Ethnic Studies Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Cuban Americans

UNIT 2: MEXICAN AMERICANS ● In the 1800s, the United States got a lot of territory as a result of two different wars ○ The aftermath of these wars and the annexation of the territories ended up creating the two largest Hispanic minorities in the United States: ■ Mexican Americans ■ Puerto Ricans ● A large number of Mexicans became aliens in the United States without ever crossing a border ○ These people first became Mexican Americans at the end of the MexicanAmerican War ○ In the war-ending Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed in 1848, Mexico acknowledged the annexation of Texas by the United States ■ also gave up California and most of Arizona and New Mexico to the United States for $15 million ○ In return, the United States granted citizenship to the 75,000 Mexican nationals who remained on the annexed land after one year ● A generalization that can be made about different groups in the Mexican American population in the nineteenth century is that they were all regarded as a conquered people ○ even before the war, many Whites who traveled into the West were already prejudiced against people of mixed blood (in this instance, against Mexicans) ● A system of treating Mexican Americans with an inferior status showed up well before the twentieth century ○ Slowly, the White American way of owning property replaced the Hispanic and Native American systems ● By 1892, the federal government was allowing people to graze on public grasslands and forests-- everyone except Mexican Americans ○ Soon those who became Mexican Americans became outsiders in their own homeland THE IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCE ● Immigration from Mexico is special in several ways: ○ It has been has continuously been a large-scale movement for the last decade, give or take ■ Until 1965, the United States did not restrict immigration from Mexico through legislation ○ Since we share a border with Mexico, this encourages past immigrants to maintain strong cultural and language ties with their homeland ■ they can maintain good relationships with family and friends as well ○ The idea of being illegal has always surrounded Mexican immigrants ■ the stereotype and generalization that all immigrants who come from Mexico are illegal and ● The Mexican revolution of 1909-1922 caused many refugees to seek stability in the United States ○ World War 1 decreased the immigrants from Europe, leaving the job market open to Mexican Americans ○ After the war, corporations in the United States, led by agribusinesses, invested in Mexico ■ they wanted to maximize their profits but minimize the amount of money they spent ● The Great Depression brought pressure on local governments to care for those who were unemployed and currently suffering in poverty ○ Government officials developed a quick way to make the job market more open so the number of unemployed Americans would reduce ■ The solution was to ship Mexicans back to Mexico ○ This program of deporting Mexicans in the 1930s was called repatriation ● In 1942, when World War 2 reduced the amount of those who were employed, the United States and Mexico agreed to a program which allowed contracted laborers, or braceros, to migrate across the border ○ The minimum standards of this program was the transportation, housing, wages and healthcare of braceros would be taken care of ● Another crackdown on illegal aliens was to be the third step in dealing with the “growing” Mexican problem ○ Known as Operation Wetback and Speical Force Operation, it was fully initiated by 1954 ○ The term wetbacks, or mojados -- slang with a negative connotation that meant Mexicans who enter illegally--refers to those who secretly swim across the Rio Grande ■ Like many other attempts, this effort failed to stop the illegal flow of workers who kept searching for jobs ● Assimilation may be the keyword in the history of many immigrant groups, but for Mexican Americans the key term is La Raza ○ this literally means the people or the race ○ To modern Mexican Americans, however, the term brings a sense of pride ifor Spanish, Native American, and Mexican heritage ● despite the many ways the government has attempted to prevent illegal immigration, there is very little hope for ending illigal immigration or actually catching illegal immigrants ○ Economic conditions are the major factor ● Mexican Americans continue to be suspected of being illegal because of their mexican heritage. Their mexican descent makes them more likely to be viewed as potential illegal alien by law enforcement ○ The Mexican American community is another group that has been subjected to racial profiling by many white americans ■ We saw the views of many during the 2016 election-- people are unwilling to understand that Mexican Americans are citizens just like us ● In the United States, many Mexican Americans have mixed feelings towards illegal Mexican immigrants ○ Many are related, and they can understand and sympathize with the fact that coming to America is a good opportunity, especially economically wise ○ But, the rising numbers of deportations only emphasize the white american stereotype THE BORDERLANDS ● The term borderlands refers to the area of a common culture along the border between Mexico and the United States ● The idea of two very different cultures from the US and Mexico somes from: ○ Legal and illegal emigration from Mexico to the US ○ day laborers crossing the border regularly to go the jobs in the US ○ the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and the exchange of media across the border all make the notion of separate Mexican and U.S. cultures obsolete in the borderlands ● The economic position of the borderlands is complicated in terms of both businesses and workers ○ Very visible on the Mexican side are maquiladoras ■ They are foreign-owned operations that aren’t required to pay Mexican taxes and also don’t have to provide insurance or benefits for their workers ● Immigrant workers have a big economic impact on their home country while they work in the United States ○ Many Mexicans, as well as other Hispanic groups, send some part of their salary back to family members remaining in their home countries ○ Most of the money is spent to pay for food, clothing, and housing, but slowly, there has been a larger portion who invest to create small businesses ● Close cultural and economic ties to the home country found in the borderlands can also be seen within other Latino groups HEALTHCARE ● Life chances are seen as opportunities for people to provide themselves with satisfactory living conditions, memorable life experiences, and providing themselves and their families with goods ● Mexican Americans and other minority group members have limited life chances ● Hispanics, as a group, are kicked out of the healthcare system more often other racial or ethnic groups ○ even though federal law requires that emergency medical treatment be available to all people (including illegal immigrants) many Hispanics are very careful while seeking medical treatment because they are scared of potential consequences that could arise ○ About a third (29.1%) had no health insurance for all of 2012, compared with 11.1% of White non-Hispanics and 19% of Blacks ○ There has been a growing number of hispanics with health care insurance in the recent years ● The healthcare problem facing Mexican Americans and other groups is further complicated by the absence of Spanish-speaking health professionals. ○ the shortage of Hispanic professionals increases the likelihood that the group will be underserved ● Some Mexican Americans and other Latinos contain cultural beliefs that make it so they are less likely to use the medical system ○ They may interpret their illnesses according to folk practices or curanderismo: Latino folk medicine, a form of holistic healthcare and healing FAMILY LIFE ● The most important social establishment among Mexican Americans (and for many groups) is the family ● Latino households are described as more familistic than others in the United States ○ Familism means pride and maintaining a close relationship with the family ■ this can lead to putting the familial needs before your individual ones ● Familism has been viewed as both a positive and a negative influence on individual Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans ○ There have been arguments that showed that the strong sense of loyalty to the family discourages younger children from taking opportunities that would separate them from their family. ○ Familism is generally regarded as good ■ because if can provide significant emotional and mental strength when needed ○ The many significant aspects of familism include the importance of compadrazgo (the godparent-godchild relationship) ■ also includes the financial dependency on younger generation and more ● This is all complicated by the mixed status present in so many Latino extended families ○ Mixed status refers to families in which one or more family members are citizens and others are noncitizens ○ This especially becomes problematic when the noncitizens are illegal or undocumented immigrants ○ All the usual pressures within a family becomes a bigger problem when there is mixed status CUBAN AMERICANS ● Third in numbers only to Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans, Cubans are a significant ethnic Hispanic minority in the United States ○ Their presence in the United States country has a long history ■ Cuban settlements in Florida dating back to as early as 1831 ● By 2010, more than 1.7 million people born in Cuba or are Cuban descent lived in the United States. IMMIGRATION ● Cuban immigration to the United States since the 1959 revolution has been constant ○ But, there were three significant influxes of large numbers of immigrants through the 1980s ■ First, the initial emigrations of about 200,000 Cubans which happened after Castro’s coming to power lasted about 3 years. ● The first wave stopped with the cuban missile crisis of October 1962, since all legal movement between the United States and Cuba was put on pause ■ An agreement between the United States and Cuba in 1965 gave way to the second wave through a program of freedom flights which were specially arranged charter flights from Havana, Cuba to Miami, Florida ● The third major migration, the 1980 Mariel boatlift, has been the most disputable. ○ In 1980, more than 124,000 refugees of this migration were Marielitos-- meaning unwanted refugees ■ The term Marielitos remains a stigma in the media, as well as in Florida ● Cuban immigrants had a difficult time adjusting to American life ○ they tended to have a modest level of education and average skills ● There were still many reasons for the rocky transition many of these members had ○ Unlike the earlier waves of immigrants, they grew up in a country overwhelmed with anti-American ideologies ○ the government helped these immigrants to a degree, and many view the governments help as limited ■ cuban americans in the Miami area were given substantial government help ● Since 1994, the United States has had a dry foot, wet foot policy respective to Cuban immigrants arriving in the Us ○ Government policy usually allows Cuban nationals who manage to actually reach the United States (dry foot) to remain, ■ those who are picked up at sea (wet foot) were sent back to Cuba ○ In conclusion, roughly 20,000 visas are issued annually to immigrants who are seeking economic freedom and stability in this nation THE CURRENT PICTURE (NOT 2020) ● Compared with many other immigrant groups, Cuban Americans are doing well. ○ Cuban Americans have college degree rates that are remarkably higher than other Latino groups ● There is a notable part of the cuban american population that currently reside in miami; basically, many cuban americans are present in the Miami area ○ In 2010, 48% of all Cuban Americans lived in the Miami area, while the other 20% lived in other areas in Florida ● Most people in Miami consider the Cubans’ presence to be positive PUERTO RICANS ● Puerto Ricans’ past and current relationship with America, like Mexicans, was a result of a war ● The United States gained control over Puerto Rico in 1898 during the Spanish-American War ○ The United States sought Puerto Rico because of it’s well placed position in the world, which proved to be beneficial in regards to trading ● The beginning of rule by the US quickly destroyed any hope that Puerto Ricans-- or Boricua, as Puerto Ricans call themselves-- had for self-rule ○ All power was given to officials appointed by the president, and Congress could overrule any act of the island’s legislature ● The Jones Act of 1917 extended citizenship to Puerto Ricans, bur Puerto Rico remained a separate colony ○ This political dependency on America changed in 1948, when Puerto Rico elected its own government and became a commonwealth THE BRIDGE BETWEEN THE ISLAND OF THE MAINLAND ● Despite their citizenship, immigration officials continuously challenge Puerto Ricans immigration status ○ Other Latin Americans attempt to come into the United States pretending to be puerto ricans,Puerto Ricans find their papers observed more closely than do other US citizens ● Puerto Ricans came to the united states in small numbers in the first half of the twentieth century, often encouraged by farm labor contractors ○ But migration has been mostly a post-World War 2 occurrence ○ By 2010, more than 4.6 million Puerto Ricans lived on the mainland and 3.7 million residents lived on the island ● Some factors that contribute to the migration are: ○ overpopulated island ○ lack of legal restrictions ○ cheap, and bad quality, air transportation ○ As the migration continues, the united states offers the added attraction of a large Puerto Rican community in NYC, which makes adjustment easier for new arrivals ● NYC still has a big population of Puerto Ricans but many noticeable changes have taken place ○ Puerto Ricans no longer dominate the Latino scene in NYC, making up only a little more than a third of the city’s Hispanic population ■ Puerto Ricans are now more spread out throughout american cities ● As the US economy went through a series of recessions in the 1970s and 1980s, unemployment among American Puerto Ricans, which always have been high, increased substantially ○ In the 1980s, more Puerto Ricans went from america to the island than the other way around ● Puerto Ricans returning to the island have become a common theme ○ They now are given the name Neoricans, or Nuyoricans, a tern the islanders also use for Puerto Ricans in NY ○ They usually return from america with a better education, more money, and a better speaker of English than native Puerto Ricans THE ISLAND OF PUERTO RICO ● Puerto Rico and it's people reflect a phenomenon called neocolonialism which refers to the dependence of former colonies on other countries ○ At first, this term was used to refer to African countries that still relied on former colonial powers, even after earning their political independence from countries such as Great britain, france and other European countries ● From 1902, the island’s official language was English ○ But Spanish was the language of the people which solidified the fact that the island had a seperate cultural identity from the US ○ In 1992, however, Spanish was established as an additional official language in Puerto Rico ● In reality, the language issue is related more to differing ideologies than to the actual language ○ Spanish remains the dominant language of the island; 8% of the islanders speak only English, and among Spanish-speaking adults, only about 15% speak English “very well” (these facts are from 2010, so this are subject to change) ISSUES OF STATEHOOD AND SELF-RULE ● Puerto Ricans have continuously fought for their independence for most of the 500 years since Columbus landed ○ They continue to do so, even in the 21st century ○ Some call for complete independence from the US, others call for statehood and some call for a “hybrid commonwealth” ● The arguments for continued commonwealth status includes hoping for special protection from the US ○ But, some residents of Puerto Rico fear that statehood would lead to higher taxes and a complete disregard of their culture ● Supporters of the fight independence have a long history of insisting that Puerto needs to earn back it's cultural and political self-rule ○ Some supporters of independence have even been violent ● Independence is the easiest way for the island to keep and strengthen its cultural and political identity ○ But, if Puerto Rico becomes independent, it might be faced with a tariff wall when trading with its biggest mother customer, the US ● Puerto Rico’s future status more recently faced a vote in 2012 ○ the results reflect the differences among the idea of statehood, where voters were split between statehood and continuation ■ very few actually favored independence SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF RACE ● The most significant difference between the meaning of race in Puerto Rico and the United State is that Puerto Rico, as well as many other Carribean societies, has a color gradient, ○ this is a term that describes distinctions based of skin color that has a wide range of it ■ Puerto Ricans don’t see people rather as just white or black, they can see people ranging from a very pale white to a darker black ○ The presence of a color gradient reflects past fusion between different groups ● Just because there is a color gradient rather than just 2 or 3 categories for race doesn’t mean that there is less prejudice ○ But, societies with a color gradient allow more of a flexibility in society and therefore aren’t as able to put into place specific sanctions that would go against one specific skin color ○ Puerto Rico has not had many interracial conflicts that turned violent; its people are conscious of different racial heritages ● Racially identifying someone in Puerto Rico usually heavily depends on how the person views themselves ○ Several terns are used in the color gradient to describe people racially-- blanco (white), trigueno (bronze), Moreno (dark-skinned) and negro (black) ○ Factors such as social class and social determine race, but in America, race is more likely to determine social class THE ISLAND ECONOMY ● The role of the US in Puerto Rico produced an overall economy that remains well below that of the poorest areas of the United States, though strong by Caribbean standards ● Puerto Rico has become attractive to mainland-based corporations and the island’s agriculture has been largely ignored ● Puerto Rico’s unemployment rate in 2013 was 13.9%, compared with 7.3% for the mainland ● Efforts to raise the wages of Puerto Rican workers only make the island less attractive to labor-intensive businesses -- that is, those that employ larger numbers of unskilled people ● Puerto Rico serves as an example of the world-systems theory ○ World-systems theory is the view of the global economic system as divided between certain industrialized nations that control wealth and developing countries that are controlled and exploits ● New challenges continue to face Puerto Rico ○ With congressional approval in 1994 of the North American Free Trade Agreement, Mexico, Canada, and the US became integrated into a single economic market ■ The reduction of trade barriers with Mexico, coupled with that nation’s lower wages, combined to undercut Puerto Rico’s commonwealth advantage ○ More island nations now offer sun-seeking tourists from the mainland alternative destinations to Puerto Rico ■ In addition, cruise ships present another attractive option for tourists RELIGION ● The most important organization in the Hispanic community is the Church ● Most Puerto Ricans and Mexcian Americans prefer the Catholic Church-- in 2011, about 62% of Hispanics were Catholic ○ Recently, the Roman Catholic Church had become more community-oriented, seeking to identify Latino, or at least Spanish-speaking, clergy and staff to serve Latino desires and needs ● The growth of Mexican Americans and other Hispanics in America has led to the Catholic Church’s continued growth more recently ○ As a result, Protestant faiths have declined in size. ● Hispanics are more than a third of Roman Catholics in the United States ○ The Church is trying to adjust to Hispanics and cater to Hispanic cultures to include them ● Latinos who aren’t Catholic are more likely to attend services, have a deep incorporation of religion in their daily lives, and tend to be younger. ○ Typically, these non-Catholics attend independent and sometimes literally storefront churches ● Pentecostalism, a type of evangelical Christianity, is growing in Latin America and is clearly making a significant impact on Latinos in the United States ○ Pentecostal faiths hold beliefs likewise to those of evangelicals but believe in the incorporation of the Holy Spirit into services and in religious experiences such as faith healing ○ Pentecostalism and similar faiths are attractive to many Latinos because they offer followers the opportunity to express their religious feelings and strong beliefs openly ■ Furthermore, many of the churches are small and, therefore, offer a sense of community, often with Spanish speaking leadership