[SteveStromberg]

The Invaders are Whinnig again.

Latino group pushing boycott
Other organizations not part of new effort

By STEPHEN WALL, Staff Writer

Its name means "We Are United' in English, but Estamos Unidos is struggling to unify Latinos to support an economic boycott today and Thursday.

The Ontario-based group is urging Latinos not to shop, buy gas or eat in restaurants to show the economic muscle of the nation's fastest-growing ethnic minority.

The protest coincides with Cinco de Mayo, a Mexican holiday commemorating Mexico's defeat of a better-equipped French army in 1862.

It is the group's third boycott in seven months. The first boycott on Oct. 11 and 12 received limited attention. The second one on Dec. 12 generated more publicity, but was criticized because organizers encouraged Latinos to keep their children home from school that day. The event also drew fire because hundreds of people who were encouraged to skip work reportedly lost their jobs.

Estamos Unidos is not advocating children missing school or workers staying home this time around.

However, the new boycott is suffering from infighting and bickering among Latino organizations that share similar goals but promote different means to achieve them.

The Mexican-American Political Association and Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, two advocacy groups that played a key role in the Dec. 12 boycott, are not on board with the new effort.

Nativo Lopez, who heads both organizations, said Estamos Unidos should have reached a consensus among Latino groups before launching the boycott.

"These are tactical decisions that should result in building organization among the people in a permanent way,' Lopez said. "When you do something just for agitation's sake, it's the height of irresponsibility.'

Jesse Diaz, the leader of Estamos Unidos, disagreed.

"They are against it because they didn't initiate it,' said Diaz, a graduate student at UC Riverside. "If people don't want to work with us, that's their choice. We'll work with anybody.'

Diaz said the boycott is aimed at drawing attention to Latinos' purchasing power and encouraging politicians to support immigrant causes such as allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain California driver's licenses.

Latinos in the United States spent $580.5 billion in 2002 and are projected to spend $926 billion in 2007, according to the University of Georgia's Selig Center.

The country's nearly 40million Latinos eat more fast food, buy more cars, trucks, shoes and furniture, and go to the movies more often than non-Latino groups, according to a study commissioned by the Telemundo television network.

Companies such as Blockbuster, K-Mart, Sears, Hallmark and McDonald's are increasingly targeting Latino consumers, Diaz said.

"We're here and we're here to stay,' Diaz said. "We just need to get people to accept that. We pay taxes like everybody else, but we're unable to take advantage of the same privileges available to everyone else, like getting driver's licenses.'

Libreria Del Pueblo, an immigrant advocacy organization in San Bernardino, distributed about 10,000 fliers urging local residents to honor the boycott.

"We as Latinos have to be united,' said Patricio Guillen, executive director of Libreria Del Pueblo. "I think this is a good test to see how much of an impact we can have on the economy and to see how much solidarity there is among us.'

Diaz said many supporters of the boycott will participate today in a march on the state capital and a rally at San Francisco City College in support of driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants.

He said the December strike was the catalyst behind President Bush's guest worker proposal that was unveiled in January.

While he is hoping the boycott prompts similar action at the state and federal levels, Diaz is realistic in his expectations.

"If five or six or 10 people don't buy tomorrow, it's a success,' he said.