Annotations for People: Roman-ivan

The tensions continue because certain people who want a certain resolution in Cuba, who favor a hard line towards Cuba don't look toward very kindly towards any media that either advocates a different solution or simply tries to report the different points of view. And here in Miami, reporting two sides of the story can get you labeled as a communist in a second, and that happens, and that's happened for decades.

The tensions continue because certain people who want a certain resolution in Cuba, who favor a hard line towards Cuba don't look toward very kindly towards any media that either advocates a different solution or simply tries to report the different points of view. And here in Miami, reporting two sides of the story can get you labeled as a communist in a second, and that happens, and that's happened for decades.

Definitely the hardliners because they're the ones who got him some more Cuban votes, even though it wasn't overwhelming, but they're -- the most activist Cubans in his campaign who are speaking with the loudest voice are people who favor a hard line.

Definitely the hardliners because they're the ones who got him some more Cuban votes, even though it wasn't overwhelming, but they're -- the most activist Cubans in his campaign who are speaking with the loudest voice are people who favor a hard line.

Well, first of all, in Miami the Hispanics are a majority of the vote. Regardless of what happens with Hispanics, they are to play a major role. Interestingly enough, what you had was a race between Commissioner Miriam Alonso, who is Cuban, and an Anglo former Miami Mayor, Steve Clark, the vote was split amongst Hispanics. 60% for Alonso and 40% for Clark, and there are many reasons for that. Some analysts attribute a generational gap because Miriam Alonso resorted to shrill ethnic appeals in the last week that they say the younger generation and exit polls show that the younger generation of Cubans and Cuban Americans reject. So, there you have an interesting dynamic in which you have Hispanics and mostly Cubans who are splitting their vote and not necessarily voting Cuban, which is what the older time and the older Cubans tend to do.

Definitely so. I mean, you could say there's a generational divide in which younger Cubans, for instance, would not go for these ethnic appeals that have been so common here in politics.

Well, basically Miriam Alonso and every Cuban politician you can think of was on the radio saying, "This seat belongs to us. We can't let this seat slip out of our hands." And one thing is to say that we deserve representation with the majority, and another thing is to say that the seat belongs to us because that was the kind of message that was rejected by Puerto Ricans and Nicaraguans who were saying, "Wait a minute, you're excluding everybody else. Why should I vote for somebody who is going to be so exclusive?"

In Miami, that doesn't really apply because the race is not a partisan race. The dynamic happening here is mostly an anti-incumbency type of thing where voters seem to reject people who had either been at city hall before or who are currently in city hall, in favor of some newcomers that are giving them a struggle in the runoff next week. Here we have a different situation.

Everything has to do with the emotional part of getting out the vote because for some people, we're talking about their culture, their identity, that to them is the most important thing, and for them, that's a very emotional issue.

You have caravans going all over the island, you have people who don't care if they dress up in clown outfits to get their point across. Everything has to do with the emotional part of getting out the vote. And this race, even more so than some others, is even more of emotional because for some people we're talking about their culture, their identity, that to them is the most important thing, and for them, that's a very emotional issue.