"Sí, se puede" (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

for "Yes, it is possible" or, roughly, "Yes, we can"; ) is the motto of the

United Farm Workers The United Farm Workers of America, or more commonly just United Farm Workers (UFW), is a labor union for farmworkers in the United States. It originated from the merger of two workers' rights organizations, the Agricultural Workers Organizing ...

of America, and has since been taken up by other activist groups. In 1972, during

César Chávez Cesar Chavez (born Cesario Estrada Chavez ; ; March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), which later merged ...

's 25-day fast in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

, UFW's co-founder,

Dolores Huerta Dolores Clara Fernández Huerta (born April 10, 1930) is an American labor leader and civil rights activist who, with Cesar Chavez, is a co-founder of the National Farmworkers Association, which later merged with the Agricultural Workers Organizi ...

, came up with the slogan. "Sí se puede" has long been a UFW guiding principle that has served to inspire accomplishment of goals. The phrase is a federally registered trademark of the UFW. The phrase has been widely adopted by other labor unions and civil rights organizations and drew widespread political and media attention as a rallying cry during the U.S. immigration reform protests."The earth is shaking as immigrants rise up around the country with their voices singing "Sí se puede"—Yes, we can. This uprising is in the best tradition of the American Dream and the civil rights struggle for freedom."

English translation

"Sí se puede" is usually translated in English as "It can be done", or "Yes you can". The more literal translation that the United Farm Workers uses is "Yes, it can be done!"

Other uses

President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

adopted the English version "Yes, we can!" first during the

Democratic Party of Illinois The Democratic Party of Illinois is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is the oldest extant state party in Illinois and one of just two recognized parties in the state, along with the Republican Party. It is ...

primaries Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the c ...

leading up to 2004 Illinois elections to the US Senate, and it became a slogan of his 2008 presidential campaign. "Yes, we can!" was the theme of Senator Obama's speech following his second-place finish in the 2008 New Hampshire primary. The phrase was also used in the song " Yes We Can", which was performed by numerous celebrities in support of Obama. (Huerta endorsed

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

in her campaign for the Democratic nomination for presidency in 2007). "Sí, se puede!" is the name of the 6th Episode in the 3rd Season of

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

's TV Series ″

Dexter Dexter may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Dexter, the main character of the American animated series ''Dexter's Laboratory'' that aired from 1996 to 2003 * Dexter, a fictional character in the British Diary of a Bad Man#Main, web series ''Diar ...

″. "Sí, se puede!" was a slogan used by Spanish left wing anti-austerity party,

Unidas Podemos Unidas Podemos (), formerly called Unidos Podemos () and also known in English as United We Can, is a democratic socialist electoral alliance formed by Podemos, United Left, and other left-wing to far-left parties in May to contest the 2016 Spa ...

in the buildup to the 2019 Spanish general election held on 28 April 2019. "Sí, se puede!" "yes we can" became the slogan and rallying cry of

Juan Guaidó Juan Gerardo Guaidó Márquez (born 28 July 1983) is a Venezuelan politician, a former member of the Social democracy, social-democratic Popular Will party, and federal deputy to the National Assembly (Venezuela), National Assembly representing ...

during the 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis. Guaidó was compared to Obama for the use of this phrase and in other ways at the time. During the Israeli legislative election campaign of 2009,

Shas Shas ( he, ש״ס) is a Haredi religious political party in Israel. Founded in 1984 under the leadership of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a former Israeli Sephardi chief rabbi, who remained its spiritual leader until his death in October 2013, it primarily ...

used a

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

version of the slogan: "כן. אנחנו יכולים" (''ken, anakhnu yekholim'').

AeroMexico's trademark application

After AeroMexico, a Mexican airline, had filed a

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...

application for "Sí se puede" with the US Trademark Office, lawyers for the United Farm Workers defended the phrase as the intellectual property of the UFW. After litigation, AeroMexico agreed not to use the phrase and abandoned its trademark application.

References

External links

"Si Se Puede Cambiar"
video on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Si se puede Mexican-American history Political catchphrases Spanish words and phrases United Farm Workers Cesar Chavez Barack Obama 2008 presidential campaign 1972 neologisms