Bill Gallegos: From the earliest days of his presidential campaign in 2015, Donald Trump has been characterizing Mexicans who migrate to the US as “murderers” and “rapists.” He already has terrorized our communities. By closing the border, Trump forced migrants to cross the desert, where many have died. He expanded the Border Patrol and ICE to make them the largest federal police force. Refugees and asylum seekers from México, Central America, and the Global South found themselves snatched from their homes, work, and even hospitals and put in concentration camps. Latinas have endured forced sterilizations, and only minimal measures have been taken to safeguard detainees from Covid-19.

So we Mexicanos/Chicanos knew those white terrorists invading the US Capitol took satisfaction from the violence and cruelty Trump had unleashed on us. We also recognized that we’re sitting in the same boat as our African American sisters and brothers. “Black lives don’t matter” to Trump and his base.

Do you think that, at this moment, we can put Trump and his enablers on the defensive? What role can Latino communities play?

Latinos have a major role to play in stamping out this dangerous virus Trump has loosed upon us. In the recent elections, Latinos turned out to be a major reason for Trump’s defeat in key states and cities. We number nearly 40 million people in the US, a fast-growing and young population situated in critical economic and political centers. We can use our electoral power to get rid of elected officials who supported Trump on the state and local levels. We can play a key role, for example, in forcing Ted Cruz to resign and in holding his Latino donors accountable.

So, yes, Latinos must seize the moment to join with our allies, particularly with the Black Liberation Movement, to drive the Neo-Confederates into the trash bin of history!

Do people in México have a role in protecting Mexicans in the US?

We see the people of México as important allies for Chicano and Latino struggles in the US. We both remain victims of US colonialism and imperialism. The United States didn’t just rob México of its northern territories. The US has made an oppressed nation of the more than 32 million Chicano-Mexicanos who reside in those territories. We are linked together by history, culture, and language, by our common enemy — and by our families!

Now’s the time to build even stronger ties between the social movements in México and the Chicano and Latino movements aqui in El Norte: between our labor movement and theirs, between our young leaders and theirs, between our movements for women’s equality and the dynamic feminist movement in Mexico, between the environmental justice movement here and the climate justice movement in Mexico, and especially between our vibrant movement of cultural warriors here and the incredible cadre of cultural activists in Mexico.  

Trump’s defeat and the current chaos within the Republican Party provide us with a political opening we would be irresponsible to ignore.