The number of Cubans, Puerto Ricans, and Central and South Americans all grew during the past decade, underscoring the increasing diversity of the county's Latino population. Mexican influence can be felt throughout the county in business, politics, education and the arts. The overall number of Latinos in the county has yet to translate into true political clout as they continue to be underrepresented in key elected offices and in higher education. Latinos tend to rally around similar issues, MacRenato said, but they also are divided by income and cultural background, and are not as united as they could be. We have things in common that make us family.
Class plays a big role.
The professional middle class reaches out. But there's a lot of rich people out there who are Latino. You don't see them in Barrio Logan. During the 1990s, Central and South Americans and other Latino groups became more visible in San Diego County. Peruvians formed their own chamber of commerce and set up polling places at the University of California San Diego to participate in Peru's presidential elections from abroad.