Tempers flare in Nevada after call for Latino voter boycott (Feature)

By Silvia Ayuso Oct 20, 2010, 21:32 GMT

Washington - A mysterious call for a Latino voter boycott in mid-term elections in Nevada by an allegedly pro-immigration group has unleashed the fury of civil rights and political groups who see in it a conservative campaign strategy.

'Don't vote, that is our only alternative to be taken seriously,' says an ad produced in Spanish and English by the group Latinos4reform, which was broadcast in Nevada.

The group posted a statement on its website that said: 'Democratic leaders had two years to push for comprehensive immigration' but delivered 'all talk and no action.' This constitutes a 'betrayal,' it said.

'This November we can send a message to all politicians: if they didn't keep their promise on immigration reform, then they can't count on our vote,' the statement said.

The message quickly prompted angry responses from other pro- immigration reform groups and Nevada Senator Harry Reid, leader of the centre-left Democratic majority in the Senate, who is facing the toughest re-election fight of his career on November 2.

The strength of the Latino vote in Nevada underlies the controversy. The Hispanic community constitutes 12 per cent of the state's electorate, and analysts believe it can be crucial in the race between Reid and Republican nominee Sharron Angle, a member of the conservative Tea Party movement.

At a campaign rally Tuesday, Reid accused his challenger of being behind the boycott call, calling it 'despicable.'

'She's trying to keep people from voting,' said the current leader of the Democratic majority in the Senate. 'But can you really think of anything less patriotic or more offensive than telling people not to vote?'

'The American thing to do is to vote,' he emphasized.

Organizations campaigning for immigration reform have denounced the boycott campaign and called on Latinos to do just the opposite: vote en masse.

'This is overt voter suppression, and it's ugly,' said Frank Sharry, executive director of America's Voice.

He blamed the move on the fact that a large Latino turnout 'could prove to be fatal for Angle.'

The National Council of La Raza, the largest US Latino organization, also criticized the boycott call in a statement: 'We are all frustrated with Congress ignoring issues of importance to Latinos, but when has keeping our mouths shut ever accomplished anything? Help us make it clear that we will not stay quiet this election day. What we will do is vote for respect.'

US media linked the boycott campaign to the Republican Party, reporting that key people with ties to the centre-right party stand behind Latinos4reform. Among them was Robert Deposada, the Republican National Committee's former director of Hispanic affairs.

On its website, Latinos4reform notes only that its campaign 'has not been authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.' The website gives no information regarding its members and no further data beyond a postal code in the state of Virginia and an email address.

The controversy started just after Angle was criticized by Hispanics for campaign ads denouncing illegal immigration that show dark-skinned men crossing a fence between Mexico and the United States.

When she tried to explain the ads to a group of Hispanic students, Angle made matters worse by telling the youngsters that they did not all look Latino to her. 'Some of you look a little more Asian to me,' Angle told astonished students, in footage that was broadcast repeatedly on news channels like CNN.

Reid made fun of the remark Tuesday. 'You look all Nevadians to me,' he told the crowd at his rally.

Reid has not been exempt from criticism, either, in his efforts to win over Hispanic voters. Republicans accused him of opportunism last month, when he added the Dream Act, a key demand from immigrants that seeks a way to legalize undocumented Hispanic students, to defence legislation that was eventually rejected by the Republicans.

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