National Council Of La Raza Ends Arizona Boycott

According to The Arizona Republic, the National Council of La Raza officially ended its Arizona boycott last Friday.  Enacted in May 2010 to protest the the controversial law SB 1070, the boycott was called off because:

[I]t successfully discouraged other states from enacting similar laws, and the boycott imposed a hardship on the workers, businesses and organizations it aimed to help.

In the same article, the NCLR also claims that the specter of SB 1070 helped drive more Latino voters to polls, adding another reason to end the Arizona ban.

As SB 1070 remains held up in the court system, we wonder, how effective was the boycott?  Sure, the Huffington Post reports that the boycott cost the state an estimated $140 million in lost revenue but then also goes on to say “more people went to the Grand Canyon this summer than last year, and more stayed in Arizona’s hotels and resorts, according to a review by The Associated Press”.   While some refused to do business with the state, others flocked in droves to spend their vacation time there.

As pointed out in the Phoenix New Times, the boycott may have lost its steam or never had much to begin with.  Especially given that high-profile Latinos like Carlos Santana and Jenni Rivera, who were previously outspoken about their opposition to SB 1070, both have concert dates in Arizona this fall. Even cities like Los Angeles, with one of the nation’s largest Latino populations, had trouble adhering to the ban when it came time to look out for its own interests.

Perhaps  Sal Reza, leader of the Phoenix-based human rights group Puente which is still honoring the boycott, said it best while speaking to the Phoenix New Times lamenting:

“A lot of people are not respecting the boycott anymore. We’ve lost the catalyst we had last year with 1070.”

Did the now defunct Arizona boycott spur change in the state or was it merely just a minor blip on the radar?  Was it cool for a hot moment, yet merely a symbolic gesture without any real teeth, like wearing a special jersey one season and then forgetting about it the next?  Either way, the issue has proven to be not so much about boycotting the state but rather whether or not the courts decide to uphold SB 1070 or not.  And that is definitely something worth keeping an eye on.