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For: The opinion
On the first day of her term as the Republican governor in Arkansas, the Trumpist Sarah Huckabee Sandersimposed seven executive orders, including a ban on the word “Latinx.”
Under Sanders’ order, state offices, departments and agencies will be required to replace “Latinx” with “Hispanic,” “Latino” or “Latina” on all documents within the next 60 days.
“It is the policy of the Governor’s administration to prohibit the use of culturally insensitive words for official state government business,” says the order from Huckabee, who was a spokesman for former President Donald Trump.
She is not the first official to take these actions, since Democratic representative Rubén Gallego (Arizona) who banned the use of the term “Latinx” in all communications from his office in December 2021, considering that it is not a term used by Hispanics or Latinos in the US
Thus, the Huckabee state government is the first to implement such a ban.
The term “Latinx” is used as a way of including anyone in reference to Hispanics or Latinos.
Nevertheless, the term is not very popular among this communitysince the Pew Research Center indicates that approximately one in four Hispanics has heard of that word, but only 3% admit to using it, most of them young people.
Sanders on Monday six other executive orders, including a ban on public schools teaching critical race theory.
Republican Sanders was sworn in as governor Monday, the first woman to serve in that position in Arkansas. Her father was governor of the entity.
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