The article indicates that much of their success is due to the government contracts that are given to minority-owned businesses.

??Growth is even faster in the Washington area, where the number of Hispanic-owned companies has increased by 67 percent from 1997 to 2002, the most recent year available, reflecting both the region's vibrant economy and the surge of Latino immigrants to the region. The overall growth rate for new businesses in the region was 15 percent.?
??Hispanics in the District and its suburbs have launched scores of government-contracting companies that get business through the federal program that sets aside work for small and minority-owned businesses?
??Fernando Galaviz started his Arlington-based systems integration company in 1988. Through an acquisition and the 8A small-business and minority program, which assists businesses owned by U.S. citizens, the native of Mexico City was able to win work that turned his company, Centech Group Inc., into a thriving government contractor with $71 million in revenue and 367 employees.?
??The government is the marketplace here????