As the country laments the passing of former President Jimmy Carter, a significant portion of his legacy is his track record of establishing a rapport with Latino voters, acknowledging the importance of their expanding population, and promoting Hispanics to positions of leadership.
Carter was elected in 1976 with an estimated 81% of the Latino vote, despite being a political outsider when he ran for the Democratic primary. He won 87% of the Latino vote in Texas, which helped him win the state by a slim margin.
Carter’s presidency mirrored the emergence of Latinos as a political force. At the time, there were around 14.6 million Latinos in the nation, or 6.5% of the total population.
Former University of Texas-Pan American president Blandina Cardenas, 79, worked on the Carter campaign before being named the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare’s commissioner for children, youth, and families in 1977.
To be honest, I didn’t have much experience—certainly not at that level—because I was so young. But, she remembered, I had the capacity. Back then, among us Mexican Americans, there was a true sense of community. There was a dedication to politics with the goal of promoting equality and assisting others.
Cardenas’ duties included overseeing the country’s child welfare program and Head Start program, which she said was incredibly fulfilling. You were proud even though we were working 14-hour days. We had the impression that we were a part of something sincere and compassionate.
Record Latinos in federal government, judicial appointments
According to Cardenas, Carter chose individuals who had participated in the civil rights and grassroots political movements in addition to hiring qualified Latinos to work alongside him.
A record number of Hispanics were hired by Carter’s administration at that time. This was made possible by their recruitment of leaders from the burgeoning Latino advocacy and civil rights organizations.
The first Latino commissioner of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, Leonel J. Castillo, was appointed by Carter in 1977. In addition, he appointed more Latino federal judges than any previous president.
In December 1976, following Carter’s election, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus was established. Latino involvement in his campaign was linked to its creation.
Carter nominated San Francisco Bay Area native Arabella Martinez in 1977 to serve as assistant secretary for the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare’s Office of Human Development Services.
Martinez, who is now in her 80s, claimed that a strong sense of ethics propelled the Carter administration. It was assumed that complete honesty would be present. It was highly tight, and corruption would not exist.
Her tenure in the government was both thrilling and difficult, she recalls. At first, it was a bit overwhelming. It wasn’t all smooth and simple. However, I have never in my life learnt as much as I did during those years. I used to say that it seemed like I had earned four Ph.D.s in that period. The work was really hard.
As honest as the day is long, Carter was a very straightforward man, she recalled. “The D.C. elites used to make fun of him as a country person, a rube, but he was an exceptionally decent human being.”
Support for bilingual education, immigration reform
During his one-term presidency, Carter addressed a number of Latino-related problems. He advocated for bilingual education, expanded the pool of refugees who might enter the United States, and, on humanitarian grounds, released a number of Puerto Rican nationalists from detention.
Carter proposed an immigration reform plan in 1977 that would have given certain undocumented individuals the opportunity to change their status. Despite failing in Congress, this bill served as a model for President Ronald Reagan’s historic amnesty program in 1986.
Carter struggled with unemployment, inflation, and the energy crisis while serving as president. During his tenure, the Hispanic unemployment rate varied between 8.3% and 10.1%.
‘Mistakes were made’ and a ‘damn good president’
Martha P. Cotera, 86, actively followed Carter’s administration while working on his campaign in Texas.
He vowed to advance a robust civil rights, labor rights, and social justice program that would have included complete equality for women, Latinas, and other groups, which is why we were drawn to him, she said.
Cotera, who was then a member of the independent Raza Unida Party, regarded Carter as a chance to further progressive objectives, like as the Equal Rights Amendment’s ratification.
Cotera, however, was aware that Carter was struggling to implement his goals as she watched the ensuing political waves. He tried his hardest, in my opinion, to fulfill his convictions, but he was powerless against several economic pressures and forces. She admitted that mistakes had been made. Given what was going on in the world and the fact that he was not part of the Wall Street/D.C. elite, I failed to see how he could win again.
During his presidency, Carter oversaw significant changes in Latin America. He signed the Panama Canal treaties in 1977, which finally resulted in the United States losing control of the canal. The Sandinista government came to power in Nicaragua in 1979 after the Somoza regime collapsed.An estimated 125,000 Cubans evacuated the island during the Mariel Boatlift in April 1980 when Cuban leader Fidel Castro permitted those who want to escape to do so.
Gonzalez Barrientos Jr., 82, of Austin, who worked on Carter’s campaign, stated, “I believe he would have been one of the great presidents, like Kennedy or LBJ, had he been allowed to serve a second term.” He was a really wonderful president, in my opinion. Individuals outside of the political sphere are unaware that government tasks require patience and compromise.
Serving in both the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas state Senate, Barrientos was involved in Texas politics for many years. I came out of el movimiento the Civil Rights Movement and I felt that Carter wanted to support equity for Mexican Americans, like he did for African Americans in Georgia, he said.
It was an amazing time; when I was a kid, my family was being kicked out of restaurants for being Mexican migrant workers,” he said. “By the 1970s, there I am, I am taking pictures with President Carter in the Rose Garden.
It is easy to go out and march and say power to the people, Barrientos reflected. And you have to do that sometimes. But once Carter made it, he was in power, and there was so much hard work to do. He deserves credit for his efforts.
Post-presidency, Carter was knownfor the Carter Center, which has worked throughout the Americas to enhance democracy, as well as for Habitat for Humanity, which has helped build homes in the U.S.,the Caribbeanand Latin America.
Carter was ahead of his time, said Gretchen Sierra-Zorita, director for Puerto Rico and the Territories at the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.
A key part of Carter s legacy is that he introduced global human rights into American foreign policy; that had not been done before,” Sierra-Zorita said. “And long before we were discussing climate change, he created theDepartment of Energyto diversify our fuel sources.
Sierra-Zorita believes Cartershould be rememberednot only for his presidency, but also for his entire rich, productive, and ethical life. His efforts and endeavors after the presidency, in her view, redefined the role of a former commander-in-chief.
He was the gold standard for an American ex-president,” she said.
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