Mexican American Studies & Research Center Publications

Perspectives in Mexican American Studies, Volume 6

Introduction

This edition of Perspectives in Mexican American Studies focuses on identity, culture, and politics. Although these themes are identified separately in this introduction, their discussion in the selections that make up this issue of Perspectives are by no means always separate and distinct. Often, they are discussed concomitantly because they overlap or are inextricably linked.

Two major foci of the Chicana/o Movement in the 1960s and 1970s were culture and identity. El Movimiento was, of course, highly political as well. One of the critical elements for Chicanas/os was the development of a unique identity that would articulate the goals and aspirations of the movement, and challenge the prevailing assimilationist ideology. In "Constructing the Chicano Movement: Synthesis of a Militant Ethos," Ignacio García describes the stages it went through as people within the Movement worked toward their goals. The ethos and these stages, which embodied specific characteristics, propelled the movement and fundamentally changed the way Mexican Americans perceived themselves. In reviewing the historiography of the Chicana/o Movement, García challenges some of the prevailing interpretations, and calls upon researchers and scholars to study El Movimiento as a social process, rather than a series of events.

Educational reform, especially at the college and university level, was also at the heart of the Chicano Movement. As a result of student and community activism, the 1960s and 1970s witnessed a burgeoning number of programs and centers. A failing economy, the prolonged recession it triggered, and a growing conservative backlash in the 1980s and 1990s resulted in many programs being scaled back or eliminated. This threat to the hard-won gains made by Chicanas/os resulted in renewed efforts to reconstitute departments and programs on campuses. In "Chicano Movement Chicano Studies: Social Science and Self-Conscious Ideology," Raoul Contreras surveys the events that took place at UCLA in 1993, when students and their supporters demanded the establishment of a Chicano Studies department. The central focus of his essay is a theoretical analysis of the exogenous and ideological forces that propelled supporters and opponents involved in the controversy.

Armando Navarro traces developments and changes in the Chicano Movement between 1975 and 1996 in "The Post Mortem Politics of the Chicano Movement: 1975-1996." In the process he delineates the forces that have eroded the militancy and altered the focus of the Movement. In the first phase, which he terms the "Viva Yo" stage, the movement became moribund because of the growth of neo-conservatism, the decline of the civil rights struggle, the power struggles and divisions extant within the movement itself, and because of the external forces that had propelled and united it in the 1960s were no longer present. The result was the emergence of a generation of leaders who were more moderate to conservative in their outlook and politics. Increasingly this return to mainstream assimilationist goals among the Viva Yo generation was, in part, reflected in their growing acceptance of the term "Hispanic" to identify themselves. The need to assuage different constituencies in order to be elected led them to turn more to ballot box politics rather than protest and confrontation. In a related vein, this group was not immune to the nativism and racism that characterized the 1980s and 1990s. This resulted in a turn on their part to the second phase, which Navarro terms the "politics of scapegoating." In this stage, Hispanics blamed the problems of their group and of the United States on immigrants. The consequences and impact of this second stage on the movement are further delineated in his essay. Navarro concludes by suggesting strategies for building a new movement.

Immigration re-emerged in the 1980s and 1990s as a major issue that created problems and challenges for Chicana/o and Hispanic elected officials. The dilemmas they faced in addressing the needs of differing constituencies, and the impact that controversial issues have on their politics and actions are delineated in the essay, "Divided We Stand, United We Fall: Latinos and Immigration Policy," by David M. Hernández. The debate, strategies, and policies of the immigration question have plagued the efforts of Latinos and Latinas to respond to the anti-immigrant attitudes and legislation that have emerged in the past few years. But as Hernández points out, the attacks emanating from the anti-immigrant forces have not always proved divisive for Latinas/os. For example, the controversial Proposition 187 galvanized political activism among them. He argues that much of the resurgent Latina/o political activism has been built on the Latino pro-immigrant’s infrastructure that emerged to counter the activities of the anti-immigrant forces. Nonetheless, the widespread immigrant bashing has blurred the lines between legal and undocumented immigration. This has seriously divided Latinos themselves, hindering political efforts. Hernández’s essay analyzes the effects of this contradictory, divisive, and perilous dilemma.

Too often, the debate over immigration becomes mired in rhetoric, losing site of the human dimension. Critics of immigration rely on heavy handed and inaccurate stereotypes to bolster their arguments and campaigns. A major outcome of the immigrant bashing has been the tendency to dehumanize the immigrants themselves. This often creates an environment that is intolerant to their presence, and indifferent to their human and civil rights. Such was the case in Arizona in 1976, when three undocumented immigrants were captured and brutalized by a local rancher and his sons. The events leading up to their capture and torture, and the indictments and trial that followed are described by Christine Marín in "They Sought Work and Found Hell: The Hanigan Case of Arizona." In relating the events Marín also presents the dilemmas and problems that the case created for Hispanic politicians, and how it polarized the community. In essence, the trial focused national and international attention on the situation along the border, and profoundly affected the politicians and civil rights organizations that the trial touched. This case study ably demonstrates the dilemmas and consequences that the issue of immigration imposes on organizations and politicians that Hernández and Navarro allude to in their essays.

In "The Hispano Homeland Debate: New Lessons," Philip B. Gonzales revisits the theoretical and scholarly debate over culture and identity in New Mexico. The main issue in this controversy is whether the identity and culture of New Mexicans is unique and distinct when compared to other Hispanics in the Southwest. One school of thought holds that social, geographic, and historic elements created a uniquely Mexican American culture in northern New Mexico. Opponents of this argue that this leads to misleading stereotypes and incorrect assumptions about the identity and make up of Mexican Americans. At issue in this debate is the question of ethnic identity, the purposes it serves, and the forces and ideas that help shape and define it. After outlining the main currents of this debate, Gonzales offers an analysis and critique of each of the major viewpoints. Given the complex and dynamic nature of this question, Gonzales believes the discussion should be placed within a broader social, political, and historical context.

In "Power, Borders, and Identity Formation: Understanding the World of Chicana/o Students" Marc Pizarro reviews the literature on identity, and proposes methods and frameworks that will further understanding of the forces that shape identity among Mexican Americans. Just as in the incident involving the Hanigans, where power, ethnicity, and intolerance played major roles in the events and actions that transpired on that hot August day along the U.S.-Mexican border, so do these elements factor into the experiences that profoundly influenced the identity of the students interviewed by Pizarro. For those students, racial confrontations and discrimination played important roles in the formation of their identity. He concludes that ethnicity and the power relationships that these students experienced were at the core of how they perceived and identified themselves.

In his essay on film, Mario Barrera looks at another powerful force affecting the identity of Latinos and Latinas. In "Missing the Myth: What Gets Left Out of Latino Film Analysis," he discusses the key differences between film makers and film analysts in how they gauge a movie’s impact. According to Barrera, film makers focus on how effective they were in reaching the audience, while academic analysts examine the political and ideological elements of a film. This often results in completely differing perspectives and interpretations about the film itself. It is therefore important for film scholars to understand the perspective of the film maker, the core myths and story paradigms that are common to many feature films, and the constraints that film makers operate under. To Barrera, American feature films are basically mythic in nature. The use of these popular myths, which are rooted in the Western cultural tradition, are intended to appeal to the values of the audience. Thus, in addition to ideological analyses, academics must add considerations about the mythic and dramatic dimensions to their appraisals and discussions of feature films. In discussing La Bamba, Born in East L.A., and El Norte in this context, Barrera speaks to the issues of politics, identity, and transculturation in each of the main characters in these films.

"Chicanos in the Northwestern and Midwestern United States: A History of Cultural and Political Commonality," by Daniel Estrada and Richard Santillán, is a broad survey about the organizing efforts of Mexican Americans in these two regions. Their essay begins by providing a brief overview of the arrival of Mexicans and Mexican Americans in the Midwest and Pacific Northwest before the Great Depression. They then discuss how the depression of the 1930s, the Second World War, and the Chicano Movement that followed exercised a profound influence on the communities that developed in these regions. The remainder of the essay describes the plethora of organizations that have emerged there to deal with the diverse and vexing issues that affect people of Mexican descent. It is evident that these organizations have served the community in a variety of ways, thus dispelling the notion that Mexican Americans have been passive in dealing with their own needs. Central to these organizing efforts has been the goal to forge and reinforce a positive identity among Mexican Americans and other Hispanics. Another important element in describing the history and political behavior extant in these communities has been the central role played by women. The authors conclude their study by calling for more research on political organizing and activism in the Midwest and Pacific Northwest.

Our thanks to the authors for their thoughtful and provocative essays. Their work and patience made this volume possible. Our gratitude also to Professor Adela de la Torre, director of the Mexican American Studies & Research Center, and to Holly M. Smith, dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Arizona, for their continued support of this publication.

Juan R. García & Thomas Gelsinon, Co-Editors
August 1997