Mission: To challenge the way Latinos/as in the Rio Grande Valley are being represented in public policy: through political engagement.  

Vision: Rio Grande Valley Latinx Empowerment Institute aims to increase political engagement among Latinos/as in the Rio Grande Valley by way of education focused on their role in the political system and how governing bodies work, and using that information to build power in the Latino/a community to ensure their needs are adequately represented at the local, state, and national level. Through our efforts, we intend to increase the number of Latinos/as aspiring to political office that possess an understanding of the challenges faced by the Latino/a community and reflect those values through policy.

What We Do: As an organization focused on the advancement of Latinos/as we understand the negative impact of a democracy that favors the wealthy and majority. For far too long, we continue to see persons of color being disproportionately represented in all levels of the political systems. The balance of power continues to shift towards groups who reflect the majority while issues concerning women of color, LGBTQ persons, Latinos/as, and other minority groups are being ignored. With data and case studies, RGVLEI creates training programs that will tackle these issues. Through our institute, members of the community will equip themselves with the knowledge necessary to actively participate in the political process, and will lay the groundwork for aspiring leaders to justly represent the constituent members of the districts they aim to represent.

We plan to execute our goals through the following programs:

Latino Leadership Development Program: The Latinx Leadership Development Program is a unique training program open to all but specifically aimed at Latinos/as aspiring to promote social change in their communities, particularly in public policy. Participants will gain familiarity with their respective governing entities, and analyze how it has impacted their community. With this information, individuals will be equipped with the tools to question legislation as it relates to their needs as a community, as well as establish relationships with public officials to raise concerns about how those issues will be addressed. This leadership program was inspired from witnessing stories of Latinos/as experiencing inequality and racial bias along the stretch of the Mexican-American border. Recognizing the disconnect between the current leadership and the reality of persons living in the Rio Grande Valley, this program will undertake the challenge to mediate that gap.

As Rio Grande Valley Latinx Empowerment Institution is a non-partisan entity and interested in preparing the next generation of informed, engaged citizens, we hope many of you will join us and encourage others to do so as well—we want to encourage all, specifically Latinos/as to engage in the electoral process and are not looking for a partisan battle, but for a supportive, interesting, and analytical conversation that encourages civic and political engagement.

Los Vecinos Program: As we head to the polls in 2018 and throughout the year, Rio Grande Valley Latinx Empowerment Institute will encourage members of the community to engage in discussions about this important election cycles—including domestic policy issues most affecting our area. Trained volunteers and fellow RGV organizers will work with community members to host community meetings in diverse locations, such as private homes, parks, places of worship, social gatherings, schools, etc.

Los Vecinos Program has the goal of developing a sense of political efficacy and duty of members of the community as well as a set of political skills that they will need as they engage with their respective governing bodies. To do this, public meetings will be infused with political education and engagement tactics and will make the basics of political engagement and civic participation central to the framework of their group. These principles will be taught successfully in non-partisan, non-ideological ways.

The groups will document the experiences, needs and goals for their community, and will devise a strategy to create positive impact through knowledge and understanding of their local city and county department offices, active involvement in city and county town hall meetings, and skills of democratic participation.

Community Canvassing Project: Rio Grande Valley Latinx Empowerment Institute will coordinate Volunteer Deputy Voter Registrar trainings at public meetings where training participants and community members will gain the ability to register persons to vote and exercise their knowledge by block walking through neighborhoods, social gathering locations, and other venues and registering people to vote.

They will gain the skills necessary to engage in one on one conversations with persons residing in the RGV about voting rights, voter laws, upcoming elections, and voting locations. They will simultaneously pitch the mission and philosophy of RGVLEI in hopes of recruiting and mobilizing a larger effort.

As the Rio Grande Valley Latinx Empowerment Institute grows, canvassers will gain access to Voter Access Network (VAN) databases to engage registered voters in person, by phone call or text, and/or emails, to ensure that voters are aware of upcoming elections, and provided with necessary information to vote in an informed manner.

Champions of the Community Program: The Champions of the Community Program is an initiative which works to bring community issues to light on both ends of the political process focused on local, state, and national level.

Rio Grande Valley Latinx Empowerment Institute will provide local data and analysis to inform public figures about representative governance and connect public officials with representatives of the community through town halls, lobbying, meetings, and other forms of communication. We believe that inclusive political engagement and civic participation can help overcome disparities in social and economic well-being, and can improve health, education and employment outcomes for all members of the community, mainly underrepresented minority groups, such as Latino/as, women, low-income persons, LGBTQ persons, among others.

RGVLEI aims to become a go-to source for legislators, public agencies, advocates, media (local, state, and national) and community leaders to identify disparities in the districts they reside in or govern.

As a secondary result, we hope that persons that participate in our training programs will also connect on a deeper level the with community, and be inspired to run for public office in any level. Persons that express a desire to champion for the community in such a way will be connected to resources to aid them in their candidacy for election into office, as well as receive guidance from existing public officials that have already undertaken the challenge and are currently holding positions in our governing bodies.