A non-profit organization started by allies of President Joe Biden is launching an unprecedented outreach effort to sell the president's $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan to Latino citizens, it was reported on Monday.
The American Rescue Plan - which was signed into law on March 11 - is aimed at accelerating the US economy's recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
In February, senior administration official announced that a new non-profit group, âBuild Back Together', would be launched in March to help educate Americans on what the plan means to voters, while building coalitions and working with existing advocacy groups.
According to Danielle Melfi, the group's executive director, the group has planned significant outreach to the Latino community from the start, with the help of groups including Voto Latino, Latino Victory Fund and Somos Volantes.
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"Listening to and communicating with Latinos across the country is an integral part of our agenda at Building Back Together," the group's executive director, Danielle Melfi, was quoted as saying by Newsweek.
The outreach plan is expected to initially focus on Florida, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Nevada, and will utilize TV ads on Spanish-language networks such as Univision and Telemundo. The various organizations have called the strategy an âalways on' approach.
According to the report, Building Back Together has tapped a number of high-profile Latinos to help with the effort, including former Democratic National Committee communications director Xochitl Hinojosa and Chuck Rocha, who ran Hispanic outreach for Biden's presidential campaign and played a pivotal role in gaining Latino support for Bernie Sanders.
"The single biggest factor in the underperformance of Democrats in 2020 was everything started too late," Rocha said last year. "The most important part of what we're going to be doing is fixing that problem and talking to Latinos about how Joe Biden is making their life better in the first 100 days of his presidency.
The campaign will also heavily focus on digital media - which data shows is where a large proportion of Latino voters receive information. A recent study from EquisLabs, for example, found that 64% of Latino voters in Florida receive information through YouTube.
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"I'm most excited about the opportunity to do this, leaving no stone unturned, using evey single aspect of digital and broadcast media, from Univision Spanish-language TV to a 15-second pre-roll ad you have to watch on YouTube before you get to watch your Bad Bunny video" he told Newsweek.
Mayra MacĂas, formerly the national political director and executive director of the Latino Victory Fund, will join the Building Back Together campaign as chief strategy officer.
"We're thrilled to partner with Building Back Together and leading Latino groups to build support for President Biden's progressive policy agenda and engage the Latino community in a culturally competent manner," said Latino Victory President and CEO Nathalie Rayes.
"Part of increasing Latinos' voter turnout and engagement means meeting people where they are and in their language - consistently," she added. "We must continue to engage Latinos and raise awareness about the Biden administration's policies that will have a real impact on their lives."
Biden's $1.9 trillion relief plan has already been publicly backed by a number of Latino organizations.
"While critics attack the plan as âtoo big', the truth is what the federal government has done so far was dwarfed both by the dual health and economic crises and failed to more meaningfully include Latinos and Immigrants," Unidos US President and CEO Janet MurguĂa said in a March statement.
Latinos have been heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic's blow to the economy. At the end of February, Latino unemployment rate stood at 8.5% - compared to 4% pre-pandemic - with approximately 2.4 million Latinos out of work.
Additionally, a survey from the Census Bureau showed that 64% percent of Latinos worry about making next month's mortgage payment, while 73% are worried about how to pay the following month's rent.
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