Latino Politics

Fully revised and updated, the second edition of this popular textprovides students with a comprehensive introduction to Latinoparticipation in US politics. Focusing on six Latino groups -Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Dominicans, Salvadorans, andGuatemalans – the book explores the migration history of each groupand shows how that experience has been affected by US foreignpolicy and economic interests in each country of origin. Thepolitical status of Latinos on arrival in the United States,including their civil rights, employment opportunities, andpolitical incorporation, is then examined. Finally, the analysisfollows each groups history of collective mobilization andpolitical activity, drawing out the varied ways they have engagedin the US political system. Using the tension between individual agency and structuralconstraints as its central organizing theme, the discussionsituates Latino migrants, and their children, within larger macroeconomic and geo-political structures that influence theirdecisions to migrate and their ability to adapt socially,economically, and politically to their new country. It alsodemonstrates how Latinos continually have shown that throughpolitical action they can significantly improve their channels ofopportunity. Thus, the book encourages students to think criticallyabout what it means to be a racialized minority group within amajoritarian US political system, and how that position structuresLatinos ability to achieve their social, economic, andpolitical goals.

Additional ISBNs: 9780745665009, 0745665004, 9780745686424, 0745686427