1. Mexican American Community Attitudes
Mexican Americans and Politics
Lecture 9
February 7, 2006

2. “Will the Real Americans Please Stand Up … ?”
Thesis: Test of hypothesis of whether level of acculturation shapes the probability of political incorporation. Higher levels of ethnic consciousness will reduce Mexican American political incorporation.
Method: Multiple regression analysis of a survey of Mexican Americans (and other Latinos) – the Latino National Political Survey.

3. Where are We? Competing notions of politics Pan-ethnicity
Collective expression of bridging social capital
Social networks that connect different groups
Institutions to increase popular participation in politics
Electoral participation
Pan-ethnicity
Two, or more, Latino ancestry groups come into contact
Discovery of a shared experience
Instrumental alliance to achieve shared objectives

4. To Understand the Political World of any Population
You need to understand
Values
Attitudes
Behaviors
Today we focus on Mexican American values and attitudes

5. Mexican American Political Values
How do they relate to “American” political values?
Economic individualism
Income
Housing
Jobs
Patriotism
What role does ethnicity play in Mexican American support for economic individualism and patriotism?

6. Mexican Americans and Anglos Share Core Values
Controlling for demographic characteristics (age and class):
Few differences on economic individualism
Spanish dominant somewhat more likely to see governmental role
Spanish dominant Mexican Americans more patriotic than Anglos
Overall similarity means that class is more important than ethnicity

7. The Mexican American Issue Agenda
Non-Mexican Americans often ascribe issue preferences to Mexican Americans
Historical
Sojourners with little interest in the United States
Radicals
Contemporary
Republican efforts to define Mexican Americans in terms of moral conservative agenda
Democrat failure to distinguish between Blacks and Mexican Americans

8. Odd Because Mexican American Policy Agenda Consistent
Agenda: incorporation of new immigrants and those previously excluded
Education (at all levels)
Social Services
Job training
Public safety
Important when considering policy agenda to measure:
Salience
Connection to underlying values

9. Most Important Issue Facing Nation & Latinos, 2000: Mexican Americans
Most important issue facing Latinos
Education
15%
25%
Race relations 4%
10%
Unemployment/Jobs 6%
11%
The economy
14% 9%
Illegal immigration 2%
Crime 7%
Drugs 3%

10. Story Changes Somewhat in 2004
International issues take on a new prominence
I suspect this is a short-term phenomenon and that social issues will continue to dominate Mexican American agenda in the future

11. Most Important Issue: Latinos and Mexican Americans, 2004
Other Latinos
Education
16%
Economy
29%
26%
War on terror
18%
25%
Iraq
17%
13%
Crime 1% 2%
Health
12%
11%
Immigration 4% 3%
Other

12. Issues That are Not Central to the Mexican American Agenda
Moral conservative agenda--positions held by Mexican Americans, but top the agenda for few
Pro-life
Support for death penalty
Prayer in schools
Traditional role of women
Immigration
Distinction between immigration of relatives and immigration policy
Remember Gutiérrez—Long-term ambivalence about new immigration in Mexican American community

13. Many Assume Mexican Americans to be “Liberal”
They are in policy and electoral terms
Willing to raise their taxes to increase government services
Generally support Democratic candidates
But, more likely to self-identify as “conservative” than “liberal”
Liberalism and conservatism may mean different things
Particularly to Mexican immigrants

14. Mexican American Ideology

15. Mexican Americans Traditionally Strong Democrats
Why?
Congruence on party positions and community attitudes
More local Mexican American Democratic leaders and elected officials to recruit and mobilize
Anti-immigrant rhetoric of some Republicans
But, Bush and other Republicans have claimed that a shift is imminent
Bush share of the Latino vote increased in 2004, though by how much is disputed

16. Mexican American Partisanship (U.S. Citizens), 1989-2004
Independent leaners counted as partisans

17. Evidence of Mexican American Shift to Republicans is Weak
Separate question – Are Mexican Americans more likely to vote for Republican candidates than in the past
We’ll return to this question when we discuss Mexican Americans and electoral politics

18. For Next Time What did the Voting Rights Act provide?
How did these guarantees address the needs of the Mexican American community in 1975?
How about today?