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Héctor Sánchez bartends five days a week at Tommy's
Joynt, a Tenderloin district restaurant famous for its buffalo stew,
lamb shank, and lively conversation. As he breaks from serving loyal
customers, Sánchez jokingly argues in Spanish with a coworker
who supports Gore: "I've been a Republican all of my life and
I always will," he says, and walks away.
Accustomed to Latin American politics, he thinks that conservative
Republican values are key to democracy. "We don’t have
true democracy in Central America like we have here, especially
if Bush wins the election," he says.
Sánchez, a U.S. citizen of 15 years, came from Guatemala
with his Nicaraguan wife in the 1980s, at the start of Nicaragua's
Sandinista-led socialist revolution. Sánchez threw his support
behind the Republican Party when the Reagan administration stamped
out Nicaragua’s Sandinista movement during the Contra War.
Sanchez disapproves of the Democrats for being "too easily
dominated by outside interests." And his Nicaraguan wife? "She's
going to vote for Bush as well."
Simply put, Sánchez supports Bush for his religious beliefs,
family values, and what Sánchez perceives as the candidate’s
connection to Latinos, as Bush makes attempts to speak Spanish and
has a Mexican sister-in-law.
Like many Latinos who immigrated to the U.S. seeking social and
economic stability, Sánchez still identifies with Latin American
traditions. He says these traditions jibe with Bush’s plans
for abstinence education, activating charities and churches and
"ensuring that every child grows up in a safe, stable and loving
family."
This is perhaps more important to Sánchez, a first-generation
immigrant, than second- and third-generation Latino immigrants.
Sánchez’s own children are not registered to vote.
According to a 1999 U.S. Census Bureau report, one of nine U.S.
residents is of Hispanic origin, and California is home to more
than 10 million Latinos. Latinos are traditionally loyal to the
Democratic Party, but still, the Republicans are trying harder this
year than ever before to attract Latino voters, especially in states
where George W. Bush and Al Gore are virtually tied in the polls.
Six million Latino votes are expected to be cast this presidential
election, the most ever, and the Bush campaign hopes for support
from as much as 40 percent of Latinos—matching Ronald Reagan's
Latino support in his 1984 landslide election.
Juan Carlos Largaespada, a volunteer for the Bush-Cheney campaign
in San Francisco, says that Latinos should become more actively
involved in politics. "They aren't very well informed,"
says Largaespada, after four months of telephone campaigning.
"More than anything else, they want a candidate who will help
them to reunite with their families and get amnesty on immigration
issues," Largaespada says, "instead of going for the candidate
who will benefit the entire country."
Contrary to the feeling of the Republican Sánchez, Largaespada
says Latinos tend to vote for charisma rather than for a particular
party, and that they pay little attention to a candidate's stand
on issues such as Medicare, Social Security or education.
The election’s outcome will depend on whether Bush and his
supporters play their cards right in California. Latinos for Bush,
which has stations in 15 California districts, are trying to help
Bush deal the Spanish card.
"Proselytism begins at home, with friends, neighbors and clients,"
said San Francisco Latinos for Bush chairman Leonardo Lacayo.
An attorney who helps the Latino, Filipino and Afghan communities
with their taxes and messy divorces, Lacayo takes pride in serving
as a liaison between the Bush campaign, the Republican party and
Latinos.
"Sixty-one percent of Latino voters believe that Bush is the
most honest candidate, thanks to his record as governor of Texas,"
says Lacayo, referring to a poll conducted by the Republican Party.
Part of Bush's appeal, says Lacayo, is his program for tackling
the problems that plague Latino communities. "Latinos are always
too busy protecting children from street crime, working hard to
pay the bills and high taxes," Lacayo says. "The Democratic
Party has always been perceived as 'the party of the poor,’
yet they haven't done anything about stopping Social Security from
running out by the year 2013."
Only hours away from one candidate’s victory, the Bush-Gore
race appears too close to call. The only thing recent polls seem
to agree on is the importance of the Latino vote in California.
The Tomás Rivera Policy Institute, a California think tank,
found that 63 percent of Latino voters support Gore in California.
Some 24 percent of California’s Latino voters agreed that the
next president's ability to speak Spanish is very important.
So far, Bush's undecipherable Spanish seems to have helped him reach
out to voters in states such as Florida, where he held a rally last
Sunday to attract the Cuban-American vote. Some 56 percent of Latinos
in Florida favor Bush.
"We believe in freedom por todos in este hemisphere,"
Bush said in rough Spanglish, to a cheering crowd of Republicans.
But Latinos for Bush and other volunteer groups throughout the country
are not relying on rallies or polls. Largaespada plans to continue
making calls, handing out bumper stickers and holding signs that
advertise Bush until the last vote is cast, he says.
Lacayo, on the other hand, looks forward to an appearance on Telemundo,
a Spanish-language television station, to reach out to last-minute
swing voters. Then he plans to head to a victory party at 7 p.m.
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