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Latin Americans in the American
Political Process
Latino PopulationIn 2007, by nationality
Mexican 29,189,334
Puerto Rican 4,114,701
Central/South American 6,033,333
Cuban 1,608,835
Other Hispanic 4,432,393
Total 45,378,596
Latino Population of the U.S. by Origin,2007
Mexican63%
Puerto Rican9%
All Others10%
Cuban 4%
Central American8%
South American6%
Latino PopulationDiversity: in educational attainment,
occupational mobility, nationality, socio-economically, generational status
Disagreement in terms: Hispanic is preferred on the east coast and Latino on the west coast
Chicano is a Political/ideological term and Spanish American is preferred in New Mexico
Where Most Latin Americans Live, 2007
Where Most Latin Americans Live, 2007
Population by Race and Ethnicity, Actual and Projected: 1960, 2005, and 2050
Latino Population¾ reside in five states: CA (40%), TX (19%), NY (9%), FL (8%), IL (4%)
In 1960 constituted 9.6% of L.A. county population. By 1990, 37.8%
One of every 4 persons living in poverty in the U.S. is of Hispanic origin
Median Age = 26.6 compared to 36.9 for non-Hispanic white
By 2025, will comprise 19% of U.S. population. By 2050, 29%
Latino PopulationBy year 2070 will constitute about 1/3 of U.S. population
Today, approx. 30% speak only or mostly English
1/3 speak Spanish at work, 60% at home, ¾ listen to Spanish radio
86% are urban dwellers compared to 73% for total population
Diversity: Culturally, linguistically, racially, religiously, in assimilation rate
Household Income Trends, 1979-2003
Statistical Portrait of Latinos in the United States, 2007
Households by Income, Race & Ethnicity, 2007
People in Poverty Trends, 1979-2003
Latino Identity
Panethnicity - refers to a common identity and sense of solidarity among Latinos from different nationalities
While there is considerable diversity among Hispanics, a number of factors tend to bring the Hispanic community together
Latino Identity1. Language
2. Spanish formatted television stations
3. English and Spanish periodicals aimed at the Hispanic community
Divisions remain
culturally
Multiple subcultures
Mexican vs. Mexican American
Central American vs. South American
Puerto Rican vs. Dominican vs. Cuban
Latino Identitypolitically
Cubans vote more RepublicanMexican & Puerto Rican vote more Democrat
economicallyVarying degrees of affluence, poverty rates, occupational mobility, social class among LatinosImmigrant vs. 2nd or 3rd generation status
Latino Identityracially
“Color gradient” – recognizing the 22 shades of skin color between black and whiteHistorical amalgamation
national identityAnglo/Dominant group tends to group all Latinos together not recognizing differencesPuerto Ricans are U.S. citizens
The Language DivideBilingualism - involves the use of two or more languages
Bilingual educational
1. English as a Second Language program
Most common program but most lack a bicultural basis
2. English immersion program
Problems in implementing bilingual education:
1. Lack of teachers to incorporate a Bicultural approach
2. The number of languages spoken by children and the lack of qualified teachers
3. Ethnocentrism
Research results on bilingual education
The Language Divide
Official Language MovementThe 1980’s and 1990’s saw an increase in attacks on bilingualism
Political Education
Decline in Federal support for bilingual programsAn increase in the number of States that have passed laws making English the State’s official languageCalifornia and Proposition 227 end to bilingual educationAttacks on bilingual education
Growing Political Presence
Voting rights
Banning literacy tests
In 1975 Congress moved in the direction that resulted in legislation that provided for multilingual election ballots in areas with at least a 5% minority population
Political trends
Increase in registered voters
Increased number that vote
Less commitment to one party
In between major elections, little effort is made to count Latino interest except by Latino elected officials
Growing Political Presence
Mexican-AmericansThe first Mexican-Americans became Americans with the Annexation of the Southwest and part of the Northwest after the Mexican-American warThe Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848
Under the treaty the new Americans were guaranteed rights of citizenship, rights to property and their cultural traditions, including language. The loss of land and the lack of legal protection after the treaty
Land conflict with Anglo ranchers made Mexican-Americans outsiders on their own land
Immigrant ExperienceImmigration from Mexico has been continuous in part because of the proximity of the two borders Lack of restrictive immigration policy directed towards Mexicans until the second half of this centuryThe proximity of the two countries and the maintenance of cultural ties.Mexican-American immigration both documented and undocumented is a function of a combination of push and pull factorsMexican Revolution conflict and immigrationMexican immigration has been tied closely to the economies of Mexico and the United States
Agribusiness interests Migration patterns to the Midwest and elsewherePopulation growth and immigrationThe Great Depression of the 1930’s and the push for repatriation
The economic effect and personal impact of repatriation on Mexican-Americans
Demand for labor during World War II and the bracero program
Conflict between the braceros workers and Mexican-American workers
Economic competition for jobs and Operation Wetback and undocumented workers from Mexico
Immigrant Experience
Political Organization
César Chavez and migrant farm
workers movementEconomic and social conditions
La Raza - pride in one’s Spanish,
Native American and Mexican heritage.
Texas La Raza Unida Party
Political Organization
Chicanismo - emerged in part among
Mexican-American college students in
the 1960’s
Chicanismo - influenced by the civil
rights movement
Chicanismo - emphasized political self determination and ethnic pride
Political Organization
Reies Lopez Tijerina - in 1963 formed the Alianza Federal de Mercedes (Federal Alliance of Land Grants)Purpose of the organization was to recover lost landIn 1967 Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund was formed (MALDEF)
Pursue issues through the courts
Maquiladoras - foreign-owned and established businesses on the Mexican side of the border
Job exportation from the manufacturing North in the United States and the exploitation of Mexican workers
Migradollars or remittances
Borderlands
The Borderlands
Cuban AmericansPatterns of immigration
Cuban settlements in Florida date back to the early nineteenth century
Where small communities organized around single family enterprises
Cuban AmericansSince the Cuban Revolution in 1959, there have been successive groups of immigrantsFirst: About 200,000 came during the first three years after Castro came into powerSecond: Freedom flights - another 340,000 came from 1965-1973Third: Mariel - another 124,000 came in the freedom flotilla (Mariel controversy)Fourth: In 1994 - economic push factors
The Present Picture: Cuban Americans
The influence of Cuban Americans Miami areaIn Urban centers
Generational relations among CubansGenerational clash between cultures (parent and child)
Cuba and CubansInter-ethnic relations between Cubans and other Hispanic’s at times have been strainedAdjustments were made by Cuban immigrants with the loss of income and family rolesLong-range perspective of Cubans in the U.S. depends on several factors
Central and South Americas
Central and South Americans came from
historically different experiences and times
culturally diverse backgrounds
Color gradient and race in the United States
Central and South Americans
Immigration has been influenced by a number of push and pull factors
U.S. immigration laws
Social and economic forces in their home country
War and persecution
Economic deprivation
Puerto Rico
Puerto Ricans
Puerto Rico was annexed by the United States from Spain after the the Spanish-American War of 1898
Puerto Rico has been a United States colony since 1898 (Commonwealth Status since 1948)
Puerto Ricans have been subjected to bureaucratic (Political) control by the United States
Puerto RicansInitial colonial policy had a devastating effect
on Language on Puerto Rican cultural institutions
Jones Act of 1917 and United States citizenship
Have most rights except do not pay federal income taxes and do not vote for President or have voting members to Congress/SenateIn 1948 it became a commonwealth
Island and the MainlandA number of push and pull factors have led to migration from the Island to the mainland
Economic underdevelopment and the pull of jobs on the mainland
Farm labor contracts
Overpopulation
Cheap airfares
Puerto Rican communities (New York City) on the mainland
Island and the Mainland
Neoricans - term used by The Islanders to refer to Puerto Ricans that have lived in New York
Neoricans are often better educated and have more money than Puerto Ricans from the Island
Often resented by long time Islanders
Island of Puerto RicoCommonwealth status and neocolonialism
Issues of Statehood and Self-RuleIn 1998 in the last vote over the issue 50% favored commonwealth status , 47% statehood and 3% favored independence
Only Puerto Ricans on the Island may voteNAFTA and growing competition with Mexico and Canada for United States dollars
The debate goes on….
Political IssuesPuerto Rican Legal Defense & Education Fund - PRLDEF
Educational status and issues
Increasing segregation 1. Function of residential segregation in
large metropolitan areas
2. Increase in population as desegregation movement began to decline
3. Desegregated schools have become resegregated
Between 1990 and 2008, the number of Hispanic jail inmates increased at a faster average annual rate of growth (4.5%) than white (3.8%) and black inmates (3.3%)
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics Correctional survey
Demographic Trends in Jail Populations
Present ViewMany immigrants have problems because they came to the United States without the proper documents
Many were professionals and had to adjust to downward mobility
lower status jobs
Unemployment
Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965 - Brain drain
EducationEnding Segregation with Mendez v. WestminsterIsolation in the classroom because of tracking (placing students in specific classes or curriculum groups on the basis of testing or other measures)
Educational effect of trackingBilingual educational programsHigher educationAdjusting to college and campus life dominated by WhitesDealing with prejudiceEconomic cost of college
Educational Attainment by Race & Ethnicity, 2007
Statistical Portrait of Latinos in the United States, 2007
Research by The Tomas Rivers Policy Institute (TRPI) has shown that college financial aid opportunities abound in the form of scholarships, grants, and loans.
Yet many Latino students and their parents are not aware that numerous grants and scholarships are earmarked especially for them.
www.latinocollegedollars.org
California Latino Youth Perceptions of College Financial Aid
98% of respondents felt it was important to have a college education
38% of respondents did not feel the benefits of college outweigh the cost
Over half of all respondents erroneously thought students have to be U.S. citizens to apply for college financial aid
Few respondents could accurately estimate the cost of attending either a UC or the CSU
There is a lack of familiarity with government grants for education
Tomas Rivers Policy Institute, June 2006 study
Latinos And Education: Explaining the Attainment Gap
Nearly nine-in-ten (89%) Latino youths say that a college education is important for success in lifeYet only about half that number (48%) say that they themselves plan to get a college degree
National survey conducted Aug.5 to Sept. 16, 2009 by Pew Hispanic Center
Nearly 74% of respondents who cut their education short during or right after high school say they did so to support the family
Healthcare
Hispanic community lack of access to healthcare resources
Function of poverty and employment patterns
Use of folk practitioners - traditional folk remedies or curanderismo
Form of holistic medicine
Religion
Religion is the most important formal organization in the Hispanic communityRoman Catholic church
Early on, took an assimilation roleToday, more community oriented
Hispanic role in the church has grownWorship (more expressive)Hispanics underrepresented in the clergy
Pentecostalism—Evangelical Christianity within Hispanic American communities
Religious Preferences
Latino/Hispanic Political Activists and Interest Groups
Cuban American National Council (CANC)Cuban American National Foundation (CANF)Committee for Cuban Democracy (CCD)Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI)Dominican American National Roundtable (DANR)Hispanic Association for Corporate Responsibility (HACR)Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA)Latin American Defense Organization (LADO)Latin Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA)Latino National Political Survey (LNPS)League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)Latinos United for Political Rights (LUPA)Mexican American Legal Defense an Education Fund (MALDEF)National Association of Bilingual Educators (NABE)National Association of Hispanic Dentists (NAHD)National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ)National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO)National Council of La Raza (NCLR)National Hispanic Corporate Council (NHCC)Puerto Rican Legal Defense an Education Fund (PRLDEF)Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE)Southwest Voter Registration and Education Project (SVREP)United Farm Workers (UFW)U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC)
Hispanic Political Action Committees
NDN PAC (New Democrat Network-Hispanic Strategy Center)Hispanic Action CommitteeHispanic CEO PACHispanic Democratic OrganizationHispanic PAC USAHispanic Unity USAHISPANICS FOR AMERICAPeace & Justice Hispanic PACLatina Roundtable PACLatino AllianceLatino Citizens for RespectLatina PACLatinos for America PAC (Non-profit)Honor PACBuilding Our Leadership Diversity PAC
Intergroup Relations Continuum
More information/graphs
www.census.gov
www.ojp.usdoj.gov
www.wcvi.org
www.trpi.org
