America’s Top Corporations Advance Latino Political Empowerment.

The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund announced that it has raised over $1 million in resources for its Annual Conference from over forty five of America’s top and fastest growing corporations. Presidential sponsors for the NALEO 22nd Annual Conference – to be held in San Juan, Puerto Rico June 23-25, 2005 – include AARP, Advance America, AT&T Corporation, and ING.

As the number of Latinos in the United States soared to more than 39 million from 1990 to 2003, Fortune 500 companies are developing new strategies to build and strengthen their relationship with the Latino community, an increasingly critical segment of the population. Supporting NALEO’s mission to empower Latinos to become more politically engaged presents a unique opportunity that translates into reaching out to the full spectrum of Latino political participation, from citizenship to public service. As the largest and most prestigious gathering of America’s Latino political leadership, NALEO’s 22nd Annual Conference will provide a platform for critical policy discussions around key issues facing our nation.

“Corporations have woken up to the reality of this market and are investing millions of dollars to support the leadership of the second largest population group in the country,” said Arturo Vargas, NALEO’s Executive Director. “The U.S. Latino community’s ability to influence the course of our nation is in full force at the polls and at the cash register. With these partnerships we are raising Latino issues, which are America’s issues, from obscurity to the forefront for discussion.”

David L. Cohen, Executive Vice President of Comcast Corporation said that “NALEO is one of the nation’s leading civic organizations, representing some of our most important leaders of today and tomorrow. Most notably, NALEO has a highly distinguished record of creating economic and civic opportunity for millions. That’s why we are so happy to support this organization and to partner with it in its very bright future.”

There has been a significant increase in the number of Latino voters at a time when there has been only minimal growth in the number of non-Latino voters. For example, between November 1994 and November 2002, the number of Latino voters grew by 35 percent while the number of non-Latino voters grew by only 2 percent. Latino voters have become a growing force, increasing their voter participation by 35 percent, from 4.2 million voters in 1992, to a projected 6.9 million in November 2004, an increase of 64 percent. NALEO hopes to continue accelerating that number and empower Latinos to vote and play a decisive role in elections across the country.

“We at Popular, Inc. believe in the Latino community; in its positive impact and goals. It is, definitely, a vibrant community that makes itself be heard. Our Hispanic heritage makes us especially proud to be a sponsor of NALEO’s 22nd Annual Conference,” said Eduardo Negrón, Senior Vice President, Deputy Legal Officer and Government Affairs of Popular, Inc.

The NALEO Educational Fund is the leading organization that empowers Latinos to participate fully in the American political process, from citizenship to public service. The NALEO Educational Fund is a national non-profit, non-partisan organization whose constituency includes the more than 6,000 Latino elected and appointed officials nationwide.