Votara Usted? The Power of Latino Communities in the 2008 Presidential Election

Iconoculture, a cultural trend research company, is examining the values and motivations driving the Latino vote in the 2008 presidential election. Iconoculture’s Latino Consumer Strategist team is looking to the future and defining how emerging trends will impact the political leanings of today’s Latino communities. During Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15), there will be a great deal of emphasis on the history of the community, but the Latino market is not looking back; it is plunging ahead in an era of growth.
With climbing population numbers (43.2 million, according to the Census Bureau) and steady growth in buying power — at $863.1 billion in 2007 (Selig Center 9.1.06) — the U.S. Latino population continues to make strides as a powerful and influential consumer group in the U.S. A growing swing vote in the 2000 and 2004 elections, the Latino voter will directly affect results of the 2008 election.
Iconoculture has been watching organizations like Voto Latino that are helping to drive new voter registration for the election. According to a study by the William C. Velasquez Institute, more than 1 million Latinos registered to vote during the 2008 primary season, including 500,000 in California and Texas. The emerging pan-Latino identity Iconoculture is tracking is the epitome of this new voter demographic — young, urban, integrated Latinos who still have deep cultural links to their community.
The 2008 presidential election will pivot on several emerging trends impacting the American Latino population. Understanding and communicating about the issues of interest is key in influencing these voters. For example, while nationally there is a belief that the immigration issue is top of mind for this community, it is often not a core issue for Latino voters who are U.S. citizens and native born. Iconoculture has seen that the issues that are most critical for many Latino voters include the state of the economy and Iraq.
Iconoculture’s macrotrends identify specific behaviors and values that characterize major cultural shifts throughout a community. Macrotrends Iconoculture has identified as key to understanding the Latino voter include:
– Beehiving(SM): The growth of tight-knit, alternative communities, countering the fragmentation we feel in other areas of social and national life.
– La Voz(SM): The emergence of a unified Latino voice; a community coming together to more effectively take advantage of the breadth of opportunities available in the U.S.
– Who Eres?(SM): The balancing act between American and Latino cultures: an all-involving quest to define one’s identity and place in the world.
For more information about how these macrotrends influence the Latino consumer or to set up a briefing with one of the U.S. Latino Consumer Strategists, please contact:

Laura Ackerman
Office: 508.366.2099, ext. 125
Cell: 508.259.7640
laura@kelandpartners.com

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