John Leguizamo Asks Latinos to Vote Against Donald Trump

Colombian-born U.S. actor John Leguizamo in an oped published Friday in the New York Times said that Donald Trump’s inflammatory speech has helped to create conscience among the Latino community ahead of Nov. 8 presidential elections.

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"Donald J. Trump has done one good thing. He has galvanized a conflicted and diverse community. For years, activists and politicians have struggled to get Latinos to vote and show their power. But not until Mr. Trump's racist rhetoric shone a light on anti-Latino sentiment did we feel the need to make our voices heard on the issues that matter to us," wrote Leguizamo.

The actor believes  that Latinos in the U.S. are victims of “neglect, discrimination and ignorance,” adding that “We have grown up amid an entrenched disrespect for Latin culture, and we have often internalized that disrespect."

Leguizamo also highlighted the the big challenges that Latinos have to face everyday on issues of school funding, community infrastructure and health care. For him there is a clear parallel between this institutional neglect and the “mutant swamp monster of Donald Trump.”

The Republican presidential candidate has gained on his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton among U.S. voters this week, cutting her lead nearly in half, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Friday. Clinton now leads Trump 44 percent to 40 percent.