Latino Businesses and Political Promises

A photo of Springfield, Mass.
(Photo via Canva)

Originally published in The Latino Newsletter–reprinted with permission.

As the 2024 election season unfolds, the Latino Election Project from The Latino Newsletter and New England Public Media features the work of student producers Ian Burger, Halima Mohamed, and Evanni Santos with support from Donyel Le’Noir Felton. The team is reporting on election cycle stories through the lens of the Latino community in western Massachusetts.

This is part four of a five-part series. Parts one, two, and three are here. The series wraps up with a post-election story.

SPRINGFIELD, MA — Besides the presidential election, there is also a Senate election in Massachusetts on Tuesday. NEPM and GBH hosted a senate debate in October with incumbent U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, and Republican candidate John Deaton. Both answered post-debate questions about supporting Latino business owners in western Massachusetts.


Warren highlighted her ongoing efforts to help Latino-owned businesses in the region.

“For example, a restaurant wants to get started. But there's a lot of startup costs and inspection fees. Who's got that kind of money? Banks are just not going to lend to these little businesses getting started,” Warren said.

She pointed out that she had secured around half a million dollars in funding to assist Springfield’s Latino Economic Development Corporation, which helped support local businesses. “They have lent it out, and here’s the best part: they’ve gotten repaid and lent it out again. And they’ve gotten repaid again,” she noted.

Deaton emphasized his background growing up in a subsection of Detroit and expressed support for tax incentives for Latino businesses.

“I come from the inner city and what you see is, you see a migration out of the inner city. We have to get people to go back into the inner city.” Deaton said. “One way to do that is to give tax credits to Latino-owned businesses and encourage that.”

Andrew Melendez, founder and director of the Latino Economic Development Corporation, discussed the significance of the funding secured by Warren and U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-MA.

“Elizabeth Warren came to our office, sat down with local businesses, and wanted to see how their investment, the federal side, Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, have both signed on to, to support the Latino EDC with a 550,000 earmark,” Melendez said, highlighting that the earmark supported initiatives such as helping Springfield-based Latino restaurant Las Kangris set up a presence at the Big E.

Melendez also responded to Deaton's proposal for tax credits.

“I think the candidate for Senate is onto something. But to get a tax credit, you have to have the cash to begin with,” Melendez noted, pointing out the broader issue of access to capital for Latino businesses.

Xiomara DeLobato, of the Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts, echoed this sentiment.

“There isn’t extra savings that they can use to help their business. They rely on getting paid for their services as soon as possible,” DeLobato said. “And then two, there's some grants and stuff from the state, from the federal government that have funding that small businesses really need in order to pay their staff, buy equipment.”

Despite the challenges, DeLobato expressed optimism.

“I do think that our politicians and our elected officials and our municipal leaders are looking out for the best interests of businesses and Latino businesses. And I say this because Latino business owners are the fastest-growing group in the business sector,” she said.

DeLobato shared data showing that from 2007 to 2019, Latino businesses in sectors such as construction and agriculture saw growth of more than 20%.

Pedro Arroyo, the owner of Juguitos, a juice and healthy food store in downtown Springfield, shared firsthand the difficulties Latino entrepreneurs face when seeking loans.

“We try to go get a traditional loan from the bank. It's almost impossible. And I can't believe it's even till this day, I'm going on four years and we're constantly getting turned down,” Arroyo said.

He described how, even with proven business success, securing funding is a challenge.

“The only thing that gets offered to us, tt's these things called merchant cash advances. And those things are horrible. Like I don't even, I don't even know how those things are legal. They're predatory,” he added.

Despite these obstacles, Arroyo emphasized the importance of community solidarity.

“There's so much more that we could do as a community. Honestly, that whole idea was just like, you got the Black community, the Hispanic community, and all that. I look past that,” he said, noting that “no matter what race you are, we all should be working together and helping each other out.”


Negocios latinos y promesas políticas

SPRINGFIELD, MA — Además de las elecciones presidenciales, el martes habrá una elección senatorial en Massachusetts. NEPM y GBH organizaron un debate en octubre con la senadora Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, y el candidato republicano John Deaton. Ambos respondieron preguntas después del debate sobre cómo apoyar a los dueños de negocios latinos en el oeste de Massachusetts.

La senadora Warren menciona sus esfuerzos continuos para ayudar a los negocios latinos en la región. “Por ejemplo, un restaurante quiere empezar. Pero hay muchos costos iniciales y tarifas de inspección. ¿Quién tiene ese tipo de dinero? Los bancos simplemente no van a prestar a estos pequeños negocios que recién comienzan”, dice Warren.

Señala que ha asegurado cerca de medio millón de dólares en fondos para apoyar a la Corporación de Desarrollo Económico Latino de Springfield, lo que ha ayudado a respaldar a los negocios locales.

“Lo han prestado, y lo mejor de todo es que les han pagado y lo han vuelto a prestar. Y les han pagado otra vez”, añade.

Deaton, por su parte, enfatiza su experiencia al crecer en una subzona de Detroit y expresa su apoyo a los incentivos fiscales para los negocios latinos.

“Soy del centro urbano y lo que ves es una migración fuera de allí. Tenemos que hacer que la gente regrese al centro de la ciudad”, dice Deaton. “Una forma de hacerlo es dar créditos fiscales a los negocios latinos y fomentar eso”.

Andrew Meléndez, fundador y director de la Corporación de Desarrollo Económico Latino, habla sobre la importancia de los fondos asegurados por la senadora Warren y el senador Ed Markey.

“Elizabeth Warren vino a nuestra oficina, se reunió con negocios locales y quiso ver cómo su inversión, del lado federal, Ed Markey y Elizabeth Warren, ambos han firmado para apoyar al Latino EDC con un fondo de 550,000 dólares”, comenta Meléndez, destacando que esta asignación apoyó iniciativas como la participación del restaurante latino de Springfield, Las Kangris, en el Big E.

Meléndez también responde a la propuesta de Deaton sobre los créditos fiscales. “Creo que el candidato al Senado tiene una buena idea. Pero para obtener un crédito fiscal, primero tienes que tener efectivo”, señala Meléndez, resaltando el problema más amplio del acceso al capital para los negocios latinos.

Xiomara DeLobato, del Consejo de Desarrollo Económico del Oeste de Massachusetts, coincide con este sentimiento. “No hay ahorros adicionales que puedan usar para ayudar a su negocio. Dependen de recibir pagos por sus servicios lo más pronto posible”, explica DeLobato. “Además, hay algunas subvenciones del estado y del gobierno federal que los pequeños negocios realmente necesitan para pagar a su personal y comprar equipo”.

A pesar de los desafíos, DeLobato expresa optimismo.

“Creo que nuestros políticos y funcionarios electos y nuestros líderes municipales están velando por los intereses de los negocios y los negocios latinos. Y lo digo porque los dueños de negocios latinos son el grupo de más rápido crecimiento en el sector empresarial”, comenta.

DeLobato comparte datos que muestran que, entre 2007 y 2019, los negocios latinos en sectores como la construcción y la agricultura han crecido más del 20%.

Pedro Arroyo, dueño de Juguitos, un negocio de jugos y comida saludable en el centro de Springfield, describe las dificultades que enfrentan los empresarios latinos al buscar préstamos.

“Tratamos de conseguir un préstamo tradicional del banco. Es casi imposible. Y no puedo creer que, incluso hasta el día de hoy, llevo casi cuatro años y nos siguen rechazando”, dice Arroyo. Explica cómo, incluso con un negocio exitoso, asegurar financiamiento es un desafío.

“Lo único que nos ofrecen son esos adelantos de efectivo de comerciantes. Y esas cosas son horribles. Ni siquiera sé cómo es legal. Son depredadores”, añade.

A pesar de estos obstáculos, Arroyo enfatiza la importancia de la solidaridad comunitaria.

“Hay mucho más que podríamos hacer como comunidad. Honestamente, toda esa idea de la comunidad negra, la comunidad hispana y todo eso. Yo miro más allá de eso”, comenta, señalando que “no importa de qué raza seas, todos deberíamos estar trabajando juntos y ayudándonos unos a otros”.

Ésta es la cuarta entrega de una serie de cinco reportajes de El Proyecto Electoral Latino.

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