Their vote is expected to determine the outcome of the presidential election on November 5, two weeks from today. Fourteen days remain until the US election. Polls in recent weeks predict an inconclusive result with Kamala Harris regaining valuable ground since taking over from President Joe Biden and Donald Trump managing to more or less maintain his ratings.

For another presidential election, the Hispanic community in the US, which currently numbers approximately 50 million members, plays a decisive role in the election of a president. Especially since everything seems to indicate that the battle will be decided in the thread. Consequently, the Hispanic vote, especially in swing states, is able to tip the scales one way or the other. But Hispanics are divided between Trump and Harris.

In the state of Arizona, on the border with Mexico, the Spanish-speaking population will almost certainly decide the final result. In the capital city of Phoenix, Kamala Harris seems to have the lead: “I’m more for Kamala because I think she’s going to help with immigrant rights,” says one woman from the Hispanic community, while another adds: “I support Kamala Harris because is pro-abortion. I don’t think other people should decide what a woman is going to do with her body.”

“Vote with your heart and your wallet”

On the other hand, Hispanics who support former president Donald Trump in Arizona emphasize traditional values, but also the economy. Two issues important to a large portion of the Hispanic community in the US. At a Republican rally in Phoenix, Lori Martinez, head of the Hispanic Republican National Convention, sums up: “You should vote with your wallet and your heart.”

A former Republican voter states: “Trump is a good candidate, he talks a lot about the economy and how to improve America. But at the end he almost always makes a derogatory comment about Spanish speakers. He says for example that he will deport us. As Spanish speakers, we cannot and should not give him our vote.”

One Trump supporter, however, states: “Democrats forgot about Hispanics, the day laborers who work hard every day. They forgot about us, so we’re changing sides too.”

EBU, dpa