1. MEXICAN AMERICANS AND PUERTO RICANS
CHAPTER 10

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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 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

13. Colonization of Puerto Ricans
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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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”

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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

27. Religion Predominantly Catholic
Church took assimilationist 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

28. QUESTIONS

29. In what respects has Mexico been viewed as a source of workers and a place to leave unwanted laborers?

30. 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.

31. In what respects are Hispanic families similar to and different from Anglo households?

32. How does Chicanismo relate to the issue of Hispanic identity?

33. How does the case of Puerto Rico support the notion of race as a social concept?

34. What role does religion play in the Latino community?

35. 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.