In Conversation: On The Hispanic Republican

Fernand Amandi, principal at Bendixen & Amandi International, manages the firm and brings over a decade’s worth of experience in research and strategic management with an emphasis in corporate, political and public affairs consulting for clients including the United Nations, the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, Univision, New America Media, the White House, the John & James L. Knight Foundation, the California Endowment, US Senator John Kerry and US Senator Robert Menendez. Amandi has conceived, produced, and edited a number of successful television commercials for B&A International’s media practice and his communications projects and analysis have been featured in The New York Times, CNN, National Public Radio, The Washington Post, USA Today, Newsweek, Time, The Economist, and the Miami Herald.

Geraldo Cadava is an associate professor of history and Latina and Latino studies at Northwestern University. He is the author of Standing on Common Ground: The Making of a Sunbelt Borderland. In the lead-up to every election cycle, pundits predict that Latino Americans will overwhelmingly vote in favor of the Democratic candidate. And it’s true—Latino voters do tilt Democratic. But the statistics belie a complicated picture. After decades of investment and political courtship, the Republican party has established a longer and stronger bond with Hispanics than the Democratic party. How is this possible for a party so associated with draconian immigration and racial policies? In The Hispanic Republican: The Shaping of an American Political Identity, from Nixon to Trump (Ecco) Cadava offers insights into the complicated dynamic between Latino liberalism and conservatism, which will impact American elections for years to come. Rick Perlstein, bestselling author of Nixonland and The Invisible Bridge noted that “Thoughtful, fair-minded, and learned, Cadava’s eye-opening book will teach experts on American politics things they didn’t even know they didn’t know.”