As the Hispanic population in the U.S. grows, so too does its influence. The general election in 2000 marked an era of increased influence and awareness by Hispanics in politics both as voters and politicians. While it is clear that Latinos are influencing and changing politics, the impact on politics in the U.S. is still not clear. Authored by leading scholar, F. Chris Garcia and Gabriel Sanchez, Hispanics and the U.S. Political System : Moving into the Mainstream focuses on the historical, contemporary and future role of Hispanics in the United States.
Fully revised and updated, the second edition of this popular text provides students with a comprehensive introduction to Latino participation in US politics. Focusing on six Latino groups - Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Dominicans, Salvadorans, and Guatemalans - the book explores the migration history of each group and shows how that experience has been affected by US foreign policy and economic interests in each country of origin. The political status of Latinos on arrival in the United States, including their civil rights, employment opportunities, and political incorporation, is then examined. Finally, the analysis follows each group’s history of collective mobilization and political activity, drawing out the varied ways they have engaged in the US political system. Using the tension between individual agency and structural constraints as its central organizing theme, the discussion situates Latino migrants, and their children, within larger macro economic and geo-political structures that influence their decisions to migrate and their ability to adapt socially, economically, and politically to their new country. It also demonstrates how Latinos continually have shown that through political action they can significantly improve their channels of opportunity. Thus, the book encourages students to think critically about what it means to be a racialized minority group within a majoritarian US political system, and how that position structures Latinos’ ability to achieve their social, economic, and political goals.
Latinos constitute the fastest-growing population in the United States today, and Latino political participation is growing rapidly. Still, Latino political power is not commensurate with the numbers, and much potential remains to be tapped. In LatinoPolitics in America, author John A. García examines the development of this vibrant community and points the way toward a future of shared interests and coalitions among the diverse Latino subgroups. This newly revised edition lays out the basic factsof Latino America—who Latinos are, where they come from, where they reside—and then connects these facts to political realities of immigration, citizenship, voting, education, organization, and leadership. García's nuanced portrait of contemporary Latinopolitical life, first published in 2003, has been updated throughout to include data from the 2010 census and the 2008 and 2010 elections.
This encyclopedia provides a comprehensive overview of the evolution of Hispanic Americans engaged in U.S. politics, from increased visibility as governors and other lawmakers at the local, state, and federal levels to their growing importance as a voting constituency. This encyclopedia comprehensively surveys the evolution of Latina/o engagement in US politics as voters, candidates, lawmakers, and public officials. It is an authoritative resource for public library patrons, high school students, and undergraduates in a variety of curricular studies, including political science, civics, American history, and Latino studies. The set's A–Z entries were carefully selected and crafted to ensure thorough coverage of all of the individuals, organizations, cultural forces, political issues, and legal decisions that have combined to elevate the role of Latinos at the polls, on the campaign trail, in Washington, and in mayors' offices, city councils, school boards, and statehouses all across the country. In-depth essays on the rising prominence of Latino Americans as voters, candidates, public officials, lawmakers, and opinion leaders will provide further context for understanding their impact on modern U.S. political processes and institutions from the perspective of liberals and conservatives alike.
While Latinos in the US are becoming a large, significant and growing political constituency, the US has has become increasingly and rapidly Latinized in many cultural aspects. This work takes an in-depth look at the political aspects of this cultural and political browning of America.
Focusing on five Latino groups – Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Salvadorans, and Guatemalans – this book provides students with a comprehensive introduction to Latino participation in US politics. It begins by looking at the migration history of each group and how that experience is affected by US foreign policy and economic interests in each country of origin. The political status of Latinos on arrival in the United States, including their civil rights, employment opportunities, and political incorporation, is then examined. Finally, the analysis follows each group’s history of collective mobilization and political activity, exploring the varied ways they have engaged in the U.S. political system. Using the tension between individual agency and structural constraints as its central organizing theme, the discussion situates Latino migrants, and their children, within larger macro economic and geo-political structures that influence their decisions to migrate and their ability to adapt socially, economically, and politically to their new country. It also demonstrates how Latinos continually have shown that through political action they can significantly improve their channels of opportunity. Thus, the book pushes students to think critically about what it means to be a racialized minority group within a majoritarian U.S. political system, and how that position structures Latinos’ ability to achieve their social, economic, and political goals. For more information and resources visit the accompanying series website: www.politybooks.com/minoritypol
An illuminating and thought-provoking history of the growth of Hispanic American Republican voters in the past half century and their surprising impact on US politics, updated with new material reflecting on the 2020 election In the lead-up to every election cycle, pundits predict that Latino Americans will overwhelmingly vote in favor of the Democratic candidate. And it’s true—Latino voters do tilt Democratic. Hillary Clinton won the Latino vote in a “landslide,” Barack Obama “crushed” Mitt Romney among Latino voters in his reelection, and, four years earlier, the Democratic ticket beat the McCain-Palin ticket by a margin of more than two to one. But those numbers belie a more complicated picture. Because of decades of investment and political courtship, as well as a nuanced and varied cultural identity, the Republican party has had a much longer and stronger bond with Hispanics. How is this possible for a party so associated with draconian immigration and racial policies? In The Hispanic Republican, historian and political commentator Geraldo Cadava illuminates the history of the millions of Hispanic Republicans who, since the 1960s, have had a significant impact on national politics. Intertwining the little understood history of Hispanic Americans with a cultural study of how post–World War II Republican politicians actively courted the Hispanic vote during the Cold War (especially Cuban émigrés) and during periods of major strife in Central America (especially during Iran-Contra), Cadava offers insight into the complicated dynamic between Latino liberalism and conservatism, which, when studied together, shine a crucial light on a rapidly changing demographic that will impact American elections for years to come.
The third edition of this popular text provides students with a comprehensive introduction to Latino political engagement in US politics. Focusing on six Latino groups – Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Dominicans, Salvadorans, and Guatemalans – the book explores the migration history of each and examines their political status on arrival in the United States, including their civil rights, employment opportunities, and political incorporation. Finally, the analysis follows each group’s history of collective mobilization and political activity, drawing out the varied ways they have engaged in the US political system. Fully revised and updated, the new edition explores the state of Latino politics under both the Obama and Trump Administrations, discussing issues such as migrant detention at the US–Mexico border, the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, and the thawing of relations between the United States and Cuba. It encourages students to think critically about what it means to be a racialized minority group within a majoritarian US political system, and how that position structures Latinos’ ability to achieve their social, economic, and political goals.
A new history reveals how the rise of the Latino vote has redrawn the political map and what it portends for the future of American politics. The impact of the Latino vote is a constant subject of debate among pundits and scholars. Will it sway elections? And how will the political parties respond to the growing number of voters who identify as Latino? A more basic and revealing question, though, is how the Latino vote was forged—how U.S. voters with roots in Latin America came to be understood as a bloc with shared interests. In The Rise of the Latino Vote, Benjamin Francis-Fallon shows how this diverse group of voters devised a common political identity and how the rise of the Latino voter has transformed the electoral landscape. Latino political power is a recent phenomenon. It emerged on the national scene during the turbulence of the 1960s and 1970s, when Mexican American, Puerto Rican, and Cuban American activists, alongside leaders in both the Democratic and the Republican parties, began to conceive and popularize a pan-ethnic Hispanic identity. Despite the increasing political potential of a unified Latino vote, many individual voters continued to affiliate more with their particular ethnic communities than with a broader Latino constituency. The search to resolve this contradiction continues to animate efforts to mobilize Hispanic voters and define their influence on the American political system. The “Spanish-speaking vote” was constructed through deliberate action; it was not simply demographic growth that led the government to recognize Hispanics as a national minority group, ushering in a new era of multicultural politics. As we ponder how a new generation of Latino voters will shape America’s future, Francis-Fallon uncovers the historical forces behind the changing face of America.
