Divided We Fail at Historic Debate in Miami

Divided We Fail team members served as witnesses to history September 9th, as for the first time ever, candidates for the presidency conducted a nationally televised debate in Spanish.

The debate, televised live by Univision, the nation's largest Spanish-language television network, originated from the campus of the University of Miami in Miami, Florida. The debate featured candidates Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, former Sen. Mike Gravel of Alaska, former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut, and Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico. Sen. Joseph Biden of Maryland did not attend. Republican candidates were invited to a second Univision debate in November, but the event was cancelled after only one Republican candidate accepted.

National news organizations hailed the debate as marking the "coming of age" of the nation's 44-million-strong Hispanic population, the nation's fastest-growing ethnic minority.

Leading the Divided We Fail presence at the historic event was Gabriela Zabalúa-Goddard, editor of AARP's Segunda Juventud magazine, together with AARP Florida state office staff and volunteer leaders. During the debate, Univision anchors Jorge Ramos and Elena Maria Salinas asked 54 questions, nine of which dealt with the Divided We Fail issues of affordable, accessible, quality health care or lifetime financial security for all generations.

After the debate, Zabalúa-Goddard issued the following statement (the statement was issued to the news media in both English and Spanish):

"Tonight the candidates and the questioners began to address health and financial security, two issues that dominate our everyday lives. Our healthcare system is broken, as candidates noted during the forum. The problems are not limited to those without health insurance. Skyrocketing health costs are threatening the lives of all Americans.

"These issues are especially important in the 44-million-person Hispanic community, with one in three people lacking health coverage. Those who are 65 and older face rates of poverty two times the national average. We welcome the discussion on how to help families in financial crisis.

"We look forward to hearing more from the candidates and the questioners about health and financial security in future debates and will continue to ask for more details about these issues."

Divided We Fail and AARP are monitoring the number of health and financial security questions asked during the Presidential debates. For more information about Divided We Fail and the debate, log onto the Divided We Fail debate tracker at www.dividedwefail.org.