CHAPTER 9

¡Adelante! Global Vision and Immigrant Spirit

MY FIRST MEMORY IS being in the hull of a banana boat as we rocked and swayed across El Golfo de México. My mother, four brothers, my sister, and I hunkered down in bunk beds as we left our beloved Nicaragua. Scared, excited, and hopeful, we were on the way to the land of opportunity! This immigrant dream has been the promise of America and the wellspring of its greatness. No one knows this better today than the millions of Central and South Americans who have made the long trek across deserts, oceans, rivers, and mountains to share in the bounty of this great country.

Anna Cabral remembers her grandparents’ stories about their perilous crossing of the Rio Grande and then walking all the way from Texas to California with no money. They took jobs in the fields to care for the family. Julián Castro’s grandmother was five when she came from México. She worked as a maid, cook, and babysitter so his mother could go to Catholic school and eventually get a college education. Hilda Solis’s mother fled the turmoil of the wars in Nicaragua to work in factories in East LA. Leaving their possessions behind to escape Fidel Castro’s regime, Carlos Orta’s father worked three jobs to support his family. Arturo Vargas’s parents met on a bus they took to work in Chihuahua, México. They married and moved to El Paso seeking a better vida (life) for their children.

For these leaders, as for many other Latinos, immigration is a recent experience, molding their worldview and influencing how they approach leadership. Immigration roots run deep and strong—they shape the Hispanic psyche. Consider that until the last few years about 40 percent of all Hispanics were foreign born. Unlike US Latinos, who have been minorities and are still forging their identity, immigrants were raised in countries where their identity, language, and cultural are primary and integral.¹ Because of this, immigrants keep the Latino cultural memory alive, reinforce core values, and instill an indomitable spirit. At the same time, immigration presents daunting leadership challenges.

The Immigrant Spirit

IMMIGRANTS THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE been willing to pay extraordinary costs and take enormous risks. Just over a century ago most immigrants arrived via a hazardous sea journey. Today’s immigrants often cross the desert, not the ocean—but the risks are the same and the costs just as high. And why do they take these risks? Immigrants seek economic prosperity, education, opportunity, and freedom. They are pioneers, front-runners, dreamers, and achievers. Most of all they have a vision for a better future.

The United States is a nation of immigrants. No other country has ever absorbed so many people from so many different places and melded one country from their energy and spirit. E pluribus unum—to make one out of many—was the crucible of the American experiment. Immigrants gave us the values we hold most dear—initiative, hard work, tolerance, freedom, optimism, and faith. The immigrant spirit endowed us with the belief in endless possibilities and people’s ingenuity.

The early waves of immigrants in colonial times came mainly from northwestern Europe—England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, and Poland. They had a common heritage of being White Anglo-Saxon Protestants.² Immigrants today look more like my family, and yet my parents made the same sacrifices and pursued the same dream that brought the early pioneers and colonists. Latino immigrants today follow a great American legacy and are breathing new life into our economy, culture, and democracy.

The “New” Hispanic Immigrant

THE YOUNG HISPANIC CORPORATE Achievers is a dynamite well-educated, community-minded group that is bringing Latino assets to corporate America. I have worked with the group since its inception six years ago and see an interesting shift occurring. Although 63 percent of the US Hispanic population is of Mexican descent,³ the majority of the most recent class in the Corporate Achievers program was born in Central and South America. The thirty participants came from Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Honduras, México, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela. About 70 percent of South American Hispanics in the United States are foreign born.⁴

There are myriad reasons why a steady stream of educated young Latinos is leaving their countries of origin to seek opportunities in the United States. Immigration from South America has increased significantly due to the introduction of new technologies, education, and economic development, many sponsored by the United States. This began in the 1960s, when John F. Kennedy launched the Alliance for Progress with the aspiration of creating a strong, highly educated, and technically skilled middle-class sector that would help modernize oligarchic societies, stabilize economies, and spur democracy.⁵

But unfortunately, there were limited professional opportunities in South and Central American countries for the growing educated class. A brain drain started in the 1970s and continues today. Educated Cubans, Chileans, and Venezuelans have also left their homelands due to political repression.⁶ These immigrants are known as the new economic exiles and are arriving at a time when organizations and businesses are eager to tap the assets of educated, bilingual, and globally oriented Latinos. This wave of educated South and Central American immigrants is enhancing the global identity of US Latinos and engendering a stronger, more diverse leadership cadre.

At the same time, working-class and rural immigrants from Latin America continue to make up the majority of the newly arrived. Measured in raw numbers, the modern Latin American–dominated immigration wave is by far the largest in US history. Nearly forty million immigrants have come to the United States since 1965. About half are from Central and South America.⁷ When asked why they came to this country, 55 percent say for economic reasons, while 24 percent for family reasons.⁸ While Central and South American immigration has greatly diminished due to the United States’ adverse political climate, the US Latino community continues to embody the optimistic and enduring immigrant spirit.

Why Don’t Latinos Assimilate like Other Groups?

WHEN WHITE IMMIGRANTS LANDED on Ellis Island, they were urged to shed their cultural skin, change their names, lose their language, and merge into the melting pot. The message was “Assimilate—don’t look back!” Because they had common racial, cultural, and religious roots, they were able to do this. Most disconnected from their countries of origin and lost their language and culture. Perhaps, this was a small price to pay to partake in the American dream and may have been necessary when our young country was forging its identity.

As noted previously, because of exclusion, discrimination, and racism, Latinos historically did not assimilate. They acculturated. (The assimilation-acculturation process will be reviewed in more depth in part V.) Latinos kept their communities intact and remained connected to their culture, language, and countries of origin. When Latin American immigrants arrive, therefore, they have a cultural oasis waiting. They can be part of the US Latino culture whose inclusive values say bienvenido. Furthermore, the newly immigrated are a critical mass—numbering almost twenty million. Thus, because of their sheer numbers Hispanic immigrants are able keep their identity and acculturate.⁹

The Spanish conquistadores imprinted not only our country but also Latin America, resulting in strong cultural affinities that other US immigrants did not have. The proximity of Hispanic homelands and the relative ease of modern communication and travel have also reduced the need to assimilate. Our growing realization of the benefits of cultural diversity may encourage modern immigrants to keep their ethnic identity when this was previously seen as a handicap. Finally, the Latinos’ demographic growth and rising influence offer many advantages to immigrants who wish to become bicultural rather than assimilate.

Immigrants Are Building Our Future

BEFORE EXPLORING HOW IMMIGRATION impacts Latino leadership, let’s look at the critical role Latin American and other immigrants play in the viability of the United States.

A recent study by the Small Business Administration found that immigrants are 30 percent more likely than native-born Americans to start a business. Mexican immigrants constitute the largest share of these. New businesses create jobs and boost our economy. The economist Robert W. Fairlie, author of the study, notes: “Anyone who invests the time and effort to move to a second country obviously has an entrepreneurial spirit.”¹⁰ The Hispanic belief in the efficacy of hard work also plays a role. Three in four Hispanics say most people can get ahead if they work hard. By contrast, just 58 percent of the general public says the same.¹¹

Most critical is that immigration is projected to be the key driver of population growth in the coming half century. New immigrants and their descendants will account for 82 percent of this growth, so that by 2050 nearly one in five Americans will be foreign born.¹² But is this cause for alarm? Will this dilute the United States’ distinctive characteristics? Will it lose its economic prominence?

Quite the contrary. Demographers are predicting that without immigration, the declining US birthrate and the graying of the White population will result in a dearth of workers and a faltering economy. In 2005, there were fifty-nine elderly people and children for every hundred Americans of working age. The dependency ratio—the number of elderly people and children relative to the number of people of working age—will rise sharply, mainly because the elderly population will grow more rapidly than the working-age population. In 2050, assuming current trends continue, the ratio will rise to seventy-two dependents for every hundred Americans of working age.¹³ Japan, Eastern Europe, Italy, and the former Soviet republics are already grappling with the depopulation of their countries.

Immigration and the growing number of Latinos will sustain the US economy, take care of the elderly, and educate our youth. Consider that between 2000 and 2050 new immigrants and their children will account for 83 percent of the growth in the working-age population.¹⁴ Latinos will triple in number and will account for 60 percent of the population growth from 2005 to 2050.¹⁵ Janet Murgía, who heads the National Council of La Raza, connects this to our economic future: “The growing Latino population ensures the steady supply of future workers and taxpayers needed to maintain the social contract between generations.”

As far as preserving our distinct characteristics, we have already seen that in our global and diverse world, the old patterns of ethnocentricity and cultural conformity are antiquated responses. Instead, leaders need to know how to effectively deal with people from many cultures and many parts of the world. Immigrants can be prototypes for this cultural adaptation, because to succeed they must become bicultural, learn the “American way of life,” and fit into mainstream society. They bring new perspectives, a global mindset, and cultural gifts that can enrich our society and prepare us to navigate successfully in our global village.

Global Leadership Begins at Home!

ONE WAY WHITE PRIVILEGE and ethnocentricity surface is when Anglo intellectuals talk about leadership as if it includes everyone when really they are mostly talking about the dominant-culture White, male, Eurocentric leadership. Thus the knowledge and contributions of other communities and cultures are not validated or utilized.

I say this because the 2011 book What Is Global Leadership? 10 Key Behaviors That Define Great Global Leaders, by Ernest Gundling and others, puts forth the intercultural capacities that leaders will need to be effective across the world. However, the outstanding abilities and experiences that people of color in the United States, particularly Hispanics, already have in this arena are not even mentioned. Yet most of the ten capacities proposed are integral to Latino leadership today. We will look at five key behaviors as a way to understand what Latinos can contribute as global leaders.

Let’s start with cultural self-awareness, which the book notes is the first step in being able to discern differences among people. Cultural self-awareness is defined as the realization that our leadership practices are shaped by the environment around us, and that there are different and perhaps equally or even more viable ways of getting things done. A person’s leadership orientation is a product of a particular cultural context, but to have a global mindset, leaders must place their experiences in perspective. Leaders must adapt to new environments.¹⁶

For people of color, cultural self-awareness has been a survival tactic—to succeed they have had to adjust to, and function in, mainstream society. Latinos developed cultural awareness when they walked into their elementary school and the teacher, other children, the language, and learning methodology were foreign. And if they or their parents had immigrated to the United States as did Orta, Vargas, Murguía, Solis, Pantoja, and my family—cultural awareness and adaptation were an integral part of their lives. For Latinos cultural self-awareness and adaptation are called crossing over and imply that a person is able to go back and forth from one culture to another, to straddle two worlds. She is at home in her own culture and has the ability to succeed in the Anglo-European one. Latino leaders must master this capability.

Moreover, Latino families and history reflect a multitude of races and nationalities. As we have noted, Latinos are the offspring of cultural synthesis and come from twenty-six countries. Thus Latinos, so culturally self-aware and adept, are familiar with the second capacity noted in the book—the ability to discern cultures within cultures. The authors describe this as being able to take a flexible approach to leadership that accommodates the behaviors of people from the same country who identify with a different cultural spectrum.¹⁷

Cultures within cultures is described as internal diversity. Vargas, whose parents were from Chihuahua, México, recalls growing up in south Los Angeles in a mixed white and black neighborhood that was becoming more Mexican. Later it became a migration point for Salvadorans who were war refugees. By the time he was eighteen, Vargas attended Stanford University and was adept at maneuvering within cultures—internally in the diverse Latino community and externally in the dominant culture. Today, as president of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, he uses these skills to bring the complex Latinos subgroups together and to build coalitions with other groups to work on political empowerment and citizen participation. (The next chapter describes the requirements of coalition building as including not just understanding cultures within cultures, but also being able to discern differences, build on commonalities, and then focus people on concerted action.)

One intercultural capacity noted in What Is Global Leadership? has already been defined as a Latino cultural and leadership commandment—relationships first. The authors note that in foreign environments leaders must rely on strong, trusting relationships more than they would in more familiar territory. Putting relationships before tasks is a “practice that is considered common sense in many parts of the world.” The leader must be willing to join in and become part of the group.¹⁸ To be authentic, the authors note, this needs to be done at a personal level and away from work. Latino leadership practices such as personalismo, developing confianza, and being simpático all resonate with this global competency. Putting relationships first and staying a part of the group—the leader as equal—are mainstays of Latino leadership.

The authors continue by describing global leadership as the ability to frame-shift—to modify perspectives and leadership methods to better fit different circumstances and people. Leaders must be able to understand indirect communication; be comfortable with emotionally expressive styles; develop personal loyalty and interdependency; change the pace of work or slow down; and deal with great complexity.¹⁹ These abilities are all integral to all We cultures. Frame-shifting could be defined as learning to cross over from an I, or individualistic, orientation to a We, or collective, one.

Another competency of successful global leaders is having a multilevel, open approach to developing others. Global leaders are committed to rapid empowerment and to cultivating leaders at all levels, especially the young and emerging. This ability was noted in the discussion about collective community stewardship in chapter 8: Latinos are growing a nation of leaders at every level and have a strong commitment to developing the next generation.

Finally, personal example (or, for Latinos, personalismo) is described by the authors as the most effective way for leaders to inspire people from different countries. The authors note that the many challenges of global leadership require leaders to rely on others to assist them, especially as cultural guides. Perhaps we should do a little frame-shifting here. We do not need to cross national boundaries to find cultural guides or to learn global leadership skills—Latino leaders can serve as prototypes, as they are already utilizing the majority of intercultural capacities described in What Is Global Leadership? In fact, we might say that Latinos have a global advantage.

Another source, the book Leadership Is Global, contains essays from twenty-five writers from across the world. The editors contend that because of complexity of thought and cultural diversity, a unified framework for global leadership is not readily attainable. In perusing the deep thought of the many contributors, however, one can see that they ascertained “a powerful common essence.”

The authors believe that global leaders bridge cultures, disciplines, and sectors and advocate a worldview that focuses on the “whole.” Second, leaders explore the relationships between the global and the local and then seek pragmatic yet inspired solutions, leaving behind ideological dogma. Third, global leaders choose collective intelligence and collaborative action over individualism. And finally, they acknowledge the integrity of heart and mind, body and soul.²⁰

Leadership Is Global has an expansive view but explores global leadership competencies from an external (other countries) frame of reference. This excludes the practical homegrown experiences and global connections that Latinos and other communities of color have in the world. American Indians, for instance, are related to indigenous people across the planet. A review of the proposed competencies of global leadership shows that Latinos bring these capacities to their work every day. They use them to form partnerships with the many immigrants, nationalities, and expanding diversity that make up the global Latino community in the United States and across national boundaries. As Julián Castro surmises, “My vision is that Latinos can be America’s greatest asset to compete in a global context.”

The Latino Global Advantage

EVEN THOUGH MY FAMILY emigrated when I was a child, I still consider myself a Nicaraguan with Mexican antecedents (as well as a Latina and an American). The Latino propensity to refer to a country of origin is similar to that of American Indians, whose identity is based on tribal affinity. Indians introduce themselves by their tribe: “I am a Cherokee” or “Apache” or “Lakota.”

A recent study by the Pew Research Center found that 51 percent of US Latinos identify with their family’s country of origin, using such terms as Mexican, Cuban, or Dominican.²¹ This trend is continuing with Latinos between sixteen and twenty-five. When asked about the terms they have ever used to describe themselves, 94 percent say they have used their family’s country of origin, 87 percent say Hispanic or Latino, and 67 percent say American.²² Acculturation allows Latinos to have multiple identities and to value each one. These identities function as bridges or crossroads that allow a person to bring forth the best from each culture. In our global village this is a great asset—particularly with our neighbors in the Southern Hemisphere.

We noted that the history of the United States with Central and South America has been laden with colonization and occupation. In 1916, for instance, the Dominican Republic was occupied by the United States when President Theodore Roosevelt (as part of Manifest Destiny) sought to protect the construction of the Panama Canal. A more recent invasion of the Dominican Republic occurred in 1965 in response to political instability and a military coup. President Lyndon Johnson feared “another Cuba” and the proliferation of communism in the hemisphere.²³

Fortunately times have changed. President Barack Obama has called for a “new era of partnership,” lauding Latin America’s economic growth and increased democracy. US Latinos—with their cultural, historic, and linguistic ties—are playing a greater role in building these alliances. In 2009 Raul Yzaguirre became the ambassador to the Dominican Republic. His approach echoes the partnership model he promoted among US Latinos. Yzaguirre crafted a shared vision for the embassy: “Whatever the history, there can be no question that as we move forward today we are united in our vision … working together for the continued development of a democratic, equitable, and prosperous Dominican Republic.”²⁴

After her appointment as US treasurer, Anna Cabral became the unit chief for Strategic Communications in the External Relations Division of the Inter-American Development Bank. Established in 1959, the bank is composed of forty-eight member countries who have a majority ownership. It is the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribbean. Programs aim to assist the most vulnerable and support such areas as health, agriculture, education, and infrastructure like roads and electricity. Cabral is using the skills and talents she acquired on the home front to connect with and support Latinos internationally.

Secretary Hilda Solis, who travels globally representing the United States on labor issues, immigration, bilateral agreements, and human trafficking, believes Latinos have an advantage in the international arena. She has signed workers’ rights agreements with ten countries. “There is a tremendous asset having parents born in other countries. People show me more acceptance, respect, and courtesy. I can enter into conversations much more easily because of my Spanish. There’s even a sense of pride. They say, ‘The president actually has someone who understands us, who is one of us, whose family comes from our roots.’ We share that commonality even in the way I look, and that gives me more entrées to work on issues.”

Cultural Revitalization: The Young Latino Immigrants

WE HAVE NOTED THE many reasons why Latino immigrants are acculturating and enhancing the global perspective of US Latinos. Predictions are that this trend will continue well into this century. Consider that in 1995, nearly half of all Latinos aged sixteen to twenty-five were immigrants. By 2009, this number was 33 percent; another 37 percent were born in the United States to immigrant parents. New immigrants and their descendants will account for 74 percent of the projected Latino growth in the United States until 2050.²⁵

According to the 2009 Pew Hispanic Center Report Between Two Worlds: How Young Latinos Come of Age in America, even second-generation Latinos (41 percent) identify themselves first by the country where their parents were born. Immigration is birthing a Hispanic revival: consider that young Latinos are more likely than older Latinos to say their parents raised them with a more Hispanic focus than an American one. More say their parents have often spoken of their pride in their family’s country of origin. Sixty percent report their parents encouraged them to speak Spanish and not just English.²⁶ (Young children will learn English and become acculturated because of schools and other dominant culture institutions. Preserving the Latino culture and identity must be nourished at home and by Latino organizations.)

Young Hispanics are growing up in family settings that place a strong emphasis on their Latin American roots and nurture their intercultural identity. The global mindset that young Latinos are forming will strengthen connections with people from many countries. Solis notes this important role: “As more Latinos become educated and are able to serve in leadership positions, the more we’re going to be able to start dealing on a much broader, global level around the Western Hemisphere, Europe, and other places where we have similarities—whether it’s España, or the Portuguese, or Alemania [Germany]—because Latinos have a little speck of everybody, don’t we?” (German influence is evident in countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and México.)

Immigration: Connecting to Latino Advocacy

IT WOULD BE EASY for US Latinos to walk away from the immigration debate and to stop advocating for compassionate and fair ways to deal with people who have crossed the border. After all, 60 percent of Americans were in favor of Arizona’s Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act, which allowed police to “stop and verify the immigration status of anyone they suspect of being an illegal immigrant.”²⁷ Furthermore, leaders are already addressing the litany of issues that face other underrepresented groups: the lack of education, inadequate housing, economic disparity, and political exclusion.

It is also more challenging to unify the community because interests and perceptions can be so different between US Latinos and newly arrived immigrants. US Latinos have suffered discrimination and been deemed “minorities,” while Central and South Americans grew up with their identity intact and know their history. Many times immigrants don’t understand the economic, social, and psychological struggle of US Latinos. On the other hand, US-born Latinos may feel that Central and South Americans are benefiting from their centuries of struggle. Leaders have to do a great deal of mending and weaving to foster understanding between these two groups.

Yet Murguía believes immigration is a pressing issue that Latinos won’t abandon. “Nearly half of our affiliates [a total of 150 community-based organizations] are working every day to support and integrate immigrants fully into American society. The National Council of La Raza, its partners, and affiliates teach new immigrants English and have helped more than 1.5 million people apply for citizenship.”

Latinos were part of the civil rights movement and fought to be treated fairly and equitably. In the contentious immigration climate, civil liberties have been denied. Murguía comments, “Every day, parents are being torn from their children and families are ripped apart, leaving those behind emotionally scarred and often financially destitute. Swept up with this aggressive focus on deportation are thousands of US citizens and legal residents that have been forced to prove they have a right to be here, simply because they are Latino.” According the Federal Bureau of Investigation, crimes against Latinos increased 11 percent in 2010, and over 66 percent of victims of ethnically motivated crimes were targeted because of anti-Hispanic bias.²⁸ The activist nature of Latino leadership mandates that this situation be addressed.

Advocating for just immigration policies reflects the Latino values of community, inclusiveness, and social justice. Immigrants are part of the familia (both literally and metaphorically) and Latinos assume responsibility for their “relatives.” In fact, immigration reform was a major driver of Latino voters’ political choice in the 2012 presidential election.²⁹ Arturo Vargas believes, “We see each other as extended family. I see older Latinos as if they are my parents who were immigrants. I want to give them the same respect I give my mother and father.” Immigration has actually become a unifying factor for Latinos. Leaders recognize that immigration is one of the pressing civil rights issues of our times.

¡Ándale!—Moving Forward

OUR NEXT PRINCIPLE, Sí Se Puede: Social Activism and Coalition Leadership, explores how immigration and other critical issues converge into a social and political action agenda. A strategic way this has been accomplished is through coalition building. According to Solis, the first Latina to serve in the California Senate, Latinos are adept at working with different groups and networks around a concerted goal. “I learned early on that bringing people together meant more strength. When I wanted to pass the first environmental legislation in California, I had to involve Blacks, Latinos, labor, women’s organizations, and environmental groups and help them understand why this was beneficial to them. I learned from my father that a good organizer reaches out, persists, and serves people’s needs.”