When I read that Yuma County (Arizona) Judge John Nelson ruled that Alejandrina Cabrera couldn’t run for councilwoman of San Luis given her insufficient English proficiency, I had all sorts of mixed feelings.
On the one hand, the woman was running for a City Council seat in a border town where 90% of the population speaks Spanish. The New York Times
reported that initially Cabrera’s opponents spearheaded the effort to
block her name from the ballot. This move soon became a divisive issue
given the lack of clarity in the law regarding how much English
politicians must speak.
Cabrera has maintained that she communicates with the community in
Spanish and that she speaks enough English for her work with the
council. She was, however, unable to answer some questions the judge
asked her in court in mid-January. Whether it was because she was
nervous, as she said, or because she didn’t understand, is anyone’s
guess.
