New Mexico Debate in Spanish Part of Growing Trend

ABC News ^ | October 7, 2014 | By RUSSELL CONTRERAS

[Oldeconomybuyer]

The moderator gave New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez the nod to start her opening statement. She smiled, then looked at the camera.

"Welcome. And thank you very much for the opportunity to talk to the Hispanic people of my community," Martinez said in Spanish.

It marked Martinez's entry in an emerging trend as Republicans and Democrats around the U.S. court Hispanic voters.

From California to Texas, colleges and Spanish-language networks are hosting similar Spanish debates regardless of candidates' fluency amid the growing influence of Latinos as swing voters in key races.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Language, border, culture.

[Travis McGee]

U.S. Constitution, Article IV, Section 4:

The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government,

and shall protect each of them against invasion

[Oatka]

"Welcome. And thank you very much for the opportunity to talk to the Hispanic people of my community," Martinez said in Spanish.

Her next sentence should have been:
"When I am in a Spanish-speaking country, I speak that language as a token of respect to the country and its people. Since I am in America, I will do the same."

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

Both English and Spanish are official languages of New Mexico.
Now if they were debating in Urdu or Tagalog that would be different!

[ansel12]

It all ended with the election of JFK and the realization of his life’s dream of replacing the American voters with immigration.

[dirtboy]

Spanish was prevalent in New Mexico long before English arrived. And there are still a lot of persons with Spanish ancestry who view themselves as different from the much more recent Mexican arrivals.