The procession for the niche of voters of Hispanic origin has been joined by the political party Vox. And he has done it to the rhythm of salsa. The musical group Los 3 de la Habana, famous for opening YouTube for 48 hours with a song that invited the Latino population in the United States to vote for former President Donald Trump in October 2020, now arrives in Spain thanks to Vox: everything for that million and a half Latino votes.
Right-wing parties have realized that a good part of these Latino citizens in Spain do not have a defined ideological preference. Considering, on the other hand, that in many cases they have fled from regimes that many consider socialist, such as Venezuela and Cuba, the Spanish conservative parties have a hard time: if they manage to convince them to go to the polls, it is possible that many will choose to vote for the right. At least, these are the estimates with which they have worked in the last elections from the PP.
This is also helped by the fact that the discourse of freedom used by Vox against socialism is something that sounds very familiar to Venezuelans who have left their country due to the policies imposed by the Government more than 20 years ago.. And now, in addition, we must add that the discourse of fear of the left has spread to many Colombians who have not welcomed the rise to power of the Andean country of the leftist Gustavo Petro.. They are often middle and upper class families, that is, those who have had money to move to Spain and establish themselves in the country with the help of contacts. They are by far the fastest growing foreign community in the country.
From the Latinos por Abascal movement, they emphasize time and again that Vox has been the only party capable of demonstrating its support for the right-wing migrant population with facts. “Vox was the only party that left the Congress of Deputies showing its rejection of the policies of the Colombian president,” explains Josling Montilva, who left Venezuela due to the political situation in her country and has now been elected Vox councilor in Barcelona: “We have gone through a political trauma and that is why we are now so active.”.
No one doubts the power of the Hispanic mobilization and its passion. For the general director of Cooperation with the State and the EU in the Community of Madrid, José Herrera, what Vox is doing with Latinos is late. “not authentic. He grinds with his speech against migration,” says.
Herrera, on the other hand, makes a very positive assessment of what happened with the Hispanic vote in the municipal and regional elections of 28-M. “Hispanics fundamentally support the Popular Party, and this has been reflected in the polls,” ditch.
When looking at the neighborhoods of the Community of Madrid, for example, the places where the most Latinos live coincide with those in which Ayuso got the most votes, explains Herrera.. The party expects this to be replicated now in the general elections in support of Feijóo. And although he explains that the president of the PP has a more traditional profile than the president of the community, he says that he also has great support from the Hispanic population.
Latinos for Abascal
From Latinos for Trump in 2020 to Latinos for Abascal in 2023. By the end of the general elections, the group of Latinos that supports Vox decided to hire the Cuban group to make the Spanish version of Trump's song to the rhythm of salsa and thus show their support for their leader, Santiago Abascal.. “For a great Spain, we are going to vote”, repeats the chorus of the song, which has been adapted for the Spanish context.
One of the people leading this movement is Montilva.
Vox's policy says that the idea of making the song was born from within the movement, because they wanted to show their support for the presidential candidate, Santiago Abascal.. “And what better than to do it to the rhythm of salsa so that it could be a catchy song that everyone would like to sing in summer”. For the Latinos for Abascal movement, these two leaders, Trump and Abascal, cannot be compared, although they have in common that they seek to recover traditional family values and their fiery defense of private property..
The Latinos por Abascal group appeared on social networks on July 4, the same day they opened the YouTube channel and uploaded the song.. According to Montilva, the movement has been created for years, but it has not been until now that they decided to position themselves on the internet. “More and more people are looking for us interested in knowing how they can support Vox,” he says..
Alliances between the Spanish and Latin American right
For this Latinos por Abascal movement, the signing of what is known as the Madrid Charter is a real commitment to defend the rights of the migrant population in Spain from the ideas of socialism. “It is the only party that has had the courage to stand firm and carry a forceful message against the left,” says Montilva..
The Madrid Charter is the founding document of the Madrid Forum, which formed the alliance of right-wing political parties with organizations from all over Latin America and Spain in October 2020 through Fundación Disenso, Vox's think tank.
In this alliance, the main conservative Vox-like politicians from Latin America participated, such as members of the Republican Party of the United States, members of the Venezuelan opposition, Cuban dissidents and Fujimoristas from Peru..
In the fight for the migrant vote, alliances with the Latin American right play an important role. For the Vox deputy in the Madrid Assembly and founding member of Disenso, Rocío Monasterio, the Madrid Forum is a very powerful network that is fighting to defend freedom in the world: “Vox has a long way to go with this niche, and within the possibilities we have, taking into account the boycott we suffered from the media, the party does everything it can”.
These alliances have been signed with politicians who share the ideas of Vox, such as the former deputy of the Venezuelan National Assembly María Corina Machado, the leader of the Chilean Republican party, José Antonio Kast, the mayor of Lima, Rafael López Aliaga, and the Cuban politician Guillermo Fariñas, among others, according to Monasterio, who also assures that from his party there are no special policies or a different campaign focused on the Hispanic population. “We do not treat the Latino population any differently than the rest of the Spaniards”.
The policy also ensures that its popularity within the movement is due to the fact that many of the Latinos residing in Spain have arrived frightened by the leftist governments that now govern a large part of the Latin American continent, such as Chile, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Mexico..
Spain is embracing the rhetoric of Caribbean politics while absorbing a substantial part of its population, just as happened in Miami with the Cuban exodus. “We Latinos, I am Cuban, we voted for Vox,” says Monasterio.
The foreign population residing in Spain in 2022 amounts to 5.42 million people. A total of 315,885 people in 2022. And it is the fastest growing, according to the Statista data portal.
“Voting for Vox is giving them the guarantee that they will not go through the same thing again,” says Monasterio. “The idea is not just to get Sánchez out of Moncloa, it is to put an end to socialism,” says Monasterio.
Regarding the campaign of the Popular Hispanic Party for the PP, he says he does not know it, but he has no doubt that the Latino community belongs to Vox. “It's not just holding a rally with flags,” he says.
Carlos Guamán, better known on social networks as Carlitos de España, who appears at the beginning of the video for the Latinos por Abascal song, is part of the network of Latino talents that captures votes for Vox.. The youtuber is recognized for being one of the founders of the Comando Libertad association, which seeks to “combat communism and the 2030 Agenda”.
Guamán arrived in Spain from Bolivia 15 years ago irregularly, and saw “hope” in Vox, although he confesses that he did not become an activist until he had his papers in order.
Guamán's support for Santiago Abascal's party is difficult to understand, since Vox has always had a tough discourse against migration. In fact, encouraging fear of illegal migration, linking it to insecurity, has been one of his central arguments in the May campaign for the municipal elections.
Official data indicates that migrants in an irregular situation take an average of seven years to regularize their situation, and that 80% of illegal migrants who manage to regularize their situation in Spain come from Latin American countries.. This is the case of Guamán, who could not have established himself in Spain if the harsh anti-migration policies proposed by Vox had operated in the country..
Through the Comando Libertad association, dozens of Latinos have joined with the same ideals as Abascal's party: “The lyrics are wonderful, because they exalt the values of the Latino family. Many of us have suffered from the governments of our countries and we would never vote for the left,” explains the youtuber.
Since the game, they have invited him on different occasions to be part of events and interviews where he has shown his support. “That's pure political marketing. The speech of Hispanics for the PP with Ukrainian flags in Cibeles does not deceive me”, he assures.
On the other hand, the PP is confident that the support that Hispanics have given it in May will be seen again on 23-J, and Vox has entered the fight for that niche. “We are playing a lot in these elections, they are not normal. That's the general feeling,” says Herrera.