720 --> 00:14:48.920 the state where you're both from, and particularly Alexis in 235 00:14:49.000 --> 00:14:52.040 the RGV, in the Rio Grande Valley which you are based. Right, 236 00:14:52.640 --> 00:14:58.760 all four counties of the RGV flipped reht and Alexis. 237 00:14:58.880 --> 00:15:02.680 Your family really is kind of indicative of this change because, 238 00:15:03.120 --> 00:15:06.640 as you said, you grew up in a traditional South 239 00:15:06.920 --> 00:15:11.200 Texas Democrat family, but in twenty twenty four, your whole 240 00:15:11.240 --> 00:15:14.840 family voted for Donald Trump. So what were some of 241 00:15:14.840 --> 00:15:19.400 the key moments that made your family switch? Like, do 242 00:15:19.440 --> 00:15:22.320 you remember that moment that conversation was like, yeah, we're 243 00:15:22.360 --> 00:15:25.120 definitely doing this because that's a big that's a big shift. 244 00:15:25.440 --> 00:15:26.440 Yeah, I actually do. 245 00:15:27.080 --> 00:15:29.160 And the first time hearing from it from my dad, 246 00:15:29.200 --> 00:15:32.520 I was just like I felt it, like that the 247 00:15:32.680 --> 00:15:36.120 RGV was going to go that way because where generations 248 00:15:36.200 --> 00:15:38.800 it's a whole family has always voted Democrat. He has 249 00:15:38.840 --> 00:15:42.840 family members that have ran Democrat on local elections. So 250 00:15:43.320 --> 00:15:47.359 we were at a cookout and he didn't buy a fahita. 251 00:15:47.720 --> 00:15:50.160 My older brother was asking for it. He's like, where's Okihita? 252 00:15:50.280 --> 00:15:54.200 And he was just like, it's too expensive. And then 253 00:15:54.240 --> 00:15:56.120 it started delving a little bit more political, and he 254 00:15:56.240 --> 00:15:59.760 was like, Yeah, everything's going up in price, everything is 255 00:15:59.800 --> 00:16:04.920 be coming so unaffordable, and I'm probably going to vote 256 00:16:04.920 --> 00:16:07.520 for Trump. And me and my brother just kind of 257 00:16:07.520 --> 00:16:12.960 looked at him and this belief. Hearing him him. 258 00:16:14.360 --> 00:16:18.000 Say that, were you like, oh my god, dad, you're 259 00:16:18.040 --> 00:16:21.240 seeing the world through my eyes or Bapista's loco or 260 00:16:21.720 --> 00:16:22.760 now we're in agreement. 261 00:16:23.320 --> 00:16:26.600 I was just like very surprised, right, But then I 262 00:16:26.600 --> 00:16:31.520 also started saying why now, and he just said the economy. 263 00:16:31.800 --> 00:16:36.160 That's the number one issue that impacted the vallee, the economy. 264 00:16:39.760 --> 00:16:41.400 So actually, I want to ask the both of you, 265 00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:44.960 and we'll ask you Alexis first, are you religious? 266 00:16:45.240 --> 00:16:46.760 Yes, I am. I'm a Christian. 267 00:16:47.520 --> 00:16:52.720 So how do those religious values of a Christian household 268 00:16:53.360 --> 00:16:55.800 impact your understanding of politics? 269 00:16:56.200 --> 00:16:59.960 I think that impacted my mom first, right, like, for example, 270 00:17:00.360 --> 00:17:07.520 the Democratic Party's constant message towards abortion, like being very 271 00:17:07.600 --> 00:17:08.159 pro abortion. 272 00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:10.520 She heavily disagreed with that. 273 00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:14.560 So when you look at Donald Trump and you see 274 00:17:14.600 --> 00:17:20.440 everything that he's done, the convictions around sexual issues with women, 275 00:17:20.560 --> 00:17:23.879 the fact that he's had multiple divorces. How do you 276 00:17:23.920 --> 00:17:27.840 square that with your traditional Christian values as a Latino man. 277 00:17:28.119 --> 00:17:31.439 That's one of the big things why I, especially my 278 00:17:31.880 --> 00:17:36.159 parents were very against him in the start, right, but 279 00:17:36.240 --> 00:17:38.639 then we kind of looked past that, and the party 280 00:17:38.680 --> 00:17:43.520 in general is very pro life, very conservative. They embrace 281 00:17:43.600 --> 00:17:47.880 a lot of the Christian values that we support. And yeah, 282 00:17:47.920 --> 00:17:51.320 we know that Trump is not perfect. He has a 283 00:17:51.400 --> 00:17:56.000 lot of laws a ton, but we just look at 284 00:17:56.000 --> 00:18:00.280 the overall policies how we lived in twenty seventeen through 285 00:18:00.440 --> 00:18:03.760 twenty twenty, and that's one of the big reasons we 286 00:18:03.840 --> 00:18:05.480 started supporting him. 287 00:18:06.040 --> 00:18:09.520 And what about you, Alejandro, does your spiritual or religious 288 00:18:09.560 --> 00:18:12.560 perspective Does that inform how you're a voter. 289 00:18:13.440 --> 00:18:15.880 I did grow up following the Roman Catholic faith. 290 00:18:16.119 --> 00:18:19.560 I kind of fell off of religion sometime around high school. 291 00:18:20.359 --> 00:18:22.280 I kind of just arrived at the point to where 292 00:18:22.440 --> 00:18:26.560 I would say, my religion or lack there at this 293 00:18:26.680 --> 00:18:31.639 point should have no bearings on my political beliefs because 294 00:18:31.640 --> 00:18:34.440 we're all different. This country's is made up of different 295 00:18:34.480 --> 00:18:37.520 faiths and different backgrounds. And there was so muching of 296 00:18:37.560 --> 00:18:41.640 abortion between you and Alexis my family, well, my mom specifically, 297 00:18:41.800 --> 00:18:45.240 she's anti abortion, but she wouldn't go as far as 298 00:18:45.800 --> 00:18:49.760 preventing other folks access if they desperately needed to. You 299 00:18:49.800 --> 00:18:53.159 know that decisions between a pregnant person and their doctor 300 00:18:53.440 --> 00:18:58.439 and having that enshrined in our laws just facilitates that. 301 00:19:05.520 --> 00:19:07.160 So we're going to talk for a moment now about 302 00:19:07.160 --> 00:19:09.760 the issue of immigration, because the both of you come 303 00:19:09.800 --> 00:19:14.200 from Mexican immigrant families, and all immigrant families right now 304 00:19:14.320 --> 00:19:18.679 have been hit pretty hard by these first executive orders 305 00:19:19.080 --> 00:19:22.840 coming from now President Donald Trump. We've seen reports of 306 00:19:23.119 --> 00:19:27.320 US citizens who were speaking Spanish and they got detained 307 00:19:27.480 --> 00:19:32.800 by ice. We've seen Native peoples from the Navajo Nation 308 00:19:33.000 --> 00:19:37.000 saying that they were being racially profiled and also detained 309 00:19:37.040 --> 00:19:41.600 by ice. And we've heard that in Mississippi there is 310 00:19:41.640 --> 00:19:45.399 a proposed law that would make being undocumented a crime 311 00:19:45.440 --> 00:19:48.399 in and of itself. And then Donald Trump announced that 312 00:19:48.440 --> 00:19:50.480 he was going to send thirty thousand immigrants to a 313 00:19:50.480 --> 00:19:54.080 detention camp in Guantanamo Bay, which of course is infamous 314 00:19:54.160 --> 00:19:58.160 as a site for extreme torture. Alexis, do you support 315 00:19:58.240 --> 00:19:58.959 these orders? 316 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:04.720 I agree with him going after criminals, that's the number 317 00:20:04.720 --> 00:20:08.159 one priority that should be set and of course strengthening 318 00:20:08.160 --> 00:20:11.600 our borders. I mean, that's why I voted for President Trump, 319 00:20:11.680 --> 00:20:15.560 because we just have a very broken immigration system. 320 00:20:15.880 --> 00:20:17.919 You do know, right that people are being picked up 321 00:20:17.920 --> 00:20:22.840 who are not violent criminals. So you're okay with people 322 00:20:22.920 --> 00:20:26.440 being separated from their children. You're okay with Donald Trump 323 00:20:26.560 --> 00:20:30.919 saying for Venezuelans, many of whom supported him, Hey, no 324 00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:33.639 more tps for Venice. Wellens, you too are going to 325 00:20:33.640 --> 00:20:35.760 be set to be deported. You're okay with this? 326 00:20:36.440 --> 00:20:38.040 Well, of course, I'm not going to agree with a 327 00:20:38.080 --> 00:20:42.240 lot of it, but overall sense of deporting the people 328 00:20:42.280 --> 00:20:45.679 that have committed crimes, that have committed very heineous crimes. 329 00:20:45.720 --> 00:20:46.760 I do support that. 330 00:20:47.200 --> 00:20:51.119 Violent crime has decreased by about fifty percent over the 331 00:20:51.160 --> 00:20:55.920 past thirty years. And in the RGV, the data shows 332 00:20:56.000 --> 00:20:59.159 that actually your communities are among the safest and that 333 00:20:59.240 --> 00:21:04.520 immigrants are responsible for less crime, not more crime. How 334 00:21:04.520 --> 00:21:06.119 do you put those two things together? 335 00:21:06.800 --> 00:21:10.080 Well, I will talk about one of my experiences going 336 00:21:10.119 --> 00:21:13.120 down to the southern border and doing a border cleanup 337 00:21:13.240 --> 00:21:16.800 there because there was a lot of people that came 338 00:21:16.840 --> 00:21:20.400 into Brownsville and it exceeded a lot of resources. So 339 00:21:21.119 --> 00:21:25.000 in the cleanup, we saw a lot of very horrific stuff. 340 00:21:25.200 --> 00:21:26.720 There was a lot of drugs on the floor. There 341 00:21:26.800 --> 00:21:30.760 was so much trash everywhere, and that's where I supported 342 00:21:30.800 --> 00:21:31.640 Trump even more. 343 00:21:31.880 --> 00:21:35.720 Alexandro, what's going on for you as you watch these 344 00:21:35.760 --> 00:21:37.720 executive orders on the issue of immigration. 345 00:21:38.600 --> 00:21:42.000 Well, I'll say this, my family this time around for 346 00:21:42.000 --> 00:21:44.680 the Trump presidency, they're a little more prepared than they 347 00:21:44.680 --> 00:21:48.800 were during his first administration. Since then, my parents have 348 00:21:48.840 --> 00:21:51.760 gotten their legal regidency status. My two older sisters have 349 00:21:51.840 --> 00:21:56.120 completed their doctor process, so they're now American citizens who 350 00:21:56.200 --> 00:21:58.560 voted for the first time last year at that. But 351 00:21:58.840 --> 00:22:00.400 it's so scary for a lot of pe people out 352 00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:04.040 there who are just here trying to find an opportunity 353 00:22:05.280 --> 00:22:08.840 to have a better life. And we really do feel 354 00:22:08.880 --> 00:22:12.280 for them because we relive those ferod ourselves. These executive 355 00:22:12.359 --> 00:22:17.800 orders are sending people who speak Spanish, and that makes 356 00:22:18.040 --> 00:22:22.119 folks here suspicious of them of being criminals or just 357 00:22:22.160 --> 00:22:26.320 being here without any documentation whatsoever. You understand that that's unfair. 358 00:22:33.840 --> 00:22:37.359 I want to bring this again to Latino men, like, 359 00:22:37.560 --> 00:22:41.560 what is the thing that you would like to shout 360 00:22:41.560 --> 00:22:47.000 from the mountaintops about Latino men when you hear journalists 361 00:22:47.080 --> 00:22:51.359 or analysts talking about Latino men, and we'll start with you, Alexis. 362 00:22:51.720 --> 00:22:54.720 I guess just not all the same. We are all 363 00:22:54.760 --> 00:22:58.000 different in our own manners, right. Of course, Mexican Americans 364 00:22:58.040 --> 00:23:00.080 are going to be so much more different than and 365 00:23:00.400 --> 00:23:04.640 Cuban Americans, and that's something that the media, I think 366 00:23:04.760 --> 00:23:09.359 still quite doesn't understand or the different issues that matter 367 00:23:09.440 --> 00:23:11.960 to us the most. A lot of Latinos are going 368 00:23:12.040 --> 00:23:14.439 to be very focused on immigration, while others are just 369 00:23:14.480 --> 00:23:16.440 going to be focused on other things like the economy. 370 00:23:16.720 --> 00:23:19.679 Alejandro, what do you think that we need to know 371 00:23:19.840 --> 00:23:22.920 and understand about Latino men in our country? 372 00:23:23.520 --> 00:23:26.200 Yeah, I think similar to what Alexis said, I would 373 00:23:26.200 --> 00:23:30.040 say that the state of being a Latino man in 374 00:23:30.040 --> 00:23:33.119 this country is a spectrum. It's not just oh, we 375 00:23:33.160 --> 00:23:36.680 all speak the same language. And of course Latino man 376 00:23:36.720 --> 00:23:39.280 whose heritage heals from Mexico is different from that of 377 00:23:39.320 --> 00:23:42.119 a Latino man whose heritage hails on Venezuela or Colombia. 378 00:23:42.600 --> 00:23:47.080 Their histories of alteritarian leadership, of course, will color their 379 00:23:47.080 --> 00:23:52.919 political beliefs, and as far as Mexico's political revolutions, of 380 00:23:53.000 --> 00:23:57.000 the struggle between their conservatives and their liberals will also 381 00:23:57.000 --> 00:23:58.560 shape view. 382 00:23:58.400 --> 00:23:59.399 On politics as well. 383 00:24:00.200 --> 00:24:04.200 Getting to know the historical background of all these nations 384 00:24:04.240 --> 00:24:08.280 that shape the Latino men that are here today, that's 385 00:24:08.280 --> 00:24:10.560 something that that should be understood when it comes to 386 00:24:10.640 --> 00:24:14.440 talking about Latino men and their political beliefs. 387 00:24:14.920 --> 00:24:19.040 All right, final question, So we'll start with you, Alejandro. 388 00:24:19.440 --> 00:24:21.120 What do you hope to see in the next four 389 00:24:21.240 --> 00:24:25.439 years for your community, for our country? And yeah, very 390 00:24:25.480 --> 00:24:27.080 specifically for Latino men. 391 00:24:27.680 --> 00:24:30.120 Well, first and foremost, I would say that no matter 392 00:24:30.119 --> 00:24:33.080 who won the election, my biggest hope was that whatever 393 00:24:33.400 --> 00:24:36.680 the outcome was, that our country as a whole doesn't falter, 394 00:24:37.119 --> 00:24:40.000 that it continues to prosper, and it continues to open 395 00:24:40.040 --> 00:24:42.480 doors for folks all over the country, all over the 396 00:24:42.480 --> 00:24:45.640 political spectrum, no matter which background you come from. So 397 00:24:46.040 --> 00:24:50.680 to that, I do wish that this second Trump presidency 398 00:24:50.840 --> 00:24:54.760 will be helpful for more people. However, at the time 399 00:24:55.400 --> 00:24:58.160 of this recording, I do not see that being the possibility. 400 00:24:59.040 --> 00:25:02.800 I see doors being hosts for folks who just want 401 00:25:02.840 --> 00:25:03.959