1.2 The socio-economic development of hispanics in the united states  (Page 8/11)

Poverty rates

The high poverty rate among Hispanics makes their assimilation more difficult (Becerra, 1988, pp. 152,182). This fact adds socio-economic class differences to the complexity of ethnic relations in this country. Anglo-Americans often attribute to culture, differences in behaviors that should be attributed to class differences.

Size of the hispanic-american community

The willingness of White Anglo-Americans to assimilate Hispanics is also greatly affected by the size and growing numbers of Hispanics in this country. According to the United States Census, by 2003 more than 40 million Hispanics lived in the U.S. ( (External Link) ). Hispanics were expected to outnumber African-Americans by the year 2010; however, estimates suggest that this may have already happened (Oppenheimer, 2001). As previously stated, the dominant White group perceives Hispanics in the country as a threat because of their large and growing numbers. The fact that Hispanics are constantly demanding a greater share of power, opportunities and resources also contributes to the fears of the dominant group and to their unwillingness to assimilate Hispanics.

Lack of unity

Members of the Hispanic community in the United States have not been able to accomplish more in the political, economic and social arenas primarily due to their lack of unity. Hispanics in the U.S. are very fragmented in terms of their issues of primary concern, their political orientations and agendas, and the diversity of their cultural backgrounds.

Mexican and other Central-American immigrants are primarily concerned about their immigration status and related issues, Puerto Ricans are primarily concerned about the social injustices that result from their colonial relationship with the United States, and Cubans are primarily concerned with how to recover the country they lost to Communism. While most Hispanics in the U.S. are Democrat, most Cubans are Republican. While traditionally Hispanics have been Catholic, a growing number of Hispanics in the U.S. are joining various Protestant denominations. Finally, a strong sense of ethnocentrism seems to characterize all Hispanic groups in the U.S. Each individual group seems to believe in the superiority of their culture of origin.

Politicians and policy-makers often force Hispanic groups to compete with each other for the acquisition of available resources. This has been demonstrated by the experiences of Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in Chicago and the experiences of Puerto Ricans and Dominicans in New York. In these cities, Hispanics groups have had to compete for city funding, being elected into office, housing, employment, and other opportunities (Klor de Alva, 1988, p. 112-3). The lack of unity of Hispanics was also revealed when in 1995 California voters faced proposition 187. This bill proposed to deny all public services to undocumented immigrants in the state including medical services, public education, welfare benefits, etc. Election results showed that 23% of Hispanic voters in the state supported proposition 187 ( www.igc.org/cfj/aboout187.html ).