Survey of Latino Attitudes on the War in Iraq
Attitudes towards the war in Iraq are more negative among Latinos than
in the general population with most saying that U.S. troops
should be withdrawn as soon as possible, according to a Pew
Hispanic Center survey conducted as President George W. Bush
began his second term in office. Foreign-born Latinos
consistently show less approving attitudes towards the war and
the president’s handling of the conflict than Latinos born in the
United States. This survey was conducted by telephone from
January 11 to 27, 2005 among a nationally representative sample
of 1,003 adults who identified themselves as being of Latino or
Hispanic origin or descent. All fieldwork was performed by
International Communications Research of Media, PA using Random
Digit Dialing (RDD) methodology. The results for the full sample
have a margin of error of 3.1 percent.
The Center conducts nonpartisan research on a variety of topics
including demographic trends, education and the labor force, and
it explores Latino attitudes through public opinion surveys.
Based in Washington, DC, the Center is a project of the Pew
Research Center and is supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts
A slight majority of Hispanics (51%) think U.S. troops should be
withdrawn from Iraq as soon as possible. Significantly fewer
(37%) say that the United States should keep military troops in
Iraq until the situation has stabilized. On the question of how long
to keep troops in Iraq, the U.S.born are about evenly split while
the foreign born favor prompt withdrawal by a margin of almost
two-to-one. (Table 1) This survey was completed before the
elections in Iraq on January 30.
Table 1
Do you think the U.S. should keep military troops in Iraq until the
situation has stabilized, or do you think the U.S. should
withdraw its troops as soon as
possible?
January 2005
Total
Latino US Born Foreign Born
Keep the military troops in Iraq
37
47
29
Withdraw troops
51
46
55
DK/NA
12
6
15
- The Pew Hispanic Center [here]
- Download SURVEY ON LATINO ATTITUDES ON THE WAR IN IRAQ [here]
Latino Issues Forum dep. dir. Raquel Donoso said she was not surprised
by the findings: "When you look at the troops in our armed services,
they tend to be people of color and lower-income people. ... Most of us
[Latinos] know someone who has been stationed in Iraq, so there is that
feeling of, 'Why are we there?' and wanting to bring them home." New
America Foundation fellow Gregory Rodriguez "pointed out that, among
U.S.-born Latinos, the Pew Hispanic data showed a very even split
between those who favor withdrawing the troops and those who want to
keep them in Iraq." He also noted that, compared with other Dems,
Latinos were less likely to oppose the war. "Sometimes, we take polls
of Latinos and think whatever our findings are, it's because they're
Latinos," he said. "But it may be because Latinos are overwhelmingly
Democrats" (Hendricks,
(San Francisco Chronicle, 2/8).
The Hotline February 8, 2005 Copyright 2005 The National Journal Group, Inc.