Latinos and Political Coalitions: Political Empowerment for the 1990s

Coalition formation is mounting among Latinos as they acquire greater strength in U.S. politics. This collection of essays is the first complete study of Latino political coalitions. It elaborates on Latino Empowerment: Progress, Problems, and Prospects (Greenwood Press, 1988), an earlier collection by the same editors that studied Latino empowerment in general. The contributors to Latinos and Political Coalitions detail how coalitional politics have become a major avenue of empowerment for the Latino community. The contributors illuminate the historical and cyclical changes in the political life of the Latino community by exploring coalitional politics at all levels and stages: from new coalitions attempting to broaden their power base to established organizational coalitions working to support or defeat legislation. The media, community response, language policy, immigration reform, the labor movement, municipal politics, and voter mobilization are among the topics covered. This collection concludes with theoretical insights about minority group coalitions and offers a comprehensive bibliography. It will be valuable for courses and research in political science, sociology, Chicano studies, and history.