Antonio Gonzalez, president of the William C. Velásquez Institute, is slated to speak at the National Latino Congreso. (File photo: RGG/Steve Taylor)

ALAMO, Jan. 25 - Rio Grande Valley residents have been invited to become delegates to the National Latino Congreso that takes place in El Paso next weekend.

The Southwest Voter Registration Education Project has a bus caravan that leaves San Antonio on Jan. 28 and returns Jan. 31. The event is being held at El Paso’s historic Camino Real Hotel from Jan. 29 to 31.

“A strong representation of delegates to the National Latino Congreso will assure the Rio Grande Valley has an unyielding voice that will influence the Latino agenda on a local, state, and national level,” said Alan Fiszman, SVREP's field organizer in the Rio Grande Valley.

“At this Congreso, action plans will be launched on justice for immigrants, climate change, clean energy, saving homes, and creating jobs. The Valley delegates for SVREP will be part of a historic moment for Latinos to determine their destiny.”

Fiszman said the Congreso comes at a crucial time as Latino unemployment approaches 20 percent. He pointed out that nearly two million Latinos have been foreclosed, and that 12 million “super-exploited” undocumented immigrants – mostly Latinos – “suffer in our midst” without rights or justice.

Other issues that will be addressed at the Congreso include the upcoming U.S. Census, border violence, health care, drug policy reform, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and U.S.-Latin America relations.

“With this gathering, delegates representing millions of Latinos from across America will set advocacy priorities for 2010,” Fiszman added.

Fiszman said anyone interested should e-mail him at afiszman@svrep.org. Alternatively, he recommends Valley residents learn more at http://www.svrep.org/ and http://latinocongreso.org/.

SVREP is a national, nonpartisan organization committed to the political empowerment of Latino communities. SVREP was established in 1974 by the late Willie Velásquez to encourage civic and political participation in Latino and other underrepresented communities. Since its inception, SVREP has registered over 2.5 million Latino voters, trained 100,000 Latino leaders and won 80 voting rights lawsuits.
 
The first National Latino Congreso was held in 2006. Since then, the congreso has passed 157 resolutions created by delegates from over 500 organizations. The resolutions have encompassed traditional issues such as educational reform and immigrant rights as well as issues of growing concern for Latinos nationwide, such as public health, urban greening, foreign policy, climate change and much more.

This year’s congreso is being convened this year by the Hispanic Federation, League of United Latin American Citizens, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the Mexican American Political Association, the National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities, the National Day Labor Organizing Network, the National Hispanic Environmental Council, SVREP, and the William C. Velásquez Institute.

The list of those slated to speak at the National Latino Congreso reads like a Who’s Who of national Latino leaders. The list includes U.S. Reps. Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso, Luis Gutierrez, D-Illinois, and Nydia Velazquez, D-New York. Velazquez chairs the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. 

Other speakers include SVREP Vice President Lydia Camarillo, HF President Lillian Rodriguez Lopez, LULAC President Rosa Rosales, Texas Senate candidate Jose Rodriguez of El Paso, the Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, Linda Chavez-Thompson, Democratic candidate for Texas lieutenant governor, Antonio Gonzalez, president of the William C. Velásquez Institute, Farouk Shami, Democratic candidate for Texas governor, Mary Rose Wilcox, board supervisor of Maricopa County Victor Griego, president and CEO of Diverse Strategies for Organizing Roberto Lovato, a journalist with New America Media, Kathleen Rogers, president of the Earth Day Network, Kirk Clay, national civic engagement director for the NAACP, Albert Jacquez, principal of Strategic Solutions, Aracely Panameno, director of Latino Affairs at the Center for Responsible Lending, Luis Figueroa, legislative staff attorney for MALDEF, Nativo Lopez, president of the Mexican American Political Association, Angela Sanbrano, president of the National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities, El Paso Mayor John Cook, Ramon Miramontes, a representative with the Immigrant Justice Accountability Project, Steven J. Reyes, associate attorney at the Kaufman Legal Group, Bill White, a Democratic candidate for Texas governor, Alfredo Almendariz, Region VI administrator at the Environmental Protection Agency in Dallas,  Oscar Chacon, executive director of the National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities, Adriana Quintero, director of La Onda Verde de NRDC, Roger Rivera, president of the National Hispanic Environmental Council, Nativo Lopez, president of the Mexican American Political Association, Lillian Rodriguez Lopez, president of the Hispanic Federation, Tom Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, John Sharp, a Democratic Candidate for the U.S. Senate, Angela Glover Blackwell, CEO of PolicyLink, and Eduardo Enrique Reina, Honduras ambassador to the United States.

Fiszman said many national and state Republican leaders have been invited to the congreso but have yet to confirm their attendance.

Write Steve Taylor

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