Latina women in the United States are a growing political force that has yet to be fully harnessed by either political party, according to US-based political experts.

Statistics show that, overall, nearly 17 million Latino voters participated in the 2020 election, a 30% increase from the previous election in 2016.

In an interview with LPO, Emiliana Guereca, a California-based activist, political commentator and President of Women's March Foundation, said that Latina women are "really behind the eight-ball as far as the political power that Latinos could garnish."

"As a Latina that lives in California and previously lived in Illinois, I can tell you that most politicians do not speak to people like me," said Guereca, whose organization is partly aimed at boosting the role of Latinas in politics.

Why are some Latino voters supporting the Republican Party?

Recent statistics from the Democratically-aligned Equis Labs show that support for the Republican Party and former President Donald Trump was more widespread than previously believed.

In absolute terms, Trump performed better among men than women in the Latino community.

Guereca, for her part, said that President Donald Trump's efforts to portray a ‘macho' public image may have played a part in his improved performance among the Latino electorate.

"The misogyny and the machismo of Latinos sometimes go together," she said.

The misogyny and the machismo of Latinos sometimes go together

Guereca's comments were echoed by Dr. Manuel Pastor, the director of the Equity Research Institute at the University of Southern California.

In a separate interview with LPO, Dr. Pastor said that "the Latino vote shift seems to have occurred with men." 

"Of course, Donald Trump was trying to project a very macho, male image," he said. "It had great appeal to white men, but he also did better among black men, and he did better among Latino men. I don't think machismo is something that is confined to Latino males."

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To highlight the appeal that this image has among some segments of the population, Dr. Pastor noted that many of the flags and t-shirts seen at the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol showed a muscular Trump "with a big chest and giant arms." "There's something about his macho image that has appeal," he said.

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While statistics show that support for the Republicans among Latino men is stronger than with women, the Equis Labs data shows that the greatest shift towards the right was among young Latina women under the age of 50, which saw a 12% shift towards the Republican Party in 2020. Young men, by comparison, saw only a 4% shift to the right. 

The Latino vote shift seems to have occurred with men.

"The Republicans made massive gains in electing Republican women, in general," Guereca said, noting that the Chairwoman of the California Republican Party, Jessica Millan Patterson, is a Latina.

Guereca added that she believes the Democrats can do more to reach out to Latina women ahead of future elections.

"Latina women run the households. In my opinion, when we coordinate and organize Latina women, we will see the power of the voters that are out there."