American Latinos must ‘redefine themselves’ in order to effect change in American governmental policy, former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Maria Echeveste and Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina said Friday.

Echeveste and Molina spoke in a lecture entitled ‘The Future of Latino Power’ at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

‘There has been much progress in politics and more Latino representation, but we are seeing problems with education and substandard housing,’ said Molina, whom ‘Time’ magazine named a ‘Rising Star’ in 1996.

Echeveste disagreed, saying that although she felt more Latinos are represented, policies are not changing.

‘In terms of fundamental political change, we are not making much progress,’ Echeveste said. ‘California [for instance] used to be in the top 5 percent for education. [It is now] in the bottom 5 percent.’

Molina added that Latinos are now the ‘largest ethnic community’ in the United States and both the Democratic and the Republican parties are ‘wooing them.’ She said although she is a firm Democrat, she thought the Republican Party did more to appeal to Latinos.

‘The Republican Party has done a wonderful job of wooing Latinos through bells and whistles,’ Molina said. ‘I don’t think the [Democratic Convention] has done enough [to represent Latinos].

‘When you look at the party issues, no Latino should be a Republican,’ she added. Molina noted that party campaigns do not reach out to ‘newly naturalized immigrants,’ but those who have voted before.

Molina said in the future, Latinos will learn to ‘test’ each party and ‘ask what the party was providing [for Latinos].’

Echeveste agreed with Molina but said that Latinos must now unite to push parties to create new policies that work in their favor.

‘Latinos must organize to force both parties to make policies,’ said Echeveste, who added that she was pessimistic regarding future Latino voter turnout.

‘[In] Puerto Rico, they have a 90 percent [voter turnout] rate but when they come [to the United States, it] becomes 45 percent,’ she said.

Molina said she agreed that to implement policy changes, more Latino voter representation is necessary.

She also said an alliance with other ‘ethnic communities’ was necessary.

‘There are issues that bring [the African-American community and the Latino community] together,’ said Molina. ‘But we will not mimic the African-American model of leadership.’

Echeveste also said she thought it was ‘harder for Latinos [to build leadership] because of their difference in experience [from the African American community.]’ Molina noted that although the two communities need each other, they ‘do not trust each other, which is unfortunate.’

‘We have to put our own leadership, resources and organizations together,’ agreed Echeveste. ‘[For Latinos] there is no Martin Luther King, Jr. Each of us are leaders from all over the countries.’

Molina and Echeveste said the policy in need of the greatest change, in addition to immigration, was education.

‘Fifty-four percent of Latinos are not graduating [high school]. We are desperately in need of changing policy in education,’ Molina said.

Echeveste said she currently does not feel that any of the 2004 Democratic candidates is outstanding for the Latino community.

‘They all need Latino 101,’ she said. ‘All of America is suffering from apathy of the voters. Apathy is the most dangerous thing to our voters.’