Transcript Pan-ethnicity and the Challenge of Latino Politics

Pan-ethnicity and the
Challenge to Mexican
American Politics
Mexican Americans and Politics
Lecture 8
February 2, 2006
From Last Time
Concluding thoughts on Mexican
Americans and social networks at
the start of the contemporary era
Social Capital
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Networks have value
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Inclinations that arise from these networks
are to do things for each other
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Social networks—who people know
Who you rely on when you face a dilemma
Reciprocity
Trust
Bridging social capital—social capital that
connects disparate groups
Chicano Movement
Organizations Exposed Dearth
of Social Capital in Mexican
American Communities
Arguably, absence of social capital has been
the key issue for Mexican American politics
since the 1970s
Chicano Movement organizations exposed
political opportunities available through
mobilization of Mexican Americans
U.S. Political Institutions
Not Building Social Capital
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Traditional
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Parties
Unions
Neighborhoods
Workplaces
Churches
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Newly emerging
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The blogosphere
Some service and public
employee unions
Unclear
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Mega-churches
Social issue
constituencies
An Exception—Communities
Organized for Public Service (COPS)
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Organizing individuals who are otherwise
unlikely to participate politically
Linking values and interests
Organizing around existing community
institutions, particularly churches
Creating networks of trust and cooperation
Pressuring institutions for social change
Today’s Lecture
Pan-Ethnicity
Pan-ethnicity
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Definition—an ethnic identity built on
multiple national-origin identities, usually a
region of origin
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Latino/Hispanic
Asian American
Euro-American
National-origin identity
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Identity linked to specific nation, e.g. Mexican
American
More common ethnic identity in the United States
According to Padilla,
1.
2.
Why do pan-ethnic identities emerge?
Under what circumstances?
Latino/Hispanic as
“Situational” Identity
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Roots
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Necessary conditions
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Cultural similarity across ethnic groups
Two, or more, Latino ancestry groups come into
contact
Discovery of a shared experience
Inherently political for Padilla
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Strategic decision to adopt identity to achieve
policy/political goals
Contact
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At the time Padilla was writing (the 1970s),
cross-group contact was the exception
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Chicago was unique
Now, in urban areas, more common
Unclear—Consequence of movement into an
area that has been dominated by Latinos of a
different ancestry
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Salvadorans in Los Angeles
Mexicans in New York
Shared Experiences Across
Latino Groups
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History
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Discrimination
High levels of immigration
Incorporation needs
Lack of political empowerment relative to
community size
Issues
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Education
Social services
Economic issues do not top the list and immigration rarely
appears as a top issue
Pan-ethnicity and Mexican
American Politics
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Enhancing Mexican American politics
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Numbers
National not regional
Mexican Americans best positioned to lead Latino
organizations
Detracting
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Inability to focus on exclusively Mexican American issues
Conflicts inherent in coalitional politics
Confusing Mexican American needs for non-Latinos
Increased expectation for Mexican American influence
Over time, loss of focus on needs of U.S.-born Mexican
Americans to a Latino agenda focused on immigrants
For Next Time
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Questions to Consider:
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What are the attitudes and issue preferences
that link Mexican American communities?
What are the ideological positions and partisan
preferences of Mexican Americans