In the Land of Mirrors by Torres Maria de los Angeles;

Author:Torres, Maria de los Angeles;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Michigan Press

Latinos and the GOP Electoral Strategy

The Republican strategy of fundamentally altering the course of U.S. foreign policy toward Latin America was accompanied by a domestic electoral strategy that included reaching out to Latinos. Reagan suffered from what the media dubbed an “image” problem with minorities. African-Americans and Latinos generally supported the Democratic Party in higher numbers than the Republican Party, and Reagan was forced to make special efforts to bridge this gap. It was unclear how he might accomplish this turnaround, since minorities generally did not support his economic agenda, which called for reversing years of gains in social programs that had mostly benefited urban areas.

The Republicans were keenly ideological in their approach to politics and, as such, understood the impact of symbolism. Hence, not only did they accept Cuban exiles as supporters, but they also promoted many of them to key policy positions within the government. Many appointees had close links to CANF. Among the highest-level appointments were those of José Sorzano, a Georgetown University professor of political science, as ambassador to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, and Otto Reich to various diplomatic posts. Not all appointments were concentrated in foreign policy; Reagan appointed Cuban exiles to positions within the bureaucracy having domestic policy functions as well.33 Cubans were also given key positions within the Republican Party hierarchy. The powerful Republican Finance Committee invited Carlos Benitez, also on CANF’s board, to join its other nine members. In 1983 the party replaced the president of its National Hispanic Assembly, Fernando C. de Baca, a Mexican from New Mexico, with Tirso de Junco, a Cuban from California. Cubans were also handed the reins of several state-level Republican Party Hispanic Assemblies.

Cubans in Florida provided the Republican Party with a base from which to establish itself in the usually Democratic-controlled state. The electoral strategy there relied on fielding Cuban émigré candidates against Democrats. In 1982 this led to Manuel Yglesias, a young Cuban exile from Miami, running against Claude Pepper. Although Yglesias lost, the Republicans had made their point: unlike the Democrats, they were willing to support Cuban-American candidates.

In the summer of 1983 Reagan announced that he would run for a second term. Florida, Texas, and California were among the states he targeted as necessary to win the 1984 election. Key to the outcome in all three of these states were registered Latino voters. In the 1984 campaign the Republican Party made concerted efforts to capture at least 30 percent of the traditionally Democratic vote. As part of that strategy, the opening speech at the presidential nominating convention was delivered by Katherine Ortega, Reagan’s highest-ranking Latina. As one of the top fiscal policymakers in the country, the symbolism of Katherine Ortega signing all paper currency did not go unnoticed by Republican image makers.

While Mexican-Americans and Puerto Ricans generally did not support Reagan’s domestic and foreign policies, especially those directed at Latin America, a significant number of Cubans did. Cuban exiles saw Reagan as a champion of anticommunism and quickly embraced him and the Republican Party.

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