Some may want to see the explosive, racist diatribes of a handful of prominent Los Angeles City Council members as an unfortunate incident that will eventually fade away. They might dismiss the remarks revealed in a leaked audio as isolated and confined to a few Latino leaders.

But the reality is that such prejudice from Latino to Latino and Latino to other racial groups is not so uncommon. Call it anti-Black racism, colorism, classism — it all adds up to a destructive strain that is not so hidden in Latino culture.

The rampant cable news attention seeking and kayfabe committee hearings that characterize politics today have an ideologically diverse set of pundits yearning for a return of the "smoke-filled room." There, the argument goes, politicians could hash out policy in private, frank conversations away from all the bad incentives created by TV cameras and records requests.

"Sometimes," wrote Jonathan Rauch in 2015, "the only thing wrong with smoke-filled rooms is the smoke."

The Los Angeles Latino council members who used racist language in a leaked recording have exposed the conflicts — but also the solidarity — between Black and Latino residents.

Why it matters: As the country, especially major cities, becomes more diverse, how Latinos and Black Americans work together today may define the nation's future around civil rights and equality.

Talk to anyone who closely follows Latino voters — believe me, I’ve talked to a lot in the last few years — and they’ll likely share a similar lesson: America’s political parties, and their candidates’ campaigns, often shoot themselves in the foot by thinking that Latino and Hispanic voters have very different priorities when compared to the average American voter. Voting preference really does often boil down to the economy, health care, and education.

The total economic output of U.S. Latinos reached $2.8 trillion in 2020, surpassing the GDPs of the U.K. and India, according to a report released Thursday.

Why it matters: The report showed U.S. Latino buying power and economic output grew during the pandemic despite the disproportional impact it had on Latino communities, Russell writes.

The Latino GDP even surpassed those of the United Kingdom, India and France.

Latinos' total economic output was $2.7 trillion in 2019.

A few miles from the Las Vegas Strip, in a working-class neighborhood of one-story homes and scattered palm trees, Vania Oronoz is pushing her husband to give up his habit of voting for Democrats.

Mrs. Oronoz and many of her neighbors are shifting toward the Republican Party, a pattern that’s being replicated across the country. The move has been especially pronounced among working-class Latinos, whose votes have the potential to reshape the political parties in the same way that the movement of white, working-class voters has made them a pillar of the Republican Party.

President Joe Biden and Democrats may be celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month, but convincing members of the country's diverse Hispanic and Latino community to support them in the 2022 midterm elections will not be a party.

Hispanic and Latino voters, who surprised Florida and Texas Democrats last cycle, will be a critical demographic again in November, particularly in the toss-up Arizona and Nevada Senate races, which will determine the balance of power in Washington next year, along with the other competitive campaigns.

It has been nearly two years since Donald Trump made surprising gains with Hispanic voters. But Republican dreams of a major realignment of Latino voters drawn to G.O.P. stances on crime and social issues have failed to materialize, according to a new poll by The New York Times and Siena College.

The percentage of Latinos in the United States and Latin America who say they have no religious affiliation has been steadily rising despite how ingrained religion is in Hispanic culture.

State of play: The percentage of Hispanics in the U.S. who identify as atheists or agnostics grew in the past 12 years, according to data from the Pew Research Center.

First lady Jill Biden offered an apology Tuesday morning for her comments about breakfast tacos in San Antonio, according to a spokeswoman who said Biden “apologizes that her words conveyed anything but pure admiration and love for the Latino community.”

The brouhaha began Monday, when Biden said during her speech at an advocacy conference that the Latino community is “as distinct as the bodegas of the Bronx, as beautiful as the blossoms of Miami, and as unique as the breakfast tacos here in San Antonio.”