Latino Leaders Call For Communities To Vote For Climate
Washington, D.C. — Today, 20 individuals from a broad coalition of Latino organizations issued an appeal to Latino voters to vote for climate in the 2020 election to ensure that our government takes bold action to combat the climate crisis and mitigate the dire consequences of climate change on Latinos and communities of color across the country.
In an open letter to voters published in The Hill, Latino activists, advocates, and community leaders wrote that the impact of the COVID pandemic in the Latino community has exposed the ties to environmental justice, including climate change. They point to a report from the Center for Disease Control, which found that children of color accounted for 78% of all COVID-19 deaths and nearly half of these fatalities are from Latino children. These deaths are directly connected to the fact that Latino children face disproportionate exposure to air pollutants, pesticides, and toxic industrial chemicals – all of which contribute to higher rates of asthma, and behavioral and developmental disorders.
The letter also addresses how Latinos, in particular, are one of the groups most affected by climate change and extreme weather, suffering the worst from sea-level rise, extreme heat, wildfires, and droughts.
The letter, signed by representatives of the major Latino organizations, including Voto Latino, UnidosUS Action Fund, PoderLatinx, LULAC, and others states:
“During this election, Latinos have the opportunity to take a stand for the issues that matter to our community. Most importantly we have the opportunity to vote to help our children and our youth live healthier and safer lives,” … “We need to vote for a safer future by voting for climate action.”
“Our jobs, the economy, racial justice, immigration, food access, or health all intersect with issues related to the ongoing climate crisis. And we cannot hope to make progress on these critical issues without urgent climate action.”
With 32 million eligible voters, Latinos will be the second-largest voting bloc in this year’s election. And their votes will be pivotal to the eventual winner. You can find the letter HERE.
The letter was authored by:
- Orson Aguilar, Executive Director of UnidosUS Action Fund
- Amanda Aguirre, former Director of Public Engagement at the US Environmental Protection Agency
- Cristela Alonzo, Comedian, Actor, and Producer
- Antonio Arellano, Interim Executive Director of Jolt Action
- Sindy Benavides, CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens
- Felipe Benítez, Executive Director of Corazón Latino
- Xochitl Gaytan, co-chair of the Colorado Latino Forum
- Marce Gutiérrez-Graudins, Founder and Director of Azul
- María Teresa Kumar, President and CEO of Voto Latino
- Nathalie Rayes, President and CEO of LVP
- Greisa Martínez, Executive Director of United We Dream
- Joanne Pérodin, Climate Justice Program Manager at The New Florida Majority
- Adriana Quintero, Senior Director, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Energy Foundation
- Mónica Ramírez, Founder and President of Justice for Migrant Women
- Dr. Elena Ríos, President and CEO of the National Hispanic Medical Association
- Héctor Sánchez Barba, Executive Director and CEO of Mi Familia Vota
- Yadira Sanchez, Co-Executive Director of Poder Latinx
- Ean Thomas Tafoya, Co-chair of the Colorado Latino Forum
- Elizabeth Yeampierre, Executive Director of UPROSE
- Rudy Zamora, Program Director at Chispa Nevada