BETWEEN TWO NATIONS THE POLITICAL PREDICAMENT OF LATINOS IN NEW YORK CITY Michael Jones-Correa Cornell University Press ITHAcA AND LoNDoN TO MY PARENTS Copyright© 1998 by Cornell University All rights reserved . Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850. First published 1998 by Cornell University Press. First printing, Cornell Paperbacks, 1998. Printed in the United States of America. Cornell University Press strives to utilize environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in the publishing of its books. Such materials include vegetable-based, low-VOC inks and acid-free papers that are also either recycled, totally chlorine-free, or partly composed of nonwood fibers. Cloth printing 1 o 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Paperback printing 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Jones-Correa, Michael, 1965- Between two nations: the political predicament of Latinos in New York City I Michaeljones-Correa. p. em. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8014-3292-8 (alk. paper). - ISBN 0-80I4-8364-6 (pbk.: alk. paper) 1. Hispanic Americans-New York (State)-New York-Politics and government. 2. Immigrants-New York (State)-New York-Political actiVIty. 3· New York (N.Y.) - Ethnic relations. 4· Citizenship- New York (State)-New York. I. Title. FI30.S75J66 1998 305.868'07471-dC2 1 97-4941 5 Avoiding Irreconci lable Demands 125 7 mitrnents. From the point of view of American politicians, immigrant mo­ bilization appears to be sporadic or episodic, but is in fact consistent within a framework of a politics of in-between. Staying away from Electoral Politics The Politics of In-between: Avoiding One frequently offered explanation of Latin American immigrants' low lev­ els of participation in formal politics in the United States is simply that they Irreconcilable Demands, Keeping Loyalties are absorbed by the politics in their countries of origin (Dwyer 1991: 68). 1 A Puerto Rican activist in Queens expressed this view succinctly: "I believe the Latino community in Queens is more of the social, civic organizations. Most people are not involved in politics. Now that could be for several rea­ sons. One is-and this is the big one as far as I am concerned-that they are super-involved in the politics of their own country. Estan llegando mas l atin American immigrant politics operates under constraints. Some of alta y menos aca [they' re putting more effort there than here] ."2 But there is those constraints are external:· to count as an actor in U.S. politics, one must little evidence that immigrants' efforts are so focused on Latin America that become a U.S. citizen. Becoming a U.S. citizen means, for many immigrants, they have neither the time nor the inclination for politics in the United the loss of citizenship in their country of origin. Understandably, it matters States. Very few Latin American immigrants are actively involved in the elec­ to many immigran ts that they are asked to repudiate their country of birth toral politics of their home countries. when they naturalize as citizens in another country, and this demand con­ The most striking example is Colombians in the United States. Colombia tributes to their indecisiveness about U.S. citizenship. It isn't that they are is the only Latin American country to provide the opportunity for its na­ particularly attached to the formal politics of their country of origin, but tionals living overseas to vote in presidential elections from abroad.3 Voting rather that they do not wish to lose their identification and connection with is relatively easy. Colombian immigrants have only to go to the Colombian their home country. Much of the political life of Latin American immigrants consulate in Manhattan to register, and then return there, or to one of the in Queens is a matter, then , of finding a balance between two mutually ex­ polling stations set up by the consulate in Queens, to cast their ballots. Yet clusive polities. The result is a politics in which they have a certain auton­ in the last elections, in 1990, only slightly more than 3,ooo did so, out of the omy of action without making any irrevocable choices. approximately zoo,ooo Colombians residing in the metropolitan area.4 If The commonly held belief is that low participation here must mean par­ anything, participation in the home country has declined. In 1970, with a ticipation in the country of origin, but, as I show in this chapter, this is not the case for Latin American immigrants in the United States. Latino immi­ 1 J ennings ( 1988) makes a similar argument for Puerto Rican s in New York City. grants are likely to stay away from formal politics in both the country of ori­ 2 Interview, June 10, 1991. See also Hardy-Fanta 1993: 176, n. 219-20. gin and the United States, behavior that is consistent with an overall policy 3 See Chapter 8 for more details on immigrant campaigns for dual citizenship. of avoiding partisanship and controversy-immigrants try not to pick sides. 4 The Colombian consulate in New York City indicated that 3,012 Colombian nationals voted Instead, Latin American immigrants use the space opened by public events in the 1990 presidential elections, out of an estimated 200,000 in the metropolitan region. Written communication, Colombian consulate, New York City, March 23, 1992. Also author's to express multiple (and conflicting) identities, without being forced to fi eldnotes, Federaci6n de Organizaciones Colombianas meeting, July 11 , 1991. "La Colombia make choices among them. Those moments when immigrants do move de­ de Jackson Heigh ts," El Diario/ La Prensa, July 18, 1991, p. 21. Colombians are not the only cisively into the public sphere draw from a Latin American repertoire, but ones to encourage voting by their residents abroad: Poles can vote in their national elections at only succeed if they coincide with the desire to avoid irreconcilable com- their consulates as well, and of course Americans abroad can send in absentee ballots to record their vote. 124 126 Between Two Nations Avo iding Irreconcilable Demands 127 Colombian population in New York City one-third the size oftoday's, 3,700 Table 16. Electoral participation in Colombian presidential Colombians voted in their national elections. 5 elections, 1958-1986 Not only does participation in the home country involve a minuscule pro­ portion of immigrants, but Latin American immigrants often have strong Year %voting negative views of politics and politicians in general. For many immigrants - politics is, as one Colombian put it, "a necessary evil. "6 Even activists believe, 1958 58 1962 49 as one Colombian woman indicated, that "politics is dirty. Unfortunately 1966 40 one has to be involved in politics to do something for the community. " 7 For 1970 53 most, it is something best avoided. A Colombian woman active in the com­ 1974 58 munity noted that "political topics are not interesting to most people ... if 1978 40 1982 50 8 things turn to political topics, they leave quickly." An Ecuadorian noted 1986 56 that "of Ecuadorians [who are] citizens, there aren't too many who partici­ pate in electoral politics . If they are first-generation immigrants, partici­ Sources: Belasario Betancur, "Abstenci6n y Participaci6n," in La Ab­ pation in Ecuadorian politics is not that high either." 9 stenci6n (Bogota, Colombia: Editorial Presencia), 1980, p. 158; Esta­ disticas de Ia Registradurfa Nacional del Estado Civil, cited in Hernan­ A look at electoral participation in the three Latin American countries dez 1986: 135, note 16. Pach6n and DeSipio asked a sample of Latin providing the largest flow of immigrants to New York City-Colombia, American immigrants in New York State about thei r participation in Ecuador, and the Dominican Republic-reveals substantial gaps in electo­ even ts in their home country. Less than 5% of those who migrated as rial participation. Colombia, for instance, has some of the highest absten­ adults said that they had voted in their home country before immigrat­ ing. Although this agrees with the general point I would like to make, tion rates in the region, reaching as high as 6o% in 1g66 and 1978, and it also seems suspiciously low: A much higher percentage (62%) 44% in 1g86 (see Table 16). While this may not seem abnormally high said they had taken part in political rallies and marches (Pach6n and by American standards, it is unusual for Latin America. However, these fig­ DeSipio 1994: 174, table 8.29). ures have to taken in the context of La Violencia, an intraparty civil war which lasted from 1946 to 1956, costing at least 2oo,ooo lives and continu­ In a survey of young people aged 16-27 in Medillin, Colombia, 65 percent ing guerrilla and drug violence ever since. As Kline notes, an entire gener­ said they had never been active politically, 75.8 percent indicated they had ation of Colombians "grew up thinking that violence was the normal way of never voted, and 59 percent indicated they did not believe in the electoral life" (1985: 257). The mistrust of politics has carried over to the present. In system.I 1 a recent Colombian poll, for instance, the majority of respondents reported Colombia has had elections continually throughout the century, with confidence in the institutions of the family, private enterprise, and the only one interruption from 1953 to 1957. Ecuador, on the other hand, had Catholic church, but indicated a great deal of mistrust for the police, mili­ military governments from 1963 to 1966, and again from 1972 to 1978, tary, and government authorities.