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The Things That Unite Hispanics
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15069 |
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Section : |
SPECIAL SECTION
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9 / 1988 |
1,747 Words |
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Xavier L. Suarez
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Whatever this country's role may have been in the establishment of the former regime in Cuba--or of the even more repressive present one--there is no doubt that it did well by us Cubans once we arrived on these shores.
Alexis de Tocqueville, writing over a century and a quarter ago, would have been proud of the role that private and religious institutions played in my education and welfare. We received donations of clothing and food, for which we could pay only with gratitude. I studied in the best schools, all with scholarships, for which I competed on an equal basis with those who were born here.
In 1975, armed with a $75 Buick, a $10 stereo, and no other possessions, I headed toward Miami and my roots. Ten years later I was struggling through my fourth attempt at public office. The newspapers and Miami's business establishment rejected me in favor of another challenger and provided him with support totaling $1.2 million and moral encouragement in the form of published polls that showed him ahead of me. The incumbent merely had a 12-year-old political machine and all the sophistication of a Mayor John Lindsay of New York.
But the voters followed their own instincts and elected this Cuban refugee their mayor. As I stated in my inaugural speech: "Every once in a while, a people break through the traditional power structures and express themselves in a special way." I also quoted Jose Marti, who said: "With the poor people of this earth I want to share my fate."
Foreign And Domestic Policy
My definition of "poor" includes, of course, those who suffer repression under totalitarian systems such as Castro's Cuba. In this area of foreign policy, we must recognize the gains made by the present administration. I remember the figures in Vice President Bush's speech when he and President Reagan took Office: In 1981 less than 30 percent of the governments in our hemisphere were democracies, but now the figure is 90 percent. We Hispanics must not limit ourselves to a role in domestic policy; we must, rather, immerse ourselves also in foreign policy, mindful that the unyielding protection of the liberties that this country offers--and which the Marxists would take away--are necessary for achievement of our domestic goals.
My definition of "poor" also includes those Hispanics (and other minorities) who came before me, and whose struggle against racism and discrimination made it possible for me not only to become a resident of this nation, but also to be invested with the attributes of citizenship and even to be elected mayor of a major metropolis.
We Cuban Americans owe a lot to the Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans who came before us and whose law-abiding, industrious record (which the media seeks to blot out) paved the way for our being accepted here. We cannot forget that. We shall not forget it, as we work together on a national agenda to meet not only the general needs of this democracy but also the special need of our people.
That includes the free, unhindered practice of our beautiful ancestral language, which many seem to forget was the primary language (out-dating English in my own state of Florida) in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona,
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