‘Latino GDP’ would be the 5th largest in the world, study finds

If Latinxs were our own country, we’d be the fifth largest economy in the world.

That’s one of the biggest takeaways from a new report released Wednesday by the Latino Donor Collaborative— a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization “dedicated to reshaping the perception of Latinos as part of the American social mainstream” — in collaboration with Wells Fargo. The study was unveiled as part of the annual L’Attitude conference. (Full disclosure: In 2022, I moderated a conversation with Ana Valdez, president and chief executive of LDC, about a separate report the organization puts out that looks at Latinx representation in film and television.)

The report is based on data from 2021 and is intended for the edification of business and political leaders.

Other key findings include:

• In 2021, the Latinx gross domestic product was estimated to be $2.7 trillion, trailing only the GDPs of the United States ($23.7 trillion), China ($17.7 trillion), Japan ($4.9 trillion) and Germany ($4.3 trillion). The Latinx GDP is greater than India’s ($2.7 trillion) and the United Kingdom’s ($3.1 trillion).
• U.S. Latinx purchasing power for 2021 is estimated to be $3.4 trillion.
• Latinx income grew to $2 trillion in 2021. Between 2011 and 2021, income grew at an annualized rate of 4.7% for Latinxs, compared with 1.9% for non-Latinxs during that same period.

The report does a great job at making the case for investing in Latinx communities, which is ultimately its purpose.

“It is imperative that we now invest in the future of our country by investing in U.S. Latinos,” wrote Sol Trujillo, co-founder and chairman of the LDC, in a letter that preceded the complete findings.

“This is not about diversity and inclusion. This is just business.”

I wholeheartedly endorse any effort to remind businesses — or anyone for that matter— that if you ignore Latinxs, you do so at your own peril. I myself have employed a version of this idea when I pitched the Latinx Files and De Los, telling my bosses that if the L.A. Times wanted to secure its future, it needed to invest resources in covering a population that makes up half of our coverage area.

But I would like to point out to anyone reading this that even if our collective GDP wasn’t bigger than India’s, we would still very much be deserving of dignity, respect and visibility.

It can be a slippery slope to tie our worth to our economic output.

Many Latinxs who have seen a hardworking parent retire can tell you about the identity crisis that comes with no longer having a job to define them. It’s such a common occurrence that it was fodder for one of the funniest episodes in the latest season of the Hulu comedy “This Fool”— in “Los Personas Invisibles,” Esperanza (Laura Patalano) adjusts to retiring from her janitorial job by convincing a confused, elderly white lady that she is her maid.

I’m not entirely sure what our purpose on this planet is, but I have to believe that it’s more than just being a productive worker.

You can find the complete report here.

Check De Los out in print!

(Diana Ramirez / De Los )

If you’re an L.A. Times print subscriber, you’re in for a special treat this Sunday. Your home delivery will include a special section assembled by the De Los team.

In its pages you’ll find a sampling of the type of work we’ve done since launching in July. You’ll find thoughtful columns on what it means to be Latinx in 2023, and stories that highlight our varied interests and passions. You’ll find profiles of musicians and artists carving their own paths in all kinds of ways, and poetry that tackles the subject of belonging.

In short, you’ll find stories about a long-overlooked community coming into its own.

We hope you’ll like what you find — it truly was a labor of love. And if you’re not a print subscriber, you can still pick up a copy by ordering it from our store.

Things we read this week that we think you should read

From De Los

Meet Melanie Barcenas, the 15-year-old Latina trailblazer in the NWSL: At the young age of 15, Melanie Barcenas is already leaving a mark on women’s soccer.

‘CoComelon’ introduces new bilingual series ‘Nina’s Familia’: The series is based on a Latinx family and focuses on bringing educational content to bilingual and Spanish-speaking households.

Alan Palomo shelves Neon Indian name, mines the 1980s in new album: Much has changed in the eight years since avant-pop artist and filmmaker Alan Palomo released his last album.

How Cassandro changed the perception and the role of exoticos in lucha libre: The new movie starring Gael Garcia Bernal has brought the wrestling exoticos into the spotlight.

From the Los Angeles Times

Working-class Echo Park residents join forces to battle parking nightmare due to yoga studio: Longtime residents in Echo Park have been dealing with parking woes after a new yoga studio opened up in the neighborhood.

California workers who cut countertops are dying of an incurable disease: Silicosis can ravage the lungs of workers after they inhale tiny particles of crystalline silica while they cut and grind stone that contains the mineral.

‘A ticking time bomb’: Why California can’t provide safe drinking water to all its residents: More than a decade after California passed the Human Right to Water Act, about 1 million residents still lack access to clean, safe, affordable water.

Elsewhere

Las Tortillas de Laredo: A paean to edible artifacts of love: In this essay for KCRW, William Nericcio pays homage to his mother’s flour tortillas, which sustained him during a stint in New England.