Latinos Angry at Absent Mosbacher
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HOUSTON — Angry, shouting delegates to a Latino convention walked out of a speech by a government official Wednesday to protest Commerce Secretary Robert A. Mosbacher’s decision not to appear.
Shouting “Where is he?” and “Mexicanos walk out!” about half of the 1,000 convention delegates left a luncheon as Deputy Secretary Roger Wallace, sent in Mosbacher’s place, began speaking to the National Council of La Raza, a Latino civil rights organization.
NCLR President Raul Yzaguirre interrupted Wallace and asked that the delegates show “traditional Hispanic hospitality.”
Once outside, the protesters chanted so loudly that Wallace was drowned out until security men closed the doors to the hall at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Wallace spoke briefly about the proposed free-trade pact with Mexico.
Leaders of various Latino organizations called Mosbacher’s last-minute cancellation “a double slap in the face” after his decision Monday not to adjust the 1990 census count upward.
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