Politics & Race-baiting.

Victor Landa, a native South Texan, has been reporting bi-cultural news for almost thirty years. His career has encompassed positions such as editor, reporter, columnist, anchor, and news director. He currently works for a Spanish television station in San Antonio and writes a Spanish language weekly column for the San Antonio Express. This being said, it is apparent that Victor Landa is an aficionado when it comes to reporting news that affects the Hispanic population of Texas. While this could bias his responses, he definitely is passionate about achieving equality for Latinos.

In the op-ed "Isn't GOP approach to Hispanics race based?" , Landa’s audience includes the readers of the San Antonio Express, however because it was published online it is limited to those who have Internet access.

Landa’s claim is that due to the recent sanctuary cities bill proposed by State Senator Jeff Wentworth (R) and a redistricting plan that will affect many Hispanic voters, there are aspects to the Republican approach that are race-based.  He claims that because the sanctuary cities bill allows Texas officers to ask about the immigration status of any arrested or legally detained person, it is anti-Latino. Also, he believes that the redistricting plan will rob the voting power of Latinos, thus allowing Republicans to take advantage of Hispanic voters. Because the election of 2012 might very well be a swing vote, Republicans need to ensure that the voting power attributed to the growing population of Hispanics is minimized. However, while Landa’s opinion seems valid, he does not cite evidence for his claims.  He references an editorial written by Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, who is the head of the Senate Democratic Caucus. However, Van de Putte’s editorial lacks hard evidence as well, specifically when comparing the effects of the Arizona Immigration Law to Texas.

Personally, I have mixed reactions to these claims. I do agree with Landa that law enforcement will be inhibited because immigrants will be less likely to cooperate with authorities or report criminal activity for fear of deportation. Also, I agree that there are other consequences to the sanctuary cities bill, such as the promotion of racial and ethnic profiling. However, if Landa was trying to persuade his audience to believe in a Republican race-based agenda, he didn’t thoroughly convince many readers (or at least those that felt particularly moved enough by the article to comment). For example, his argument against redistricting seems obvious. Of course the GOP is trying to minimize the voice of those less likely to vote for them. I am not a Republican, but I do know that this doesn’t necessarily make them anti-Hispanic. It’s a political move in order to maintain dominance--regardless of ethnic background. Nevertheless, the voices of Landa and Van de Putte have started a controversial debate about race baiting between the Democratic and Republican Parties. Take a look at this article:  "Senator's editorial causes backlash"

Sources:
Who is Victor Landa?
Perry, lege GOP pushing anti-Hispanic agenda. (Written by: Van de Putte)