US presidential hopefuls hold first-ever TV debate in Spanish

MIAMI (AFP) - In a dramatic sign of fast-changing US society's makeup, eight Democratic presidential hopefuls are set to take part in the first televised Spanish-language debate Sunday to court Hispanics, the largest US minority group.

The candidates -- two of whom are fluent Spanish speakers -- are not expected to answer questions in Spanish but their responses will be simultaneously translated for the live broadcast on the Univision network.

"The candidates will be speaking to the fastest-growing segment of American society. It's a sign of respect," said Univision anchor Maria Elena Salinas who will co-moderate the debate along with colleague Jorge Ramos.

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who is running to become the first Hispanic-American in the White House, and Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd, both fluent Spanish speakers, have been told they can only answer in English during the debate to "level the playing field," a Univision spokeswoman said.

Salinas and Ramos will ask questions in Spanish, and the candidates, wearing UN-style earpieces, will hear a translation in English.

Minor time delays are expected as their responses are translated into Spanish by a single translator for television viewers, while the audience at the University of Miami can wear headsets to hear the debate in either language.

English-speaking television viewers at home can follow the debate by reading closed captions, typically used for the hearing impaired.

Observers admitted that the rule may be difficult to enforce as the candidates aim to show how well they can connect with the 16 million Hispanic voters eligible to cast ballots in next year's election.

"It's live television. Is somebody going to run over and tackle Richardson and Dodd if they start speaking Spanish?" asked Alan Schroeder, a journalism professor at Northeastern University.

Richardson spokesman Pahl Shipley called the rule "kind of ridiculous ... Why the candidates who do speak Spanish should be penalized is fairly frustrating."

Sunday's debate, scheduled for 2300 GMT, will be the 10th televised debate this year ahead of the November 2008 vote.

It is an interesting twist in a US presidential campaign of landmark firsts including the first mainstream African-American presidential hopeful, Barack Obama; the first leading female presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton; and the first mainstream Hispanic hopeful.

Univision had planned to sponsor a Republican debate that was to have taken place next week, but canceled the event after only one contender, Republican Senator John McCain, agreed to take part.

The United States has no official language, though some English-only activists have tried to encourage "official" use of English. Some local jurisdictions sensitive to changing US cultural norms have reacted by passing local laws requiring the use of English for government business.

The estimated number of people of Hispanic cultural origins in the United States in 2006 was 44.3 million making them the largest ethnic or race minority. Hispanics constituted 15 percent of the total population, which tops 300 million, US census data show.

Sixty-four percent of all US Hispanics are Mexican-born or of Mexican descent. Other large and growing US Hispanic subgroups include communities with origins in Puerto Rico, Cuba, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic.

For centuries the United States, settled by waves of immigrants mostly from Europe, had a European frame of reference that now has changed dramatically following more recent waves of immigration from Asia and Latin America.

In the economically vital western US state of California, there no longer is any ethnic majority; the main minority groups are of white European origin, African-American, Hispanic-American, and Asian-American.

it's a very good way to get the spanish speaking citizens aware of the platforms so that they can make an informed choice. i just hope they know the difference between a campaign promise and reality. seems to me that a lot of people got taken for a ride on that one the last two elections.

well king when our vote is maiden with emotion we hardly make the right choice

i heard that LW.

Everyone here is very excited about these debates... our cuban communities have been extremely conservative (and thererfore republican) in the past but Miami is changing- I know a lot of younger cubans who are open to different possibilities.

Bush's economic restrictions on spending and visitation to Cuba are very unpopular. One of my neighbor's has been unable to see her newest grand daughter because if she travels against the restrictions she could lose her social security benefits...

And Cubans are no longer the majority of the hispanic community... we have so many south americans here now- so the democratic candidates are taking these changes very seriously and paying more attention to this area...

BTW Miami-Dade County went to Kerry in the last election...

this election is going to be kind of hard anoasis, most of the democrat candidates are good.

Well, Im glad your excited Miquel!!

r u really now? Glen

yes, I just dont see why its necessary!

It really shouldnt be since to pass the citizen test you must speak English!

I guess maybe for new citizens that have not quite grasped the language to translate when English is spoken at normal speed it might help though!

do u know what happened?
the candidates agreed to have the debate in english with simultaneous translation into spanish. However, richardson started answering in spanish and the moderators told him that if he kept speaking in spanish he had to leave the debate.
and please glen, I know how do u feel about immigration, and i absolutely agree that spanish should not be forced into NOrth AMerica, but come on if the debate is focus to a community who has spanish as a mother language, and it was transmitted in a spanish channel. It's absolutely necessary to do it in spanish.
Give us a little brake man.

I did man, I understand that just because someone can read english doesnt mean they can keep up with the speed that we talk!

I hear many people who speak spanish as a second language say that they cant translate it fast enough to understand two hispanics having a conversation. They have to have them slow down!

I was nice.... really, Im happy for you and the other hispanics. I dont begrudge you this!!

Im happy for you Miquel!!

cool beans bro
and keep working on that colombian girl

BTW
the secret to understand an spoken second language (spanish or english) is not tryng to translate. Try to understand spanish in spanish and english in english.
It's hard it took me about a year to get that point.
now when i talk in english my mind is all english, spanish does not cross my mind whatsoever.

It kind of surprised me that only 2 were fluent in Spanish. I knew Richardson was. His Mother is Mexican and he grew up in Mexico city!

His Father sent his mom to the US to give birth just so he would be an American by birth!!! Then they went back until he was about 12. I like Richardson, and I hope the Hispanic vote can make him competitive!!

Either him or Edwards, anyone else and I think we are condemn to the same old same old! Those two guys offer real change!!

I wish the debate would be like Sabado Gigante, then I'd watch it. I swear that show is better that SNL now

sabado gigante rules
don francisco kick a..

Dems agree on Iraq, immigration
CORAL GABLES, Fla. - Democratic White House candidates embraced Hispanic concerns in the first ever Spanish-language presidential debate, unanimously promising to bring troops home from Iraq and to begin working on immigration in their first year in office.

On the eve of a war assessment by U.S. commanding Gen. David Petraeus, the presidential hopefuls said troops should begin coming home no matter what the report says. With the moderator of the debate noting that two-thirds of Hispanics want a withdrawal from Iraq, the candidates had an ideal audience to criticize the war.

"I'll strongly support in the coming days efforts here to terminate that participation based on firm deadlines," said Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd in the debate, which was broadcast on Univision, the nation's largest Spanish-language network.

Anchors Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena Salinas posed questions in Spanish and the candidates had earpieces to hear simultaneous translations into English. The candidates' responses were simultaneously translated into Spanish for broadcast.

Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards said he is concerned the Petraeus report "will be basically a sales job by the White House, that it'll be a PR document." He said Congress should use its power to fund the war to insist on a withdrawal timetable.

Hillary Rodham Clinton said nothing in the report will change the basic problem that there is no military solution in Iraq. "We need to quit refereeing their civil war and bring our troops home as soon as possible," she said.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson retorted that Clinton and others who want to leave residual forces in Iraq would leave soldiers at risk.

"I'd bring them all home within six to eight months," Richardson said. "There is a basic difference between all of us here ... This is a fundamental issue."

Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich was loudly applauded for saying he would pull troops out of Iraq immediately. Illinois Sen. Barack Obama aligned himself with Kucinich.

"I was a strong opponent of the war, as Dennis was," Obama said, adding that President Bush is trying to make it appear that the 35,000 troop surge earlier this year has had an impact.

Not surprisingly for anchors who vocally support a path to legalization for the nation's estimated 12 million immigrants, both Ramos and Salinas framed their questions with the basic assumption that immigrants, including those in the country illegally, face discrimination and have been unfairly demonized — a view not universally shared in the English-language media.

All seven candidates said they would work on changing immigration laws during their first year in the White House.

Clinton criticized the immigration bill proposed in the last Congress, dominated by Republicans. That legislation would have penalized those who help illegal immigrants. "I said it would have criminalized the good Samaritan. It would have criminalized Jesus Christ," she said.

Richardson, one of two candidates who speak fluent Spanish, objected to the debate rules that required all candidates to answer in English. The rule was designed to make sure that no candidate had an advantage in appealing to the Spanish-speaking audience.

"I'm disappointed today that 43 million Latinos in this country, for them not to hear one of their own speak Spanish, is unfortunate," Richardson said.

Dodd, who served in the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic, also speaks Spanish fluently. He called for more U.S. engagement with Latin America, including a lifting of the trade embargo against Cuba.

"We're allowing a Hugo Chavez to win a public relations effort in Latin America because we don't invest enough in Latin America," he said.

Former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel boasted that he's also bilingual — in French. "I honor everyone who comes to this country as an immigrant because we are all immigrants."

Kucinich was again an audience favorite when he said he would make Spanish a second national language. But no leading candidate was willing to go that far.

"I believe that the common language of our country is English," Dodd said.

The candidates were asked why they supported a wall along the Mexican border — and not a similar fence along the U.S.-Canadian border — a question that seemed to catch them somewhat off-guard. Most avoided answering directly, saying simply that they believed security was a key part of comprehensive immigration reform.

"I do favor more security on the border and in some cases a physical border because that has to be part of securing our borders," Clinton said.

Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, recently returned from a trip to Iraq, skipped the debate to prepare for a Foreign Relations Committee hearing that he is scheduled to chair Tuesday on the Petraeus report.

As the US has no "official" language, I think that this multicultural exchange is excellent.

If you look at Switzerland, they have 4 official languages and most of the Swiss speak at least two of them

Some Swiss speak all four, plus English, Spanish and Portuguese (there are a lot of Brazillians/Portuguese in Switzerland)

So, getting all the ethnic groups involved in something that they are invisting in, IMO is a fundamental right of all residents.

I don't think language should be an issue.
i absolutely agree with the fact that english is the language here, and if i want to be here i need to be able to communicate in english.
i encourage my homeboys to learn english, as matter of fact I try to teach some basic english to some of them that I know.
Really simple things at least for them to communicate in a store or things like that.

VIVA LA RAZA though