"We don't have a neutral article," my friend exclaimed, " 'It' or 'they' doesn't exist. We only have El, La, Los and Las."
We were hanging out in Chapinero, one of my favorite neighborhoods of Bogota, Colombia. He was explaining the rooted culture within Latin America, that leans heavily towards traditional views of gender, sexuality and marriage, sees the human race as composed of only 2 genders and values the unique contributions of both male and female.
It dawned on me that proponents of homosexuality, transgenderism or some other woke ideologies without clear connection to the created order have their work cut out for them in Latin America.
Words matter, and thank God that Spanish doesn't have a neutral article.
Those who know me well, know of my love of Latin America. From my early days in 2012 working as an interim CFO in Mexico City to the past 5 years building a startup with team members in Bogota, Colombia, I have been involved in business across Latin America for over a decade.
One of the greatest opportunities that conservatives have over the next decade is to embrace the Latino population into the conservative movement across the United States. Conservatives have fumbled the ball here. While they should be navigating the path of both the rule of law when it comes to immigration policy as well as economic vitality from strong and abundant labor, they have fallen into the ditches on either side of this path.
Why are Latinos a critical contingent of the conservative movement in the United States? God, Family, Community and Work.
God: Latinos by-and-large believe in a creator with over 70% identifying as Christian (2023 Pew Research) - on top of that they participate actively in a church community. Anecdotally, many of my Latino friends set aside Sunday as a day of rest with a focus on church and family activities.
Family: Latinos love their family - whether it is the highest fertility rate (64.4 births per 1k hispanic women, 2021–23), prioritizing time with their children, setting the table for large family gatherings or emphasizing the role of the family in their community, they have their priorities in order.
Community: Latinos are connected to each other. I am reminded of this every time I am with latino friends on the southside of Oklahoma City, in one of my favorite neighborhoods in Bogota or traveling through remote parts of Central America as well as my recent trip in Mexico where a new friend helped me in a challenging medical situation.
Work: Latinos value hard work. Like my great-grandfather who immigrated from Italy, they work to provide a better life for themselves and their families. They often have multiple jobs, businesses and pursue opportunities to better themselves economically.
These are the strengths that we conservatives share with our Latino neighbors. Are there differences in culture and community? Sure. But these commonalities should be celebrated and conservatives should welcome the opportunity to embrace Latinos into the broader movement.