Latino voters could be crucial in the outcome of the US presidential election, according to a political consultant who has made adverts for the likes of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
Dr Laura Barberena is the founder and owner of VIVA Politics, LLC located in San Antonio, Texas. The firm manages political campaigns among other services.
Dr Barberena's father is from Mexico, and a lot of her work focuses on the Latino community in the United States.
In an interview with BreakingNews.ie, she highlighted how Kamala Harris' campaign is investing a lot in adverts and outreach to Latino voters.
"She is launching a WhatsApp channel dedicated to Latino voters, and in Spanish.
"She's making significant investments towards Spanish language speakers in Pennsylvania. A lot of people assume because Latinos tend to be predominantly Catholic, and with the abortion issue that they would favour Donald Trump's policies and with things like immigration too.
"The fact she is actively investing in the Latino vote, not taking them for granted, could be important. You've seen Trump's rhetoric in the past, things like calling Mexicans rapists.
"The other day he said immigrants were taking 110 per cent of American jobs, people won't buy that."
In 2020, Dr Barberena was a member of the Biden for President’s Latino creative team where she helped write, direct, and produce television and radio commercials for the campaign.
That same year, she lent her talents to candidate Jon Ossoff, directing Spanish television and social media ads for his successful run for Georgia’s US Senate seat.
Dr Barberena said there are commonly held misconceptions about the Latino vote, with many people assuming it always leans Republican.
"We're not monolithic. You have people of Mexican descent, Venezuelans, Cubans, Colombians, they come from different countries with different narratives.
"One of the things we saw in the Trump-Clinton campaign was the use of the word socialism in Trump's outreach to Latinos. He knew that word, socialism, brought with it a different meaning, a trauma informed meaning, it has strong implications to certain sections of the Latino community.
"One thing that does trouble me is this narrative of saying Latinos are turning more towards the Republican Party. It is frankly, statistically not true. However, people believe it is true."
She added: "For example, in Texas one county went from blue to red, and suddenly it's 'all Latinos are voting for Trump'. They've echoed that message so much that people now believe it, using issues like immigration to further spread these misconceptions.
"That is something I think the Harris campaign needs to be concerned about. I think that is why they are making increased investments in the Latino community. They don't want that narrative to grow so much so that it becomes a reality.
"Latinos have overwhelmingly voted Democrat and I think they will continue to do so."
Dr Barberena also pointed to the Harris campaign reaching out to Latino voters in areas where they trail Republicans, including Arizona and Nevada, along with states like North Carolina where the Latino vote is not seen as a key percentage.
"Harris' very intentional investment into the Latino electorate is huge, not only in Pennsylvania, also in Nevada where she's down around six points, in Arizona where she's down by five points.
"Also, surprisingly, in places like North Carolina where people don't think of Latinos as being a huge portion of the electorate. It's not 50 per cent or anything, but they do make up a percentage that could make a big difference in the election."
Immigration
Immigration will be a key issue in the US election, and it is one of the most important issues for the Latino community.
Dr Barberena said Ms Harris will have to counter Mr Trump's claims that she is behind a failed policy, with Republicans often labelling her the "failed border czar".
"Most of my work is with the Latino community, and immigration is a key thing for Latinos. Many come from immigrant families.
"My father was from Mexico, so I'm first generation immigrant family, and understanding our economy cannot function without immigrants. But how do you ensure these people are coming in a safe way, where they can work and live.
"Immigration narratives really connect with people who are afraid of 'other' and struggling in their lives."
Inflation is a big issue in the United States, and Dr Barberena said one big issue for Ms Harris is that the average American doesn't feel like the economy is working for them, even though it is strong on paper.
"In my work, what I'm hearing is the middle class feel very squeezed right now. They see their salaries going up, but also prices going up, and their wages aren't keeping up with inflation.
"There's still this belief that under president Trump, the economy was better. People inherently believe that, even though it may not have been.
"When I do focus groups and talk to people about their feeling of the economy, what does it mean to you?
"The economy is 'econo me', it's not about GDP, trade, it's how much does it cost for me to buy a gallon of milk, put fuel in my car?
"It's simply cost-of-living at the end of the day.
"There's still this perception that the Biden economy is bad. I don't know if she can change that, but she can talk about what she sees in her future, and where her policies as president would change that.
"She has to convince the American people her policies moving forward will be better."
The overwhelming message from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week was one of positivity, with many associating the word 'joy' with Ms Harris' campaigning.
Mr Trump tends to paint a much darker picture of America, and Dr Barberena said the Democratic Party would be foolish to write this off as ineffective.
"While Trump is very dystopian in his messaging, my fear is that we're going to dismiss it as ineffective.
'Carnage vs possibility'
"'Oh he just talks about carnage, and Harris talks about possibility'. The belief that somehow positivity, possibility and joy wins over. As a human being, I would like to believe fundamentally that is true. But as a political realist, this grievance politics can really motivate people. Hate and fear are huge motivators.
"I worry that people will dismiss Trump's approach as ineffective when it's proven to be effective, and he is the perfect person to deliver it. Even JD Vance, when he tries to deliver it like Trump, it doesn't work, it's something unique about Trump. His bigger than life personality, frankly, his reality show.
"The polls are tending more towards Kamala right now, but that can change."
She said protecting women's healthcare, and highlighting the policies like mass deportations and abortion bans in the controversial Project 2025 document, should be key points of Ms Harris' campaign.
Dr Laura Barberena is one of the guests at the Kennedy Summer School in New Ross, Co Wexford, this week, where she will take part in the US Politics Panel on Saturday, August 31st.
For further details and tickets for the 2024 events, see www.kennedysummerschool.ie or call St Michael’s Theatre on 051 421255.
