For some time now, we have been talking about the importance of the active participation of our Azores communities in the political process in the United States. First, because of the need for communities to have a voice of their own in the American political system. Second, because of the possibility that communities are lobby Azores and the whole country with North American businesses. In fact, the speeches and lectures that the Azores government gave to the communities focused on this aspect. There is active political awareness in the communities. Evidence is emerging that Portuguese Americans themselves (many of these Azores Americans) also feel this need. After successive naturalization campaigns have taken place in recent decades, numerous communities have moved towards registration and possible participation in the democratic process through voting and political activism. But the question that seems vital to me is: really, what influence can we have on the political process in the United States of America?

As you know, US policy is governed by two poles: money and votes. And, by the way, the former surpassed the latter in size. What impact can the Portuguese and Azorean communities have in the current political climate, when campaigns cost millions of dollars? What strength will our “one and a half million” be in a country with a population of about 330 million people? Not forgetting that this “one and a half million” includes a significant percentage of our community that emigrated from the Azores in the sixties and early seventies, without any political culture, and which is quite old today. Not to mention the percentage of the second, third and subsequent generations, extremely assimilated and already quite diluted in the American mosaic of people who still insist on being “Melting Pot“. And, of course, generations not directly related to some of the most pressing issues for the immigrant community and the first generation.

Consequently, I have always been an advocate for a focus on local government. The possibility of obtaining plausible results will always have a different impact at the municipal or regional level. Azores communities in the United States must have a say in the decisions that are made daily by city councils, county councils, and school boards. Thanks to active participation in local politics, the solution of such an adequate policy as teaching Portuguese in primary, secondary and even higher educational institutions becomes more manageable. Because, as is well known (it seems that the centralist power of education in Portugal has not yet figured it out), education in the United States is decentralized. Moreover, social policy, which directly affects the districts and quarters into which the community has integrated, is mostly carried out at the municipal level.

I find it important to focus more on local government. Unless, in some cases, for example, in certain areas of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, the community, in terms of numbers, can have a vote at the state level or even have a decisive influence on the election of a representative of this area to the federal government. Congress, the same does not happen in some parts of the same states where the percentage of residents of Azores origin is lower, and in others in the American Union, where there are also expressive communities of Portuguese origin: the example of California, For example, from New York, Florida, Connecticut and from Hawaii.

Everything is based on a numbers game. Therefore, I will use as an example the county of Tulare in the state of California, which has a population of about 468,000, of which, at the best estimate, about 20,000 are of Azores origin. Of these, about 7,500 live in the city of Tulare, which, in turn, has a population of 70,000. Obviously, and it is easy to see, the political weight of our community in this area will be much greater at the municipal level, where we represent about 11% of the population, than at the regional or national level, where we represent less than 5% of the district’s population. And such figures are somewhat repeated by several states of the American Union.

It is also necessary to avoid political ghettos and voices that are supposedly made on behalf of Portuguese descent. The communities of California and perhaps a few other states where the population of our archipelago is concentrated have clear and unmistakable examples that the Portuguese nickname is not synonymous with representing the desires of expatriates and their descendants. Any political movement must assume that communities need political agents to represent their desires, programs and platforms. Just because a politician loves Espírito Santo soups and scented wine does not mean that he is a faithful spokesman for programs that affect our communities and our islands. We must overcome this stigma, make our communities feel that we are interested in politicians who understand the needs of our communities, who are aware of their dilemmas and problems, who are aware of our political participation. If he is of Portuguese descent, then even better. In the Portuguese diaspora, we must create strategic plans that take into account the interests of the diaspora and Portugal and pass them on to politicians who listen to us and use them in their platforms.

Another aspect that I believe is important for the Azoreans’ visible participation in civilian life in the States is the political awareness of our institutions. Recreational clubs, cultural associations, social structures in our communities need to be constantly informed about the political process. It is necessary to recognize the need that, as associations, representing in many cases hundreds of families, they should be obliged to politicize themselves not within the framework of a political party (unfortunately, they exist), but in terms of providing useful services. information for its members. The point is that any politician, especially at the local and regional level, will have different ears when the voice comes from an association representing three or four hundred families.

New research is needed, such as the one that the Luzo American Foundation for Development (FLAD), in collaboration with wards and clubs, conducted many years ago to uncover the history of political participation of its members. Having objective data, organizations will be able to work to increase both the number of their members who are not registered to vote, and those who, in my opinion, do not exercise this right, this duty. Moreover, such data allows one to reach out to local politicians in power and claim the rights that these citizens also have. And sometimes the numbers will surprise us. The case of the Portuguese parish in Turlock, California (and there are examples of other parishes on the US East Coast) showed that of the registered members, about 85% exercised this civil right. And we all know that in modern democracies it would be great if we had only 15% of the votes around the world.

It goes without saying that candidates and political organizations in the area will henceforth be much better informed about the Portuguese voters in this constituency and in the area. A similar study has already begun, and has been successful, in other parts of the US East Coast, but new communities, new technologies, and new political awareness will need to be used to analyze, based on the new numbers, the soon-to-be-released 2020 United States Census. known so that we can implement, from the community and with our organizations and institutions, a new approach based on these results.

In conclusion, it can be said that there is another political consciousness in the Azorean communities in the States that has not been there for ten years, and that all social forces, from clubs to cultural agents passing through the media, have a responsibility to develop this awareness in a harmonious and realistic way. … For the process taking place in communities to be successful, it must be a ground-to-ground movement –grassrootsas we speak in the United States of America. Without aiming to be a force that we can never become because numbers, political culture and economic power may not allow it, I think that we will have more and more influence on the small / large decisions that are made by school boards on a daily basis in committees, councils, constituencies and state assemblies. And these decisions directly affect the life of our Azorean communities in the United States. it lobby The Azores and Portuguese languages ​​will never appear in the United States as long as we remain politically disconnected, dreaming and feeding false prophets on both sides of the Atlantic, content with life because we had a moment of glory.

In fact, some work has already been done. The consistency of the California Portuguese-American Coalition (CPAC) in this mega-state of the American union and PALCUS at the national level has been important and has taken decisive steps. The foundation of the Portuguese political house must continue to be erected on Uncle Sam’s land, which is not built in a year or two. It is a continuous and solid work that cannot be shaken by the opportunism of any party force in Portugal.