MEXICAN AMERICANS AND PUERTO RICANS CHAPTER 10 Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Mexican Americans Legacy of war created America’s two largest Hispanic minorities Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, February 2, 1848 Under the treaty the new Americans were guaranteed rights to property and their cultural traditions. The loss of land and the lack of legal protection after the treaty Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

US gained Texas, California, Arizona, ad New Mexico for $15 million In exchange, US granted citizenship to 75,000 Mexican nationals Guaranteed Religious freedom Property rights Cultural integrity Right to continue Mexican and Spanish cultural traditions and to use the Spanish language Land conflict between Anglo ranchers and Mexican-American ranchers Mexican-Americans became outsiders in their own land Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

The Immigrant Experience Immigration from Mexico is unique in several respects Continuous large-scale movement for most of this century Proximity of Mexico encourages past immigrants to maintain strong cultural and language ties Aura of illegality that surrounded Mexican migrants Suspicion of Anglos toward Mexicans contributed to mutual distrust Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Mexican immigration has been tied closely to the economies of Mexico and the United States US corporations invested in Mexico in a way that maximized profits but minimized money remaining in Mexico to provide needed employment Mexican workers are used as cheap laborers in their own country by fellow Mexicans and Americans or as undocumented workers here Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Mexicans regarded as positive presence when useful Repatriation Program of deporting Mexicans during depression of 1930s Constitutional because only illegal aliens were to be deported Many classified as illegal had resided in US for decades Braceros Program between Mexico and US allowing migration across border by contracted laborers Mexicans regarded as positive presence when useful Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Operation Wetback and Special Force Operation (1954) Crackdown on illegal aliens Mojados Derisive slang for Mexicans who enter illegally and refers to those who secretly swim across Rio Grande The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) Expressed concern over handling of illegal aliens Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

La Raza Literally meaning “the people,” the term refers to the rich heritage of Mexican Americans; it is therefore used to denote a sense of pride among Mexican Americans today Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

The Economic Picture Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans Higher unemployment rates, higher rates of poverty, and significantly lower incomes than Whites The Culture of Poverty Embraces a deviant way of life that involves no future planning, no enduring commitment to marriage, and absence of work ethic Developed by Oscar Lewis Cultural traits as the cause of poverty Blaming the victim Used indiscriminately to explain continued poverty Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Difficulties of organizing migrant farm workers César Chavez Formed National Farm Workers Association Became United Farm Workers (UFW) Difficulties of organizing migrant farm workers No savings for organizing or to live on while on strike Growers relied on limitless supply of Mexican laborers to replace strikers Opposition by agribusiness and lawmakers 70% lack health insurance and make less than $10,000/year Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Political Organizations La Raza Unida (LRU) Pride in one’s Spanish, Native American and Mexican heritage Supported candidates who offer alternatives to the Democratic and Republican parties Chicanismo (Chicanozaje) Stress a positive self-image and place little reliance on conventional forms of political activity Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Reies Lopez Tijerina (1963) Formed the Alianza Federal de Mercedes (Federal Alliance of Land Grants) Purpose of the organization was to recover lost land Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) 1967 Pursue issues through the courts and protect Mexican Americans’ constitutional rights Addressed segregation, biased testing, inequities in school financing, and failure to promote bilingualism Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Dual Nationality The United States does not prohibit dual nationality Estimated that anywhere from 5 million to 10 million Mexican Americans are eligible for such dual nationality Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Puerto Ricans Borinquen (Puerto Rico) claimed by Spain in 1493 Native inhabitants, Taino Indians Reduced in number by conquest, slavery, and genocide Puerto Rico was annexed by the United States from Spain after 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 Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Colonization of Puerto Ricans Jones Act of 1917 Politically, then culturally, and finally economically Jones Act of 1917 Citizenship extended to Puerto Ricans Remained a colony 1948 Elected its own governor and became a commonwealth Cannot vote in presidential elections and have no voting representations Subject to military service, Selective Service registration, and all federal laws Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

The Bridge Between the Island and the Mainland Despite citizenship, occasionally challenged by immigration officials Other Latin Americans attempt to enter country posing as Puerto Ricans Push and pull factors led to migration from the Island to the mainland Underdeveloped and overpopulated island, absence of legal restrictions, growth of cheap air transportation, and Puerto Rican communities (New York City) on the mainland Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Now more dispersed throughout the mainland Neoricans Term the islanders use for Puerto Ricans in New York Better educated and have more money than Puerto Ricans from the Island Often resented by long time Islanders Now more dispersed throughout the mainland Sizable numbers in New Jersey, Illinois, Florida, California, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

The Island of Puerto Rico Original inhabitants, Taino Indians, wiped out in a couple of generations Disease, tribal warfare, hard labor, unsuccessful rebellions against the Spanish, and fusion with their conquerors Neocolonialism Refers to continuing dependence of former colonies on foreign countries English and Spanish are the official languages Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Statehood and Self-Rule Puerto Ricans periodically argued and fought for independence Contemporary commonwealth arrangement is popular with many, others prefer statehood, and some call for complete independence from the US Idea of statehood invokes fear of higher taxes, erosion of cultural heritage, end of separate participation in Olympics and Miss Universe pageant Commonwealth supporters argue too many unknown costs, so embrace status quo Others view statehood as key to increased economic development and expansion for tourism Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Arguments for and against independence Probably economic Independent Puerto Rico would not be required to use US shipping lines, more expensive than foreign competitors Independent Puerto Rico might be faced with a tariff wall when trading with its largest customer, the mainland US Puerto Rican migration to mainland would be restricted 50% favor commonwealth; 47% backed statehood; less than 3% favor independence Discontent remains a “colonial dilemma” Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Social Construction of Race Color Gradient Describes distinctions based on skin color made on a continuum rather than by sharp categorical separations Reflects past fusion between different groups Rather than being “black” or “white”, such societies judge as “lighter” or “darker” than others On the Island factors such as social class determine race On the mainland race is more likely to determine social class Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

The Island Economy Overall economy well below that of poorest areas of the US Federal government exempted US industries in Puerto Rico from taxes on profits for at least 10 years Enterprise Zones Federal program that grants tax incentives to promote private investment in inner cities Extended to Puerto Rico Island’s agriculture ignored and economic benefits to the island are limited Business profits returned to the mainland Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Unemployment is three times that of mainland Per capita income is less than half of Mississippi, the poorest state Puerto Rico emerging as major gateway to US for illegal drugs from South America World Systems Theory View of the global economic system as divided between certain industrialized nations that control wealth and developing countries that are controlled and exploited Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Major factors in Puerto Rico’s economy Tourism Government subsidies encouraged construction of luxury hotels Criticisms Major economic beneficiaries are investors from the mainland not locals High prices prevent less affluent from visiting, unnecessarily restricting tourism NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) Reduction of trade barriers and its lower wages undercut Puerto Rico’s commonwealth advantage Other island nations compete for tourist dollars Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

The Contemporary Picture of Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans Education Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans experienced gains in formal schooling but still lag behind Whites 1968 – 55% of all Hispanics attended predominantly minority schools 30 years later, increased to 76% Over 1/3rd of Latinos in schools that were at least 90% non-White Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

3 factors of increasing social isolation of Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans Latinos are increasingly concentrated in largest cities where minorities dominate Latino numbers increased dramatically since 1970’s when school desegregation began to lose momentum Schools once desegregated have become re-segregated Tracking Practice of placing students in specific classes or curriculum based on test scores and other criteria Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Family Life Most important organization or social institution among Latinos or any group Structure differs little from that of all families in US Familism Means pride and closeness in the family, which results in family obligation and loyalty coming before individual needs Expected to decline in importance with urbanization, industrialization, and acquisition of middle-class status Display variety of American family in general while suffering higher levels of poverty Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Health Care Life Chances limited for Latinos People’s opportunities to provide themselves with material goods, positive living conditions, and favorable life experiences Hispanics as a group are locked out of health care system more often than any other racial or ethnic group Complicated by lack of Hispanic health care professionals Curanderismo Latino folk medicine, form of holistic health care and healing Culture makes them less likely to use medical system Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Mixed Status Families in which one or more members is a citizen and one or more are noncitizens Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Religion Predominantly Catholic Church has taken an assimilation role in past Recently, more community oriented Hispanic population growth important for the church Some churches starting to accommodate observances of Mexican rituals Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) Pentecostalism Type of evangelical Christianity growing in Latin America Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

QUESTIONS Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

In what respects has Mexico been viewed as a source of workers and a place to leave unwanted laborers? Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Using the functionalist perspective, will the current exploitation of Mexican labor in Mexico by American corporations and the Mexican government eventually lead to an improved economy and living conditions for Mexicans? Explain your answer. Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

In what respects are Hispanic families similar to and different from Anglo households? Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

How does Chicanismo relate to the issue of Hispanic identity? Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

How does the case of Puerto Rico support the notion of race as a social concept? Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

What role does religion play in the Latino community? Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Churches have become reliant on the growing Latino population to replenish their congregations. Based on the changes in religious values currently noted in American culture, will the religiosity of Latinos remain the same as they assimilate more into American culture? Explain your answer. Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Are Mexican Americans assimilated and are recent Mexican immigrants likely to assimilate overtime? Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.