Hispanic Influence Felt More Strongly

Posted by MiriamDeDios on December 4, 2012

The 2012 elections demonstrated the growing power of Hispanic Americans in the United States. Both Gustavo Gruber, Coopera VP and I have been excited to watch media take note of this influence. Each of us were recently asked by both Credit Union Magazine and The Des Moines Register to address the cultural impact evidenced by the recent democratic process. Below are brief recaps of our thoughts on this exciting development.

As told to the Des Moines Register: The face of the American voter is changing and we — Hispanics — have more influence. With one out of six U.S. residents being Hispanic and Hispanic purchasing power exceeding 1 trillion, it’s no surprise.

Hispanic-owned small businesses are growing at over twice the rate of the national average — estimated to be more than $350 billion in revenue annually — and these entrepreneurs advocate for issues such as access to capital, affordable healthcare and policies that will continue to improve the U.S. economy so that they can continue to expand their businesses and create jobs.

Catering to the Hispanic population is not only important to the strategic growth of credit unions, it is important to our country as a whole.

As contributed to Credit Union Magazine: The Hispanic community is not a monolithic market — Hispanics are not all Mexican, but rather come from diverse races, nationalities, and ethnicities representing 21 Latin American countries, or 22 when Spain is included. However, most Spaniards do not consider themselves Hispanics as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Hispanics come to this country for economic, political and family reasons, among others, and always with the intention to return home in two or three years, when the reason that brought them to the U.S. is resolved. This scenario creates a situation that slows down assimilation while intensifies acculturation.

Therefore, the person holds on strongly to their own culture while trying to adapt to the American way of life.

Credit unions have recognized the importance of this growing market and many have been very strategic about developing strategies to attract and serve this community.

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