Latino Advocacy Group Criticizes Julian Castro's Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Endorsement
Julian Castro's future looks bright. At the young age of 41, he's already being endorsed to be America's next vice president.
A couple of days ago, the National Hispanic Chamber of Commerce voiced its endorsement of Castro as the Democratic vice presidential candidate and it was well received -- mostly.
According to a Latino Fox News report, Latino Victory Project, a group founded by famous "Desperate Housewives" star Eva Longoria and Henry Munoz, said that Castro's endorsement is well-deserved. The group noted that the former San Antonio mayor is a proven leader and praised his policies, particularly the funding of pre-K education.
Cristobal Alex, the group's president, also said that with Castro's relative youth, he has a great chance of winning the Latino vote, specifically Latino millennials.
However, there are also members of the Latino sector who are still doubtful over Castro's run as the country's vice president. For Alfonso Aguilar, president of the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles, Castro's endorsement by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is a big no-no.
He said that, "The Hispanic chamber is a non-partisan organization," Aguilar, a known Jeb Bush supporter. According to him, that's the big reason why the chamber should not get involved in politics or endorse anyone who's running for a certain position.
Aguilar is clearly not having any of it because he views that the chamber should remain neutral, as many business all through the country are owned by Republicans and Independents, in addition to Latinos without any political agenda.
With the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's endorsement of Julian Castro -- a Democrat -- it's putting all of the many business in big jeopardy.
The chamber's president, Javier Palomarez, shot back at Aguillar and said that he's just bitter over the fact that they have endorsed someone that he does not prefer.
Palomarez countered that they did not endorse Castro simply because he's a Democrat, but because he's been a big supporter of small business, particularly Latino business.
He added that the chamber looked at Castro's track record and they found out that all throughout his term as mayor, he has supported a number of small businesses. In fact, they said that even if Castro was a Republican, they would still endorse him.
Case in point, he cited GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruz and said that even though he does not agree with most of his policies, Palomarez said that he appreciated the Texas senators effort to bring in skilled immigrants.
As for Castro, he has yet to confirm or deny that he's running for the position, but is currently campaigning for leading Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Dallas News reported.
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