ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY

EDITOR'S LETTER

25 YEARS—AND COUNTING—OF SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON ARIZONA’S VIBRANT HISPANIC MARKET!

Welcome to the 25th edition of DATOS: The State of Arizona’s Hispanic Market —and the 10th edition for which I have been privileged to be at the helm as editor. I am proud that the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce has been able to consistently provide this valuable, comprehensive overview of the Arizona Hispanic community using a proprietary system to aggregate an impressive compilation of secondary research from top research organizations and data sources such as the ASU Morrison Institute for Public Policy, the PEW Research Center, UnidosUS, the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, the U.S. Census Bureau and many more sources. Last year at this time we were reeling from the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has ravaged the Hispanic community and, to date, has taken the lives of 714,000 Americans— more than 20,000 of which are Arizonans. According to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber, one third of Latino-owned businesses were shut down due to the pandemic. We were also getting ready last year for the 2020 presidential election, one of the most contentious races in modern political history, which prompted the largest voter turnout ever. We are also still dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and its repercussions. However, thanks to the arrival of vaccines, we are slowing seeing a return to a new normal. Although we have a lot of hard work ahead, the news is not all doom and gloom. In Arizona, after 10 years of hard work, Gov. Doug Ducey signed Sen. Bill 1420 into law in March that ended the ban on accepting consular IDs (see p. 208). It is a huge victory that will vastly improve the lives of Mexican nationals living and working in Arizona. We also applaud the efforts of the Consulate General of Mexico in Phoenix and Consul General Jorge Mendoza Yescas for the collaboration with the ASU Thunderbird School of Global Management to expand the DreamBuilder program as a pilot for other consulates to assist women of Mexican origin (see p. 210). The program offers Mexican women the tools they need to start or grow their businesses. Finally, I want to thank our talented and dedicated staff, interns and the members of the DATOS Committee for all their hard work, long hours and late nights that have led to this 25th edition of Datos that is filled with inspiring stories and interesting facts and figures. The information we have found gives me hope for the future of the Hispanic community in Arizona and the U.S. I also want to thank all of our sponsors and loyal readers for your support of the AZHCC’s mission to “promote the success of minority-owned businesses by facilitating business relationships, economic development and sharing of knowledge for the benefit of the State of Arizona and the growth and success of the members of our Chamber.” Onward to 2022! Abrazos,

MÓNICA S. VILLALOBOS

President & CEO, AZ Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Editor, DATOS: The State of Arizona's Hispanic Market

Photo by Basaca Art Photography