Erasmo Delgado, the pandemic forced him last December to close his restaurant La Fiesta Grande in south Pasadena, after 26 years of keeping it open.
“Financially I could no longer support it. Sales fell by 50% for 7 months ”, he says.
However, encouraged by his own clients, Erasmo did not allow himself to be defeated and once the debts accumulated by the crisis were paid covid economic – 19, is preparing to reopen its Mexican food restaurant for the month of September.
“Now we will be in Pasadena in the 181 off Glenarm Street no longer in South Pasadena, ”he said. Expect to resume your business with 10 of the 14 workers it had before the closing.
“The pandemic forced to reduce the number of workers. First of 14 to 12, then 10 and with that number I closed in December when I no longer we were able to survive on just takeout sales. We held on as long as we could, but there came a time when we could no longer resist, ”said Erasmo, a Mexican immigrant from Nayarit, Mexico, who is happy because he is going to reopen the family business.
The pandemic dealt a severe blow to the nation’s economy, as businesses were closed, workers were laid off and commerce was paralyzed.
But despite the economic impact and the highest rates of contagion and death from covid in California, Latinos such as Erasmo Delgado demonstrated a unique pattern of resistance by serving on the front lines as essential workers from the fields in the Central Valley, restaurants and even the corridors of Los Angeles hospitals.
“Two out of three undocumented workers who filed taxes with a personal identification number (ITIN) work in an industry called essential, ”said Ana Valdez, vice president of the non-profit organization Latino Donor Collaborative when presenting the report “The Latino community makes the United States progress.”
He explained that the reason for this study is to create awareness of the treasure that the Latino community means to the United States during and after the pandemic, and it has been in other economic crises of modern times.
“ This report shows that although Latinos are often unable to secure the basics for themselves, they play an instrumental role in meeting the needs of all Americans, even if it means sacrificing their lives in this process ”.
What is more, he indicated that they stood up and committed themselves to the United States as essential workers to promote economic recovery.
The report also revealed that Latino workers have been vital to essential functions of society during the covid pandemic – 19, not only in the states where they represent a greater proportion of the population such as California, New Mexico, Arizona, Florida, Nevada, Texas but in what we call “driving states”, which add up to between the 10 and the 20% of labor force, voters and of the production of the Gross Domestic Product.
These statuses are Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, West Virginia, Rhode Island, Mississippi, Ohio, Maryland, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Louisiana.
At the beginning of the health crisis, Latinos were disproportionately affected by the pandemic, with high rates of infections and deaths, as they represent the largest number of essential workers. To that we must add that e l 48% of essential workers are immigrants.
The study reveals that Latino essential workers were three times more likely than non-Latino essential workers to be uninsured (25% vs. 8%), a fact that is especially devastating during the pandemic.
In addition, essential Latino workers had to face limited ability to work from home, overcrowding and Inadequate protections in the workplace, dependence on public transportation to get to work, lack of paid sick leave, and crowded conditions in their homes.
It is worth mentioning that this research found that Latino businesses such as La Fiesta Grande had less cash available during the pandemic, and when applying for funds from the Payroll Protection Program, loan applications approved for Latinos were half of those authorized for white entrepreneurs.
Latinas suffered the most job losses compared to any other population group during the pandemic, with employment declining by 24%. The Th e New York Times newspaper reported that last month that 24% had been reduced to 7.5%.
“The well-being and successful recovery of Latinos after the pandemic will have great implications for a solid economy in this country,” said Sol Trujillo, president of Latino Donor Collaborative .
Along with higher productivity rates and younger ages, they are the engine of future workforce growth, he added.
Almost a year after the pandemic, Latino employment, especially that of Latino immigrant men, improved significantly. Latinos who lost their jobs due to COVID moved into essential industries to make up for the loss of income.
Also, it says the study found new jobs and created new businesses to the point that, in March of 2021, Hispanics had the highest proportion of the working age population that is employed in the country.
Unemployment for all Latinos decreased from 18. 5% in April 2020 at 8.5% in October 2020, compared to the 14. 4% to 6.6% among all workers.
So, the First data on unemployment rates since the pandemic indicates that Latinos will be the driving force behind the nation’s economic recovery. The report indicates that the case studies of Latino entrepreneurs also demonstrate the flexibility to adapt and innovate in the face of unprecedented challenges.
“Society must recognize the remarkable work ethic and sacrifice of Latinos during these difficult times, as well as guarantee equitable access to government programs that support workers and business owners, and continue to invest in access to health care among the Latino community, ”said Valdez.
And he noted that anyone interested in restoring the US GDP growth rate to healthy levels should be concerned about investing in Latinos.
“After all, the future of our nation is intertwined with the health and well-being of this community, and an investment in Latinos will pay huge dividends to lift us up and to our economic recovery total ”.