CHARLOTTE.- The first Hispanic vice-president of the platform committee that the Democrat Party will approve today during its convention, Andrés López, said that Barack Obama wants to be the president that makes history by signing a comprehensive immigration reform.
López, one of the advisers the White House contacted on the subject of Hispanic issues during Obama's first term of office and now during his reelection campaign, stated that immigration would be one of Obama's top priorities if he wins next November 06.
"Because of personal talks I've had with him I know one of the accomplishments he wants to achieve is signing a broad immigration reform," commented López in Charlotte, where the Democrat Convention started today.
Obama "knows that he's being watched by the Latin community," said López who then added that "he wants to make it happen, he wants to be the president that makes history" with a reform he couldn't achieve during his first term.
In the presidential elections of November 06 "the people will be presented with the clear option to move forward in the progress we have already achieved ( ) or to stay by failed politics that we know won't work," explained López.
Unemployment will be another of Obama's priorities, currently at an 8.3 percent rate according to the latest data by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a number even higher among Hispanics, something the leader also has in mind.
"We would obviously like to be ahead of where we are," said the Hispanic advisor who accused the Republicans of having focused these last four years in "trying to stop the president's reelection saying that 'it cannot be done'."
But, "despite all that we have accomplished a lot and we will achieve even more in the next elections," assured the advisor who emphasized the importance of the Hispanic vote during his participation in the Hispanic caucus held on Tuesday.
"Every month 5,000 Latinos will be turning 18 for the next 20 years," the legal age to vote in the United States. "The future is ours," he stated.
The Puerto Rican man has been a friend of Obama since college and has been the national director of Future Fund, the fundraising branch for the Hispanic community.
His presence as the platform's vice-president as well as that of the Mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa as the president of the Convention and the one of San Antonio's Mayor, Julián Castro, as the main speaker of the night during the inauguration "is a faithful reflection of the importance Hispanics have for the Democrat Party," he asserted.
"I am very proud to be serving as a Platform Committee vice-president and to be representing with dignity the 54 million of Hispanics that embody the future of the United States," he stated.
López was born and raised in Puerto Rico and remembers that, thanks to his parents' sacrifice, he had the opportunity of studying Law at Harvard, one of the most prestigious educational institutions of the world.
"I now have the privilege of being able to be the consultant and supporter of the United States President" he remarked.
"It's a journey that every day reminds me of the importance of education for our community and the opportunity this country offers us, that if we work hard and diligently we can achieve our dreams," he said.
The "historic platform we approved today is a reliable symbol of the firm trust the Democrat Party has on the Latin community, there is no doubt us Hispanics feel that President Obama is the candidate that better identifies with us and the one who represents our interests."
editorial@sandiegored.com
Original Text : EFE Agency
Translation: Karen.balderas@sandiegored.com
