1 big thing: 🇪🇨 Campaigning in bulletproof vests 

2. 🎂 A Hispanic happy birthday to you, United States

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3. Disaster preparedness, in Spanish

4. A day in the life of a rural educator

5. Stories we're watching 

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6. 👽 Smile to go: Aliens-turned-piñatas

😎 How was your weekend? If you didn't spend some of it preaching to your friends about Axios Latino, now's the time!

🚨 Situational awareness: More than six of Sen. Bob Menendez's fellow Senate Democrats are calling for him to resign after his indictment on federal bribery charges. Menendez (D-N.J.), the most senior Latino in the Senate, has refused to step down. 

👀 Puede leer este boletín en español aquí.

This newsletter, edited by Astrid Galván and Laurin-Whitney Gottbrath, is 1,412 words, a 5.5-minute read.

Thanks for reading, and thanks to Carlos Cunha and Axios Visuals for their contributions!

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Keep tabs on the stories that most affect the U.S. Latino community on both sides of the border, a collaboration with Noticias Telemundo.

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First Latina in space hopes video games inspire STEM interest in kids

1 big thing: 🚀 Ellen Ochoa’s Minecraft moment  

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2. Tracking Latino monuments

3. How Latinos give 

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4.🌟 A very wonderful Visionarios  

5. Stories we're watching

6.🪅Smile to go: Dale, dale, dale

This newsletter, edited by Astrid Galván and Laurin-Whitney Gottbrath, is 1,429 words, a 5.5-minute read.

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1 big thing: How Latinos are doing in poverty battle

Part 2: The trillion-dollar Latino economy

2. Many Hispanic college students are not OK

3. Satellites v. Amazon deforestation 

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4. Stories we're watching

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6. 🪅 Pachanga: Carlos Morton

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Make sure to reply to this email if you or someone you know should be featured in the future.

🚨 Situational awareness: NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, the first person of Salvadoran origin to go to space, is back on Earth after a record-breaking 371 continuous days in space.

This newsletter, edited by Astrid Galván and Laurin-Whitney Gottbrath, is 1,392 words, a 5-minute read.

A million thanks to Carlos Cunha and Axios Visuals for their contributions to this newsletter! Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox twice a week. 

1 big thing: World discovers corridos

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2. Biden, Lula vow to fight for workers

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UNESCO adds early-Mayan spot as World Heritage Site

3. Early-Mayan spot declared World Heritage Site

4. Latinos value speaking Spanish — a lot  

6. 🪅 Pachanga: Vivian Collins

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🪅 Have you done anything noteworthy or exciting lately? Let us know and we might feature you in our weekly pachanga series! Reply to this email. 

🪭 Don't forget to tell your cool friends about this cool newsletter! They can sign up here. 

This newsletter, edited by Astrid Galván and Laurin-Whitney Gottbrath, is 1,438 words, a 5.5-minute read.

Thanks to Carlos Cunha and Axios Visuals for their contributions to this newsletter!

1 big thing: Abuelita hot chocolate battle heats up

Stacks of the round, yellow containers for Abuelita hot chocolate are shown at a grocery store. The containers have a picture of an elderly lady with white hair holding a cup of hot chocolate and smiling. 

2. 📝 Rediscovering Jovita Idar

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Mexico's Olympic hopefuls forced to raise own funds for Pan American Games

3. 🇲🇽 Olympic hopefuls forced to raise own funds

4. 💫 See ya tonight!

6.🪅 Pachanga: Mercy Abascal Quiroga

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🪅 Look, every month at Axios Latino is Hispanic Heritage Month. But we never turn down a pachanga, so ... happy Hispanic Heritage Month!

Ready for Visionarios? Check out item 4 for the inside scoop!

This newsletter, edited by Astrid Galván, is 1,444 words, a 5.5-minute read.

Editor's note: A story about the Pinochet years in Tuesday's newsletter has been corrected to reflect that the 40,000 victims of the regime included those detained or tortured, not just those killed or forcibly disappeared.

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National

The Biden Administration is pushing for Latinos to be better prepared for natural disasters and the effects of climate change. 

Why it matters: A large percentage of Latinos live in the Southwest, where wildfires hit annually, and along hurricane-prone areas like Florida and North Carolina. But until a couple of years ago, the federal government didn't have enough materials targeting Latinos about potential disasters.

Experts say Latinos are less likely to be prepared for a disaster than other groups. This worries experts, especially after many cities this summer saw record-high temperatures, which is attributable to human-caused climate change.

Only 38 percent of Latino households in Los Angeles County reported having a disaster plan, the lowest of any ethnic or racial group, according to the county Department of Public Health's Community Health Assessment.

Details: Beginning in 2021, the administration started developing more Spanish-language content and culturally relevant materials around disasters, Justin Ángel Knighten, FEMA's director of the office of external affairs, tells Axios Latino.

That work has increased in recent months with added content on the Spanish-language website listo.gov, which launched in 2023, and with new educational outreach efforts all around the country.

"FEMA needed to listen to the information of who wasn't getting prepared, who were being disproportionately impacted, and really transformed the way that we're preparing the nation," Knighten says.

The big picture: Latinos have been disproportionately affected by disasters like the 2022 Calf Canyon Fire in New Mexico, which destroyed some historic Hispanic enclaves and left some ranchers injured.

A study of the 2017 Hurricane Harvey in Houston found that floods from the storm hit Hispanics the hardest.

Between the lines: Officials worry that Latinos aren't heeding or don't fully understand evacuation orders, Knighten says.

He says the Biden administration is pushing an educational campaign about the importance of being prepared for disasters like earthquakes, tornadoes and floods.

Subscribe to Axios Latino to get vital news about Latinos and Latin America, delivered to your inbox on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

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Biden administration works to help Latinos prepare for natural disasters

A large percentage of Latinos live in the Southwest, where wildfires hit annually, and in hurricane-prone areas like Florida.

A scorched structure and vehicle stand on a property mostly destroyed by the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire on June 2, 2022 near Las Vegas, New Mexico. The fire has burned for two months and scorched over 315,000 acres while destroying more than 350 homes and other structures.

A scorched structure and vehicle stand on a property mostly destroyed by the Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon fire on June 2, 2022 near Las Vegas, New Mexico. Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Hispanic and Latino Americans

Climate change

Latin America and Latinos

The Biden Administration is pushing for Latinos to be better prepared for natural disasters and the effects of climate change. Why it matters: A large percentage of Latinos live <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="in the Southwest" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2021/09/23/latino-population-growth-us-census-demographics" data-vars-content-id="5928ea07-97a2-4608-b216-e4398fcc1f86" data-vars-headline="Biden administration works to help Latinos prepare for natural disasters" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2021/09/23/latino-population-growth-us-census-demographics" target="_self">in the Southwest</a>, where wildfires hit annually, and along hurricane-prone areas like Florida and North Carolina. But until a couple of years ago, the federal government didn&#x27;t have enough materials targeting Latinos about potential disasters.

President Biden has made the COVID-19 crisis and a post-Trump return to national unity and traditional democratic ideals his top priorities. From vaccinations to stimulus to schools, Biden is seeking bipartisan compromise while showing a willingness to use executive authority and bare Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate to implement his policies. Republican leaders are navigating deep party divisions over if and how to move beyond former President Trump.

Politics & Policy

Ominous forecasts about the impact of climate change serve as the backdrop for the world — led by U.S. lawmakers and companies — to debate big action on the problem, which could upend energy systems and our way of life.

Energy & Environment

China is becoming the most formidable rival America has faced, and the risk of confrontation with Russia, North Korea or Iran still looms. Authoritarians are rising, the chaotic Afghanistan exit revealed the limits of U.S. power, and the pandemic, climate change and other critical challenges continue to pose grave threats.

World

Media Trends

Axios Media Trends

Data: Pew Research Center; Chart: Axios Visuals

Black Americans say news coverage about Black people is often more negative than news about other residents, and few are optimistic that will change soon, a new survey finds.

Why it matters: Media outlets vowed to hire more diverse staff after the murder of George Floyd, but three years later, those commitments have done little to transform Black Americans' perceptions of news media.

By the numbers: Almost two-thirds of Black Americans (63%) say news about Black people is often more negative than news about other racial and ethnic groups, a Pew Research Center survey released Tuesday said.

Half say coverage often lacks important information, and 43% say the coverage largely stereotypes Black people.

About 4 in 10 (39%) say they come across news that is racist or racially insensitive extremely or fairly often. 

Just 14% of Black Americans are highly confident that Black people will be covered fairly in their lifetimes.

The intrigue: Substantial shares say that including more Black people as sources (54%) and hiring more Black newsroom leaders (53%) and journalists (44%) could improve what they see as flawed coverage.

Nearly half of Black Americans think that Black journalists do a better job than other journalists at covering issues related to race and racial inequality (45%), and at understanding them (44%).

The big picture: More newsrooms are elevating Black Americans to the top of the masthead and executive suites, but the Pew data suggest there hasn't been meaningful enough progress made to convince Black Americans that much has changed.

Since 2020, ABC News and MSNBC have named black female presidents.

Several of the largest metropolitan newspapers, such as the Los Angelos Times, the Dallas Morning News and the Houston Chronicle, are now led by Black executive editors. Until recently, the editors of the Miami Herald and The New York Times were both Black.

A slew of digital-first publications, such as HuffPost, The Cut, Harper's Bazaar, and Allure, all all now led by Black, female editors. Last week, British Vogue named its first Black women ditor, replacing the company's first Black editor, who stepped down earlier this year.

Upstarts such as Capital B in Atlanta and AfroLA in Los Angeles have launched to cover community news from a Black perspective.

Yes, but: While some progress has been made in terms of editorial leadership, it's less clear to the extent in which those efforts are trickling down to newsrooms broadly.

The News Leaders Association suspended its decades-old, annual newsroom diversity survey in 2019 in response to dwindling participation rates. It opened the survey up again in 2021 but didn't publish the results, citing data discrepancies. In 2022, it published its first complete survey since 2019, but participation still lagged, coming in at a near-historical low.

The intrigue: Much of Pew's survey asks respondents about their attitudes towards the media broadly, and doesn't specify Black attitudes towards the media based on medium, such as television, radio or print.

Diversity milestones in the news media tend to be felt most heavily on television, where a journalist's race is more visible than via a print or digital byline.

Between the lines: Given the lack of representation felt by Black respondents to the survey, most said they rely most heavily on social media for news.

Around 35% say they get news and information extremely or fairly often from social media, but only 18% say they trust the accuracy.

Methodology: The Pew Research Center survey of 4,742 U.S. Black adults was conducted from Feb. 22 to March 5, 2023, and nine online focus groups of Black Americans facilitated between July and August 2022, using the Center's American Trends Panel and Ipsos' KnowledgePanel.

The margin of sampling error is +/- 2.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample.

Black Americans see bias in media despite changes, survey says

Black Americans distrust in media comes after media outlets promised to hire more diverse staff after George Floyd's murder

African Americans

Media

Black Americans say news coverage about Black people is often more negative than news about other residents, and few are optimistic that will change soon, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="a new survey" data-vars-click-url="https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2023/09/26/black-americans-experiences-with-news/" data-vars-content-id="64d75779-a46a-49f4-a602-638034de97d6" data-vars-headline="Black Americans see bias in media despite changes, survey says" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2023/09/26/black-americans-experiences-with-news/" target="_blank">a new survey</a> finds.Why it matters: Media outlets vowed to hire <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="more diverse staff" data-vars-click-url="https://www.niemanlab.org/2022/03/american-journalisms-racial-reckoning-still-has-lots-of-reckoning-to-do/" data-vars-content-id="64d75779-a46a-49f4-a602-638034de97d6" data-vars-headline="Black Americans see bias in media despite changes, survey says" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.niemanlab.org/2022/03/american-journalisms-racial-reckoning-still-has-lots-of-reckoning-to-do/" target="_blank">more diverse staff</a> after the murder of George Floyd, but three years later, those commitments have done little to transform Black Americans&#x27; perceptions of news media.

After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

Economy & Business

Data: Census Bureau; Note: Poverty thresholds vary based on family size and composition; Map: Alice Feng/Axios

The percentage of U.S. Latinos living in poverty has dropped significantly in the last decade but is well above the national average. 

Why it matters: Latinos make up 19% of the population and are set to be a plurality of the country's population by midcentury. Failure to address systemic economic inequalities may act as a drag on the nation's future prosperity, some experts say.

By the numbers: According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data, 16.8% of Latinos — 10 million — nationally lived in poverty in 2022.

That's well above the nation's overall poverty rate of 11.5%, but below what the Latino rate was in 2012 — more than 25%.

Alabama has the highest share of Latinos who live in poverty (nearly 28%), according to an Axios analysis of census data.

Montana was second (24.2%) followed by Pennsylvania (23.9%).

Wyoming had the lowest percentage of Latinos living in poverty (10.2%), likely because of the large number of well-paying oil and gas jobs.

North Dakota, which also has many oil and gas jobs — and which saw the fastest Hispanic population growth of any state over the last decade — had a Latino poverty rate of 12.5%.

Zoom in: The percentage of Latinos in poverty hovered around 22% for much of the 1970s but shot up to 29% in the 1980s as the population kept growing.

It hit its highest mark in modern times in 1994 — 30.7% — following the recession of the early 1990s and a spike in new migration from Mexico after the Mexican peso devaluation crisis.

Latinos in recent years have significantly grown their workforce participation rate and graduated from college in higher numbers, helping drive the decrease in the Hispanic poverty rate.

What they're saying: Addressing poverty is one of the most pressing issues facing Hispanics in the U.S., says José Jurado Vadillo a research economist at Seidman Institute, Arizona State University, tells Axios.

Better access to credit and to quality education would help reduce Latino poverty, Vadillo adds.

Latino poverty rate falls but remains above U.S. average

Experts say failure to address systemic economic inequalities among Latinos may threaten the nation's economic future.

Rate of U.S. Latino poverty by state with Puerto Rico, a commonwealth, having a rate of 41.9%.

The percentage of U.S. Latinos living in poverty has dropped significantly in the last decade but is well above the national average. Why it matters: Latinos make up 19% of the population and are set to be a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="plurality of the country&#x27;s population" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2019/04/29/when-american-minorities-become-the-majority" data-vars-content-id="a59b4439-37c1-423c-8379-a7a146d12e33" data-vars-headline="Latino poverty rate falls but remains above U.S. average" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2019/04/29/when-american-minorities-become-the-majority" target="_self">plurality of the country&#x27;s population</a> by midcentury. Failure to address systemic economic inequalities may act as a drag on the nation&#x27;s future prosperity, some experts say.

Data: LDC U.S. Latino GDP Report; Chart: Axios Visuals

The total economic output of U.S. Latinos reached $3.2 trillion in 2021, inching closer to Germany's and staying ahead of India, according to a report being released on Wednesday.

Why it matters: The report shows U.S. Latino buying power and economic output grew by more than 14% despite the pandemic's disproportionate impact on Latino communities.

The Latino GDP stayed ahead of those of the United Kingdom, India and France, even though those economies grew.

Latinos' total economic output was $2.8 trillion in 2020.

By the numbers: From 2011 to 2021, the U.S. Latino economy was the third-fastest growing among major economies, trailing only China (7.7%) and India (6.2%).

During that same period, U.S. Latino income grew at an annualized rate of 4.7% compared to 1.9% for non-Latinos. 

Purchases of goods and services made "by and on behalf of Latinos" grew at 4% compared to 1.9% for non-Latinos.

Zoom in: Latinos significantly bolstered the U.S. economy through population growth, a high degree of workforce participation and increased productivity linked to educational attainment.

Details: The study by the Latino Donor Collaborative, a non-profit organization researching Latino issues, will be unveiled Wednesday at the L'attitude conference in Miami.

It was conducted in partnership with Wells Fargo and Arizona State University.

The intrigue: This year's annual report for the first time broke down the Latino economy across all states.

Significant Latino economies exist in California, Texas and Florida, amounting to $682 billion, $465 billion, and $240 billion respectively.

The California Latino economy alone would rank as the 21st largest in the world, nestled between Poland and Switzerland, the report said.

Yes, but: While the report focused on the overall strength of the U.S. Latino economy, it did not address the massive economic inequalities still facing Hispanics nationwide.

Roughly 17% of Latinos live below the U.S. poverty line. The national rate is 11.6%

41.9% of people in Puerto Rico live below poverty, and 27.6% of Latinos in Alabama also do, according to an Axios analysis. 

What they're saying: Poverty is keeping the Latino GDP from growing even more, José A. Jurado, a research economist at Seidman Institute, Arizona State University, and co-author of the report, told Axios.

The Latino cohort still has a lot of catching up to in terms of education," said Jurado, adding that the lack of access to quality education is one of the major drivers of poverty.

U.S. Latinos' economic output closing in on Germany

A report shows U.S. Latino buying power and economic output grew after the pandemic despite the disproportional impact it had

The total <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="economic output" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2022/09/22/gdp-latino-2020-pandemic-uk-india" data-vars-content-id="f01b9519-e55b-436c-b87c-32506c0d98b4" data-vars-headline="U.S. Latinos&#x27; economic output closing in on Germany" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/09/22/gdp-latino-2020-pandemic-uk-india" target="_self">economic output</a> of U.S. Latinos reached $3.2 trillion in 2021, inching closer to Germany&#x27;s and staying ahead of India, according to a report being released on Wednesday.Why it matters: The report shows U.S. Latino buying power and economic output grew by more than 14% despite the pandemic&#x27;s disproportionate impact <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="on Latino communities" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2021/07/08/us-latinos-covid-devastated" data-vars-content-id="f01b9519-e55b-436c-b87c-32506c0d98b4" data-vars-headline="U.S. Latinos&#x27; economic output closing in on Germany" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2021/07/08/us-latinos-covid-devastated" target="_self">on Latino communities</a>.

Data: Census Bureau; Chart: Alice Feng/Axios

U.S. Latino buying power, economic output and gross income have surged over the past decade, according to the new Latino Donor Collaborative Latino GDP Report.

Yes, but: Poverty is keeping the Latino GDP from growing even more, José Jurado, a research economist at ASU's Seidman Institute and co-author of the report, tells Axios.

Why it matters: Latinos make up 19% of the population and are set to be a plurality of the country's population by midcentury. Failure to address systemic economic inequalities may threaten the United States' economic future.

The intrigue: For the first time, the annual report also broke down the Latino economy across all states..

Arizona Latino gross domestic income (GDI) totaled $72.6 billion in 2021, representing about 17% of the state's GDI and 26% of Arizona's GDI growth between 2011 and 2021.

Arizona's Latino GDP is the seventh largest, behind California, Texas, Florida, New York, Illinois and New Jersey.

The big picture: The total economic output of U.S. Latinos reached $3.2 trillion in 2021 — more than the total GDP of every nation but the U.S., China, Japan and Germany.

Between the lines: In many regions — including ours — new jobs are more likely to be filled by a Latino than not, according to the report.

Of 520,000 new Arizona jobs created between 2011 and 2021, Latinos filled 310,000, or 60%.

Meanwhile, The percentage of U.S. Latinos living in poverty has dropped significantly in the last decade, but remains well above the national average.

In Arizona, about 16% of Latinos lived below the poverty line in 2022 compared with about 13% of all residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Arizona Latino GDP soars, but high poverty rates remain

Poverty is keeping the Latino GDP from growing even more.

U.S. Latino <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="buying power, economic output and gross income" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/09/27/us-latino-economic" data-vars-content-id="fd28b4ae-ed6b-46ae-9db8-70bd06bcd336" data-vars-headline="Arizona Latino GDP soars, but high poverty rates remain" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/09/27/us-latino-economic" target="_self">buying power, economic output and gross income</a> have surged over the past decade, according to the new <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Latino Donor Collaborative Latino GDP Report" data-vars-click-url="https://latinogdp.us/" data-vars-content-id="fd28b4ae-ed6b-46ae-9db8-70bd06bcd336" data-vars-headline="Arizona Latino GDP soars, but high poverty rates remain" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://latinogdp.us/" target="_blank">Latino Donor Collaborative Latino GDP Report</a>.<ul><li>Yes, but: Poverty is keeping the Latino GDP from growing even more, José Jurado, a research economist at ASU&#x27;s Seidman Institute and co-author of the report, tells Axios.</li></ul>

Russell Contreras

Stories

Latino poverty rate falls but remains above U.S. average

Arizona Latino GDP soars, but high poverty rates remain

U.S. Latinos' economic output closing in on Germany

Black Americans see bias in media despite changes, survey says

Biden administration works to help Latinos prepare for natural disasters

Newsletter editions

💲Latino GDP rises

🇺🇸 America's birthday stars

🪗 Corridos go global

💸 How Latinos give

🍫 Heated Abuelita battle