Latino voters set for 'Super Martes'

By Lourdes Heredia
BBC Mundo, Los Angeles

"This will be the Super Latino Tuesday," said 77-year-old Dolores Huerta, the co-founder of the United Farm Workers of America, in front of a huge crowd of Hillary Clinton supporters in Los Angeles.

California voter Anthony Garcia says his mind is already made up

She was not exaggerating. In California, the biggest prize on Super Tuesday, Latinos make up about a quarter of the population and are expected to contribute about 18% of the vote in the state's Democratic and Republican primaries.

The two remaining Democratic candidates, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, have each spent $300,000 (£150,000) in advertising on a Spanish-language TV channel over the past weekend alone.

"Obama is a friend of our community. He has worked for us. Compadre [a colloquial word meaning friend], let's go and vote together this Tuesday," says one advert produced by the Illinois senator's campaign.

However, in spite of Mr Obama's efforts, Mrs Clinton has a clear advantage within the Latino community.

According to a Field Poll on 3 February, Latinos, who represent a fifth of the likely Democratic electorate, prefer Mrs Clinton overwhelmingly, by 52% to 19% for Mr Obama.

In Nevada and in Florida, Mrs Clinton captured two-thirds of the Latino vote - and it seems California might follow this path.

Tensions

Press reports have buzzed about racism as a possible reason behind the Latino community's lopsided support for Mrs Clinton, but experts believe that race is not the main factor.

The Clinton campaign has been targeting the Latino community

"The tensions between Hispanic and African-American communities in parts of Los Angeles do not reflect the overall picture," said Miguel Tinker-Salas, a professor of history at Pomona College, California.

For nearly a year, the Clinton campaign has been advertising, making phone calls and sending mail to the Latino community, analysts say, whereas the Obama campaign started its "Latino outreach" too late.

"Obama was not well-known until recently at national level, whereas Hillary was first lady for eight years. Clinton also has been working with the community for much longer," explains Roberto Suro, former head of the Pew Hispanic Centre and now a professor of communications at the University of Southern California.

The Clinton campaign also counts the support of top Latino leaders like Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Dolores Huerta.

'Devil you know'

In the streets of Los Angeles, it becomes clear that a lot of misinformation about Mr Obama has gained hold in the minds of potential voters.

Barack Obama is hoping he can also appeal to Hispanics

"He is Muslim, and I don't want to vote for him," said Anthony Garcia in a commercial centre in Hollywood.

The claim is not true - Mr Obama is a practising Christian - but Anthony is not the only one who says that he prefers to vote for Mrs Clinton on the basis of this false assumption.

But over and above any dislike for Mr Obama, the main attraction of Mrs Clinton for many Hispanic voters is her husband.

They remember Bill Clinton's presidency as a time of economic prosperity - and his wife has benefited from those positive feelings.

In the Mercado, a market in East Los Angeles, Mario and Susana Espitia said that they felt that Obama was a "good guy" ("es un buen tipo"), but that they would vote for Mrs Clinton.

"In spite of Monica Lewinsky, Clinton was a good president, the economy was going well, we had jobs, and there was not a war. It's a great deal, we get her and the back-up support of her husband," said Mario.

Susana has no doubts either. "It's better the devil you know. My candidate is Hillary and I do not have anything against Obama, but my vote is for her."

Older Latinos, the polls indicate, have an affinity for Mrs Clinton, but Mr Obama does have an opportunity to win the battle for the younger Hispanic vote.

Endorsements

In recent days, Mr Obama has been very active in courting the Latino vote.

"Si se puede, si se puede [yes we can]," he chants along with his supporters in Spanish.

HISPANICS IN US 15% of population 9% of 2008 electorate 57% support or lean to Democrats 23% aligned with Republicans

Senator Ted Kennedy, a figure well-respected within the Latino community for his family's record on immigration and labour relations, has been travelling around California, trying to persuade Latino voters to join the Obama camp.

"Un voto por Obama es un voto para la gente! [A vote for Obama is a vote for the people]", said Mr Kennedy, with a heavy accent that prompted laughs among the crowd gathered at a community colleague in East Los Angeles.

Mr Obama has also said he would support giving driver's licences to illegal immigrants, something that Mrs Clinton has not done.

To some observers' surprise, major endorsements have followed, including one from La Opinion, the leading Spanish-language newspaper in the US, that called Mr Obama "the best option for a truly visionary change".

"This is a historic moment, and tremendous skills and experience are not enough to inspire a feeling of renewal in our country after eight long years of George W Bush," said the newspaper.

The Los Angeles Times has also endorsed Mr Obama, saying in an editorial that Mrs Clinton had "failed" a test of judgement when she voted for the Iraq war in 2003.

Although many analysts predict that it will be impossible for Mr Obama to beat Mrs Clinton in California, the Illinois senator hopes at least to win some delegates in this state.

He will also try to close the gap on the support that Mrs Clinton enjoys among the Latino population.

After all, that Hispanic vote may play an important role in November's general election, when the chosen Democratic and Republican candidates go head-to-head.