SAN ANTONIO, Sept. 1 - It’s a bittersweet time for Latino communities right now, says Antonio Gonzalez, president of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project.

Things are sweet because, having voted overwhelmingly for President Obama and Democratic candidates for Congress, they can now see that Washington, D.C., is dominated by elected officials they wanted to see in power to affect change.

Things are also bitter, however, because many of the changes they want to see happen have yet to be implemented, including reforms in the fields of health insurance, home ownership, employment and immigration.

“It’s such a bittersweet time. You have a unified government federally, that Latino voters across the country supported by huge margins. And the issues on the table have huge implications for Latinos. There are enormous policy debates and it really matters how they are resolved,” Gonzalez said.

“We are in a big fight in terms of the interest and agenda of the Latino community, juxtaposed due to the people in power we supported, the challenge of enacting real change. The policies are not there yet. It’s an uphill battle and we are facing great resistance from across the Establishment. There is tremendous angst in the community; the desire for change is so strong. It’s been formally realized with the new administration in Washington but will it be substantively realized? That’s on everyone’s mind.”

Gonzalez made his comments in an exclusive interview with the Guardian at SVREP’s 35th anniversary banquet in San Antonio last Thursday. Gonzalez acknowledged that the group’s primary role is voter registration and mobilization and that it does not get involved in policy issues. However, he said the group is very much aware of the battle to affect change being waged by many of the groups it partners with.

Homeownership is a “huge issue” for the Latino community right now, Gonzalez said.

“Something like 1,000 to 2,000 Latinos a day are being foreclosed on their mortgages and an equal number of African Americans. In the last three years we have seen the largest loss in Latino wealth in the history of America, two to three hundred billion dollars in lost wealth. In many ways we are looking at the end of the American Dream for people that are not in homes yet. That is a huge policy challenge. Huge,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez said unemployment among minority communities was “mushrooming” right now. “There are big policy responses required on issues like employment. We have people supported by the community in power so, now you have to deliver on the promises,” he said.

How those elected into office by minority communities react to the challenges facing the nation will impact SVREP’s work in registering and mobilizing Latino voters, Gonzalez acknowledged.

“These issues have big implications for voting because if you get what you want then you vote, you vote again, and if you don’t, you don’t vote. It’s precarious. We are certainly in the policy networks. We are constantly consulted. We use the bully pulpit even if we do not advocate,” Gonzalez said.

In 2008, the Latino electorate grew to about 12.1 million registered voters and cast an estimated 9.7 million votes in the November presidential election, according to the William C. Velasquez Institute, a sister organization to SVREP.

Gonzalez said these figures represent a 79.85 percent turnout figure for Latino registered voters. Latinos also represented 7.43 percent of all votes cast in the United States in November, he said.

About five million Latinos are registered to vote in Texas and California alone and another 1.3 million are registered in Florida. More than half of the Latino expansion is in states where SVREP works to increase Latino participation, Gonzalez pointed out.

“The Latino electorate is the youngest and fastest growing electorate in America. Compared to the 2004 election cycle, Latino voter registration increased by 2.8 million and over 1.8 million more Latino voters cast their vote in the 2008 general election,” Gonzalez said.

Asked if the excitement Latinos showed towards affecting change in 2008 might dissipate if policy promises are not implemented by the Obama administration and Congress, Gonzalez said absolutely.

“I think there is a danger and it is incumbent on Latino leadership to do everything they possibly can to affect and help enact these changes, whether it be a new policy to save people’s homes from foreclosure or a new government stimulus,” Gonzalez said.

“I believe we need another government stimulus. We saved Wall Street, now we’ve got to save Main Street and the back streets. You need policies to mitigate the impact of climate change. These things have to get done and we have to be part of that.”