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Chapter 9

Latinos:

The Largest Minority

Hispanic Population

Nearly 32 million, or two-thirds of Hispanics in the United States:
Are Mexican Americans, or Chicanos
The majority of Hispanic adults in the United States worry that:
They, a family member, or a close friend could be deported

Latino Identity

Panethnicity
The development of solidarity between ethnic subgroups
Hispanic or Latino
Collective term is subject to debate
Latino more common in the West

Latino Identity

Hispanic more common to the East and the term used by federal government
Actions of the dominant group have an impact in defining cultural identity to some degree
Among Hispanic youth age 16–25:
Only a minority, about 20 percent, prefers to use panethnic names

Latino Identity

About 72 percent of immigrant youth are likely to prefer country of origin
Compared to 32 percent of grandchildren
The sharp White–Black divide is absent in their home countries
Where race, if socially constructed, tends to be along a color gradient

Latino Identity

Name issues/“language battles” distract group’s attention from working together
Income and education does not appear to influence Hispanics’ perceptions
Younger generation think more in panethnic terms

Latino Identity

Color gradient
The placement of people on a continuum from
Light to dark skin color rather than in distinct racial groupings by skin color

The Borderlands

Borderlands
Refers to the area of a common culture along the border between Mexico and US
Notion of separate Mexican and US cultures obsolete because of
Legal and illegal immigration

The Borderlands

Day laborers crossing the border to go to jobs in the US
Implementation of (NAFTA) North American Free Trade Agreement
Exchange of media across the border
Maquiladoras

The Borderlands

Multinational companies found even lower wages in China
40%+ of the 700,000 new maquiladoras jobs created in 1990s were eliminated by 2003
Immigrant workers have significant economic impact on home countries
Remittances estimated at $24 billion annually

The Borderlands

Hometown Clubs
Typically are non-profit organizations that maintain close ties to immigrants’ hometowns:
In Mexico and other Latin nations
Collect money for improvements in hospitals and schools

The Borderlands

Some states in Mexico began matching-funds programs
Inland from the borders, hometown clubs have sprung up in northern cities:
With large settlements of Mexicans

The Economic Picture

Median income increased over past 25 years
Gap remains between Latinos and Whites
Latino household earns 70 cents for every dollar earned by Whites
Low wealth is characteristic of Hispanic households

The Economic Picture

Likely to earn less annually and have fewer financial resources to fall back on
Poverty rate reflects pattern in income
Beginning of 2010
25.3% of Latinos were below poverty level compared to 9.4% of Whites

The Economic Picture

Situation difficult to predict
As a group, poor Latinos are more mobile geographically
Half send money abroad to help relatives
Puts a strain on supporting themselves in the US

The Growing Political Presence

Federal law requires bilingual or multilingual ballots in voting districts
Where 5% of voting-age population does not speak English
Voting turnout was poor
Many were ineligible – non-citizens

The Growing Political Presence

2010
19% of Latinos voters have more confidence in the Republican agenda on immigration
51% leaned toward the Democratic position
Factors that elicit support from politicians
Growing population; higher proportions of voter registration; higher election participation

The Growing Political Presence

Less commitment to a single political party
Resent the fact that existence is rediscovered during election years
Little interest in between except by Latino officials

Cuban Americans

Cuban settlements in Florida date back to the early nineteenth century
Where small communities organized around single family enterprises
1960 census – 79,000 Cuban born in US
2010 – more than 1.7 million of Cuban descent in the United States

Cuban Americans

Increase followed Fidel Castro assumption of power after 1959 Cuban revolution
Three significant influxes of immigrants through the 1980s
1st - About 200,000 came during the first three years after Castro came into power

Cuban Americans

2nd – Freedom Flights; 340,000 refugees between 1965 and 1973
3rd – 1980 Mariel boatlift is most controversial – “Freedom Flotilla”
Castro used Carter’s invitation to send prison inmates, patients from mental hospitals, & addicts
Marielitos

Cuban Americans

Wet Foot, Dry Foot Policy
Refers to government policy which generally allows Cuban nationals who manage to reach:
The US (“dry foot”) to remain while those picked up at sea (“wet foot”) are sent back to Cuba

Cuban Americans

Cuban refugees have advantage over other refugees in terms of public opinion
Issue of communism still overshadows attitudes about US relationship with Cuba

The Current Picture: Cuban Americans

The influence of Cuban Americans
Miami area
In Urban centers
Generational relations among Cubans
Generational clash between cultures (parent and child)

The Current Picture: Cuban Americans

Long-range perspective of Cubans in the US depends on several factors
Most important – events in Cuba
Refugees proclaim desire to return if communist regime is overturned

The Current Picture: Cuban Americans

Cuban Americans have selectively accepted Anglo culture
Split between original exiles and their children
Children more concerned with Miami Dolphins than they are with Havana

Central and South Americans

Central and South Americans came from
historically different experiences and times
culturally diverse backgrounds
Unlike racial groupings in the United States they use a color gradient
Describing skin color along a continuum from light to dark

Central and South Americans

Another indicator of the social construction of race
Little in common other than hemisphere of origin and Spanish language
Other languages are Portuguese, French, and Dutch

Central and South Americans

Other distinctions
Social class distinctions
Religious differences
Urban versus rural backgrounds
Differences in dialects among those speaking same language

Central and South Americans

Central and South Americans do not form a cohesive group
Do not naturally form coalitions with
Cuban Americans
Mexican Americans
Puerto Ricans

Central and South Americans

Immigration has been sporadic and influenced by
US immigration laws
Social forces in the home country
War and persecution
Economic deprivation

Central and South Americans:
The Current Picture

Two issues clouding recent settlement
Many are illegal immigrants
Citizens from El Salvador, Guatemala, & Colombia are outnumbered only by Mexican nationals
Brain Drain
Immigration to US of skilled workers, professionals, and technicians

Central and South Americans:
The Current Picture

Experience high unemployment compared to Whites
Better educated than most Hispanics
By 2010 El Salvador, Guatemala, and Columbia were the top countries of origin
Each with at least a million present

Central and South Americans:
The Current Picture

Success found in catering to other Colombians
Many obliged to take menial jobs & combine income of several families
To meet high cost of urban life
Colombians of mixed African descent face racial as well as ethnic and language barriers

Central and South Americans:
The Current Picture

Future of Central and South Americans in the US?
Could assimilate over generations
Alternative: being trapped with Mexican Americans as a segment of dual labor market
Possibility is that they retain an independent identity while establishing an economic base