1. BARRIERS TO POLITICAL PARTICIPATION OF PUERTO RICANS AND HISPANICS IN OSCEOLA COUNTY, FLORIDA: 1991-2007.
- Author
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CRUZ, JOSÉ E.
- Subjects
- *
PUERTO Rican Americans , *PUERTO Ricans , *SOCIAL participation , *POLITICAL participation of minorities , *SOCIOECONOMIC factors , *SOCIOECONOMICS , *DISCRIMINATION (Sociology) , *EQUALITY , *POLITICAL participation - Abstract
This paper examines Puerto Rican/Hispanic political participation in Osceola County, Florida, focusing on the attitudes Puerto Ricans/Hispanics bring to the process, the general features of their participation, and the conditions in which they register, vote, and run for office. The paper offers a theoretical characterization of Puerto Rican/Hispanic political participation that includes the elements of racialization, inequality, reliance on external resources, and a type of identity politics that mixes elements of minority and white political behavior. The paper suggests that, so long as Puerto Ricans/Hispanics continue to face socioeconomic and political inequality while simultaneously enjoying discrete opportunities to choose between Puerto Rican/Hispanic candidates, their political behavior will be both minority and white; minority to the extent it focuses on descriptive representation and white to the extent it takes descriptive representation for granted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2010